Faculty members’ perceptions towards institutional repository at a medium-sized university: Application of a binary logistic regression model

The study aimed to investigate the perceptions of faculty members at a medium-sized university towards self-archiving and participation in institutional repositories (IRs).

The research participants were from a medium-sized university. An online survey was distributed and a total of 217 responses were received which yielded a 40 per cent overall response rate. Faculty perceptions of the IR were measured through nine dimensions, the results of which were later summarised using principal component factor analysis.

Faculty members’ perception of IRs and willingness to contribute to the IRs were closely associated with scholarly productivity rather than prior knowledge of and experience with IRs. Those who possessed scholarly materials were significantly more likely to have a positive perception of IRs and, therefore, were more likely to contribute to IRs than those who did not. Seniority in faculty rank contributed negatively to faculty members’ perception of the repository.

The study used a non-probability sampling technique to collect data about the faculty’s perception of IRs at a single institution of higher education. Variables for faculty background were limited to rank and academic discipline.

In three ways: First, the study contributed to research on faculty perception of IRs in academia and approached the issue from the perspective of a teaching-oriented institution. Second, the relationship between faculty's willingness to participate in and their perception of IRs was measured. Third, a binary logistic regression model was used to estimate factors that influence faculty's perception of the institution's IRs.