DETERMINANT OF E-RESOURCES LITERACY SKILLS AMONG AGRICULTURAL RESEARCHERS AND EXTENSION PERSONNEL IN NORTH-WESTERN, NIGERIA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33003/jaat.2025.1102.023Keywords:
Exploratory Factor Analysis,, NAERLS,, agricultural innovation,, e-resourceAbstract
This study examined the literacy skills of electronic resources among agricultural researchers and extension personnel in North West, Nigeria. Specifically, the findings show their socio-economic characteristics and types of e-resources accessibility. A multistage sampling procedure was adopted. In the first stage, three of the States’ ADPs out of seven (Katsina, Kano, and Kebbi States) were purposively selected, with reference to geographical representation, security situation, and coverage of the Zone. In the second stage, based on the lists of 715 NAERLS researchers (Frame) from various agricultural disciplines obtained from the Institute, 251 staff members were randomly and proportionately selected, as recommended by Raosoft's sample size calculator. In the third stage, according to the list of 1431 (Frame) extension personnel obtained from the three states' ADPs, 443 extension personnel were sampled randomly (balloting) and proportionately. This number was based on the recommendation of Raosoft sample size calculator as the sample size. Thus, making the total sample size 694, selected proportionately for the study. Data was collected using structured questionnaires. Analytical tools included Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and descriptive statistics. Researchers displayed higher competence in computer operations (93.3%) compared to extension personnel (28.6%). The findings of the study on the determinants of factors influencing the usage of e-resources among the Researchers and the Extension personnel show that the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy yielded a value of 0.941, which is above the minimum threshold of 0.60 suggested by Kaiser (1974), indicating a high degree of common variance among variables. Also, Factor analysis identified infrastructure, digital literacy, and institutional support as significant predictors of utilization. The study further recommended targeted training, improved ICT infrastructure, and supportive institutional policies to enhance e-resource adoption for agricultural research and extension.
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