Utilisation of reference management software by postgraduate students in the faculty of humanities at the University of Limpopo, South Africa

Abstract

The study investigated the awareness towards the and utilisation of Reference Management Software (RMS) by postgraduate students in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Limpopo, South Africa. The aim of the study was to examine the awareness and usage of RMS among postgraduate students in the Faculty of Humanities. The study sought to fulfil the following objectives, namely: to describe the types of RMS available for use in university libraries; to determine awareness of RMS by postgraduate students in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Limpopo; to measure the extent to which postgraduate students in this faculty use RMS when writing academic papers; to identify the purposes for which the postgraduate students use RMS; and to identify postgraduate students’ perceptions regarding the use of RMS Quantitative research orientation though a survey research design were adopted in the study. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 320 respondents and a total number of 244 questionnaires were returned and a response rate of 76% was achieved. The findings of the study show that most of the respondents (59%) were aware of the RMS. Most of the postgraduate students became familiar with the software through attending library training. However, the study found that the usage of RMS was low as 45% postgraduate students indicated that they have used RMS before whilst, 55% indicated that they have never used the RMS before. RefWorks remains the most popular used software among postgraduate students. Most of the respondents’ reason for using RMS amongst others was because they have received training, and some mentioned the fact that it was the only RMS they were familiar with. The study also found that the respondents use RMS to cite sources for assignments, research and papers, as well as to create reference list and collect and organise citations. The study revealed that the respondents like RMS because it assists and improves referencing. The study recommends for an intensified library training by academic librarians so that students should know advanced features of the RMS.