ETHICAL ISSUES IN INFORMATION RESOURCES UTILISATION: THE COPYRIGHT SITUATION IN NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES
Abstract
This study investigates ethical issues involved in utilising information resources in Nigerian universities with a focus on application of Copyright law. Survey method was adopted in carrying out this research. Structured questionnaire was employed to obtain data from respondents across three federal universities in Nigeria. Data were analysed using counts, frequencies, percentages and inferential statistics. Findings revealed non-compliance to Copyrights law in Nigerian Universities. However, lack of awareness of the law especially the concepts of fair use and plagiarism, little or no knowledge of how to apply the law, lack of penalty for violators and non- enforcement are major reasons for infringement. The study recommends that to increase awareness and knowledge of application, teaching of copyright law should be embedded in university curriculum as a compulsory course at all levels. Also, plagiarism check software should be made available in universities at no cost and copyright committee should be constituted in each university across the nation to ensure enforcement of the law. Lastly, Librarians working in academic libraries should be conversant with the copyright law and its applications so as to guide library users in the use of what is fair and otherwise. This will make the job the of policy maker (Nigeria Copyrights Council) more effective.
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