Research data management in selected East African libraries: A survey

Abstract

This article investigates the knowledge of research data management and services among library professionals in selected East African libraries. A survey research design was employed, and data was collected using a structured questionnaire from 180 respondents representing four East African countries: Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The findings reveal that only 31.1% of the selected East African librarians agreed that their institutional libraries provided research data management services. The standard research data management services offered by their libraries included data publishing, sharing and reuse, while collaboration with academic programmes was identified as an essential approach for research data management skill development. The study highlights the need for librarians to acquire legal, policy and advisory skills and knowledge of institutional and extra-institutional resources and the research life cycle for effective research data management service delivery.