Utilisation of Mendeley reference management software by students of Masters in Management Studies at Uganda Management Institute

Abstract

This study examined the utilisation of Mendeley reference management software by students of Masters in Management Studies at Uganda Management Institute (UMI). The specific objectives of the study were to: find out the various features of Mendeley used by students of Masters in Management Studies at UMI; examine how students of Masters in Management Studies at UMI use Mendeley RMS; establish the factors that influence the use of Mendeley RMS by students of Masters in Management Studies at UMI.

The study deployed descriptive research design with a mixed method approach of quantitative and qualitative model (QUAN + QUAL). Purposive sampling also known as judgmental sampling which is a form of nonprobability sampling was applied. Structured, online questionnaire designed using an online data collection system in Kobo Toolbox with both multi-choice and open-ended questions as well as an interview schedule with pre-set open-ended questions were used to collect data from student respondents and librarians respectively. Students’ survey data was downloaded as CSV file and coded in Stata version 14 for analysis while data from librarians’ interviews involved content analysis. Major findings showed that majority of student respondents were aware of Mendeley RMS and therefore have used it. The percentage of non-use was low and these managed their references manually. Respondents mostly used two Mendeley features of inserting and saving of citations plus creating reference list. The least used features included networking with other researchers, publishing one's work, creating groups and annotating and tagging PDFs, Docs. Students mostly used Mendeley for writing project proposals, course assignments, preparing manuscripts for publication, and some used for publishing their work, course teaching and professional practice. Majority of students used Mendeley on daily basis followed by those who used it occasionally and they mostly used the desktop mode. The study revealed that students’ use of Mendeley was greatly influenced by the TAM constructs of perceived ease of use, training and staff support, and the extended constructs of awareness, ICT skills, recommendation from the lecturer or supervisor, recommendation by the Institution (UMI). Despite this, majority students faced challenges and therefore needed more training to fully use Mendeley RMS.

The study recommends developing training materials and conducting more training sessions into the advanced features of Mendeley, improving on Internet bandwidth, troubleshooting support from librarians, incorporating the use of Reference Management Software in UMI research policy.