School of Science and Technology Education (SSTE)
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School of Physical Sciences (SPS)
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Item Assessment of Plagiarism in Undergraduate Projects in the Department of Library and Information Technology, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State(Nigerian Libraries: Journal of the Nigerian Library Association (NLA), 2017) Abduldayan, F.J.; Obaje, A.M.; Oyedum, G.U.The study examined students' plagiarism in undergraduate final year projects for the 2014/2015 academic session in the Department of Library and Information Technology, Federal University of Technology, Minna. Turnitin anti-plagiarism software was used in checking the similarity index and percentage of plagiarized content in the students’ projects. The acceptable benchmark for similarity index was 20% in line with the University policy. All the cases of plagiarism are treated as a case of examination misconduct by the University. The study utilized the analysis of Turnitin anti-plagiarism software as the method for determining the rate of plagiarism. The total population of 42 students for the 2014/2015 was considered, of which 31 (73.8%) successfully trained in their work and graduated with percentages ranging from 14% to 20% similarity indices. The study determined different tricks and methods adopted by students in manipulating the results of Turnitin in order to get the acceptable percentages. Findings revealed some of the challenges faced by students while using Turnitin for plagiarism check. These included students’ lack of paraphrasing skills, time constraints, and lack of continuous monitoring of students’ progress by faculty instructors. The study concluded that Turnitin has helped improve students’ work integrity among students and staff and has also ensured integrity in intellectual outputs emanating from the university. This has led to the increased research visibility and academic ranking of the Federal University of Technology, Minna on the Web. The study recommended that the University should encourage all students to start turning in their work early and not at the end of the project, as this would give them time to paraphrase their work before submission deadlines. The need for comprehensive training on how to paraphrase contents was also recommended.Item Research data management practices of chemistry researchers in federal universities of technology in Nigeria(Digital Library Perspectives, 2021) Abduldayan, F.J.; Abifarin, F.P.; Oyedum, G.U.; Alhassan, J.A.This is an exploratory study on the research data management practice of chemistry researchers in federal universities of technology in Nigeria. Research data are increasingly becoming important and are required by journal publishers and international funders to be carefully gathered and properly kept for validation of results, sharing, and future reuse. These chemistry researchers were purposively selected across the five federal universities of technology in Nigeria, namely Federal University of Technology, Minna (FUTMIN), Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University of Technology, Bauchi (ATBU), and Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Yola (MAUTECH). A qualitative research technique using a semi-structured interview schedule was used to gather data from forty (40) chemistry researchers across the five federal universities of technology in Nigeria. These chemistry researchers were those with either a doctoral degree or currently undergoing doctoral training across all available options and ranks in chemistry. Interview questions were divided into four major sections covering chemistry researchers’ understanding of research data, experience with data loss, data storage methods and backup techniques, data protection, data preservation, and the availability of a data management plan. Findings, as derived from thematic analysis of transcribed responses, revealed that chemistry researchers' research data management practices need a lot of improvement to ensure long-term access, preservation, and reuse of their research data. The study recommended the need for libraries to embark on awareness and education of chemistry researchers on the benefits of good research data management practices.