The Influence of Knowledge Acquisition on Research Productivity of Bottom-Level Academics

Abstract

This study was undertaken to examine the influence of knowledge acquisition on research productivity of bottom-level academics. A total of 179 bottom-level academics from three universities located in Ogun State were surveyed using a questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis. The findings suggest that the surveyed academics predominantly acquire knowledge through journals, books, databases and online webpages, and they do so to a high extent. They published most of their publications in learned journals, while their publications in conference papers and chapters in books were low. However, they faced challenges such as time constraints, knowledge hoarding by colleagues, and difficulties in organising knowledge from various sources when acquiring knowledge. When embarking on research publishing activities, they encountered challenges like insufficient research facilities, time constraints and manuscript rejection. The Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) evaluation of the model indicated that knowledge acquisition significantly affects research productivity. These insights could help policymakers and university management understand the factors affecting the research productivity of bottom-level academics.