ACADEMIC STAFF PROFICIENCY IN UTILIZING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR RESEARCH MANAGEMENT IN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN ANAMBRA STATE: CHALLENGES AND IMPROVEMENT STRATEGIES

Abstract

The poor utilization of digitalized technologiessuch as Artificial Intelligence by academic staff for research management in public universities in Anambra State, warranted the present study. The study examined academic staff proficiency in utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology for their research management in public universities in Anambra State: challenges and improvement strategies. Three research questions guided the study. A descriptive survey research design was employed in the study. Population for the study constituted a total of 2,588 academic staff (that is; 1,990 Federal-owned university & 598 State-owned university) from two public universities in Anambra State. Sample size of the study comprised518 academic staff(breakdown is; 398 Federal-owned& 120 State-owned) selected at 20% from the entire academic staff population of these two public universities using the simple random sampling technique. A 24-item researcher- developed questionnaire titled: “Academic Staff AI Proficiency for Research Management, Challenges and Improvement Strategies Questionnaire (ASAIPRMCIS)” and structured on a 4-point scale of Highly Proficient (HP), Proficient (P), Less Proficient (LP) and Not Proficient (NP); including Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A), Disagree (D) and Strongly Disagree (SD) was used for data collection. The ASAIPRMCIS was face validated by three experts from the Department of Educational Management and Policy, and one Measurement and Evaluation expert from the Department of Educational Foundations, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. Reliability of the research instrument was established through a pilot-test conducted on a sample of 25 academic staff from two public universities in Enugu State. Data collated after the pilot test were measured using Cronbach Alpha statistics which gave internal consistency reliability of 0.79, 0.81 and 0.73 for the three clusters respectively; and were summed up to give an overall coefficient r-value of 0.78, indicating that the instrument was reliable. Data collated were analyzed using mean scores rated at 2.50 and standard deviation statistics. Findings of the study revealed among others that academic staff of the public universities in Anambra State were not proficient in utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) for their research management. It was also found out that some challenges hindered academic staff proficiency in utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) for their research management. From the findings, recommendations were proffered and among them included that the public universities in Anambra State through financial support from the government and National Universities Commission (NUC) should implement continuous comprehensive training programmes focused on AI applications through hands-on workshops, seminars and online resources to accommodate diverse learning preferences and schedules; specifically designed for improving academic staff proficiency in utilizing AI for their research management.