Assessment of Awareness, Utilisation and Adoption of Referencing Softwares for Research Purpose Among Post-Graduates in Faculty of Education Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria

Sani Fatima Yakubu; Surajo Zainab Dabo; Ibrahim Bilkisu Zubairu

doi:10.59890/ijaamr.v4i3.205

Authors

Sani Fatima Yakubu Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria
Surajo Zainab Dabo Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria
Ibrahim Bilkisu Zubairu Federal University of Education, Zaria

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.59890/ijaamr.v4i3.205

Keywords:

Adoption, Awareness, Utilisation, Reference Software, Research

Abstract

This study examined the awareness, utilization and adoption of referencing software among postgraduates in the faculty of Education, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. The study was guided with 5 objectives, along with corresponding research questions and hypotheses. These includes: To assess the level of awareness, to identify the types of referencing software used, to ascertain the frequency usage to identify the challenges encounter and to examine the differences in the utilization among gender. Descriptive statistics such as frequency, mean and percentages were used for data analysis and a chi- square was to test the null hypotheses at a 0.05 significance level using SPSS software. Findings revealed the most postgraduates are aware of popular referencing software such as Mendeley and EndNote, which also recorded the highest levels of utilization (28.99% and 26.09% respectively). Zotero and RefWorks and citavi showed moderate usage, while Bitext and others had minimal usages. Major barriers identified included lack of adequate training, limited awareness of features, software complexity, and instructional preferences. The study concludes that although awareness levels are relatively high, actual utilization and challenges encounter remain moderate due to skill gaps and insufficient institutional support. It is recommended that the faculty of Education organize regular training workshops on citation management tools, integrate referencing software tutorial into research method courses and encourage supervisors to model consistent use of referencing software

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