Abstract

The survey examines the research consultation indexes of LIS professionals in Nigeria. 200 of these professionals were sampled randomly during the 45th National Conference and Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Library Association, held in Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State in 2007. Turner’s (2002) questionnaire instrument on: “Do Information Professionals Use Research Published in LIS journals?” was adopted for the survey. The results from the 89.46% returned and valid questionnaires revealed that LIS professionals make high use of research whereas professionals: with terminal certificates (PhD and HND), who were graduates of year 2000 and above and with above 15 years library work experience champion research papers’ use. Research is primarily used to: obtain current information and for self-motivation in aid of good decision making and policy formulations; and inhibited by time constraints, lack of understanding on the research objective and its practical applications as well as inaccessibility of final reports/papers when published due to its non-inclusion in reputable indexing or abstracting services. Increased use of research could be achieved if research is: accompanied by guidelines on use; professionals are encouraged to develop their research skills and motivated to participate in professional activities.  

Key words: Research - library and information science, published papers,research reports, library professionals, information science professionals,usefulness of research work.