BRIDGING THE GAP OF SCHOLARLY COMMUNICATION USING INSTITUTIONAL REPOSITORIES

ABSTRACT

This project aims to address the constraints of limited space within the physical libraries of the University of Benin, significantly impeding the storage, management, and preservation of theses, dissertations, and other scholarly artefacts of Nigerian Universities. To achieve this objective, the project combines preliminary literature reviews to establish the constraints with the existing systems and trends, while adopting Object-Oriented Analysis and Design Methodology (OOADM) for structured development, and Unified Modelling Language (UML) for precise system modelling, for the design and implementation of a proposed institutional repository. This institutional repository serves as a digital repository for the collection, plagiarism testing, storage, and cataloguing of theses and dissertations from UNIBEN's undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students, as well as research articles from UNIBEN's faculty members. The core components of the institutional repository include thesis/dissertation upload, verification (plagiarism check), and storage. The implementation of this institutional repository is expected to significantly bridge the gap in scholarly communication and curb plagiarism within the University of Benin.