INIS USER NEEDS SURVEY: RESULTS OF
THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF NUCLEAR
AND ALLIED SCIENCES, GHANA
By
ELIZABETH A. AGYEMAN
SENIOR LIBRARIAN/INIS LIAISON OFFICER
GHANA ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION
Email: e.agyeman@gaecgh.org
 In 1963, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC)
was established
 Functions of GAEC include development, promotion
and use of peaceful application of nuclear &
biotechnological techniques for development of
Ghana
 Mission of GAEC include Development of the human
resource base in nuclear science, biotechnology and
related fields
 In 2006, post Graduate School of Nuclear & Allied
Sciences established by GAEC in collaboration with
Univ. of Ghana, with IAEA support
 Aim – Enhance human resources base for peaceful use
of nuclear energy in Ghana and Africa
 Academic Programs - 2 - year MPhil & 3-year PhD
 5 Departments - Nuclear Engineering; Medical Physics;
Nuclear Science and Applications; Nuclear Agriculture
& Radiation Processing, Nuclear Safety & Security
 Response to INIS Technical Note 194
 Feedback - National INIS Training Course 2007; &
annual INIS awareness creation seminars, since
2006 as part of students orientation program
 Part of ongoing study to identify information
requirements to design appropriate services to
meet learning, teaching & research needs

What kind of information resources do respondents first consult when
they need information for their course/research work?

Which INIS subject areas are of interest to respondents?

What is the level of awareness and level of use of the INIS Database?

How did respondents get to know about INIS?

Which version of the INIS Database do respondents prefer?

What problems do respondents encounter when accessing the INIS
Database?

What type of document do respondents consider most useful to their
course/research work?

Which other free online information sources do respondents use?
 Survey using a single self-administered semistructured questionnaire
 Population – M.Phil and PhD students of the Graduate
School of Nuclear & Allied Sciences, Ghana
 Response rate – 76% (53 out of 70 questionnaires
returned)
 Characteristics of respondents – Over 80% male, over
71% >31 years; 94% M.Phil students.
 Data analysis – SPSS
Fig.1: Information Resources First Considered When
Respondents Need Information for Academic Work
4%
35%
P hys ic al library
res ourc es (tex tbooks
and print journals
G eneral internet
res ourc es and
databas es
61%
C olleagues /L ec turers
Fig.3: Level of Awareness of INIS Database
4%
Aware
Not Aware
96%
Fig.4: How Respondents Got to Know about INIS
80
60
40
20
0
% Frequency
Conference/ Introduction
Seminar
by others
64
32
Internet
Brochure
2
2
Fig.5: Level of Use of the INIS Database
32%
Yes
51%
Tried but failed
No
17%
Fig.6: Problems Encountered When Accessing the
INIS Database
36%
Easy access
64%
Problem with
access

Lack of access to full-text journal articles cited in INIS bibliographical
references

Inadequate knowledge and training about INIS search strategies

Unstable and slow Internet Service
Fig. 7: Preferred Version of INIS Database
23%
CD-ROM
Internet
77%
Fig.8: Preferred Document Type
Fig.9: Other Free Online Full-Test Resources Used by Respondents
 Awareness of the INIS Database is very high (96%)
 Usage of the INIS Database is rather low (49%) –
 lack of full-text journal articles cited in INIS, inadequate knowledge
about searching INIS, and unreliable Internet service
 The Internet is a major source of information to the respondents
 Respondents consider scholarly journals, textbooks and theses
more important to their course and research work than reports
and conference papers
Recommendations
 INIS SECRETARIAT
 Speed up process of arranging with publishers to provide links to full-text
journal articles
 Consider optional inclusion of Table of Contents and List of Tables and
Figures of unavailable theses to ensure visibility
 Develop common survey instrument for adaptation to facilitate user studies
Recommendations (Ctd.)
 National INIS CENTRES
 Promotional activities should focus on practical sessions to
develop searching skills to improve usage of INIS Database
 Provide reliable and fast Internet service to facilitate access to
the INIS Database
 Free Online access to full-text journals initiatives should be
exploited by other Developing Member States to enhance the
usefulness of the INIS Database
 Publish INIS studies in Journals to create awareness
Thank
You