The impact of electronic information on the academic research community

Internet resources and productivity in scientific research in Nigerian universities

This study explores the impact of the Internet on the scientific communication process and the productivity of the scientists in Nigerian universities. It was expected that, besides the direct contribution of the Internet to research through access to vast stores of scientific information, the Internet would increase the number of colleagues a scientist communicates with on a regular basis, and consequently stimulate higher productivity. The results show that, while there is a correlation between the number of contacts maintained by the scientists and their productivity, the Internet contributes little to increasing those contacts or improving productivity.