An Investigation into the Motivating Factors Behind the Use or Non Use of Institutional Repositories by Selected University Academics

Abstract

This study examines motivating factors for academics or researchers who have deposited their research outputs in an Institutional repository (IR), and those who have not. The main research question is: what motivating factors lie behind an academic's decision to use or not use an IR to deposit their research output? The research methodology used in this study was in-depth interviews with two groups of academic authors: those who had deposited in IRs and those who had not. Using purposive sampling to select an evenly balanced group, a total of eight academic authors four male and four female) from three New Zealand universities were interviewed. Five had deposited in their IR and would do so again in the future. Two had not and were unlikely to, and one had and was unlikely to again. Of those who deposited, the main motivating factor was the desire to contribute to the public good by making their research as widely available as possible. Of those who did not, the main motivating factor was the restrictive nature of their publisher copyright agreements, as well as doubts concerning the quality of the IR content, and the relevancy of the IR itself. Copyright restrictions emerged as a significant barrier, as well as uncertainty as to who owned the intellectual property of the research. Further research is recommended regarding publisher copyright agreements with regard to IR deposits, as well as further exploring the issue of intellectual property with regard to New Zealand research outputs.