ADOPTION OF INSTITUTIONAL OPEN ACCESS REPOSITORY FOR SCHOLARLY COMMUNICATION IN WEST AFRICA | Proceedings of International Conference on Education, Science and Technology

Abstract:  Open access repositories are valuable digital resources that provide free and unrestricted online access to submitted manuscripts of academic publications. In recent times, the term has emerged as one of the most transformative trends in research, and some institutions in West Africa have incorporated it into their operations. The systematic review adopted the use of PRISMA 2020 Checklist to analyze published articles on institutional open access repositories in West Africa between 2018 and 2024. The findings revealed that even though research on open access repositories has gained traction in certain countries in West Africa, there is no sustained momentum in research output, available studies are not notably distributed across the West African countries, and the methodological approaches are limited. The study recommends that subsequent studies should prioritize longitudinal research in order to track open access policy implementation. Policymakers such as government officials and university management should ensure the requirement of relevant skill acquisition for institutional repository management, basically to ensure capacity development of the managers, and sufficient allocation of funds should be ensured in order to implement the adoption of institutional open access repositories in required places.