DOI: 10.36347/sjahss.2018.v06i11.012

Pages: 2125-2133

Researchers in Nigeria have traditionally depended on conventional libraries, and information centers, where they can physically access their needed information. Their main source of information before now has been traditional sources such as books, journals, and newspapers, until recently when this process was altered by the invention of the internet. The Internet has simplified the research process. This paper therefore examines the role of the internet in mass communication research; how the Internet has become a tool for academic research, and also a publisher that Nigerian academics and researchers should maximally use. The study therefore, focuses on the role played by the Internet in academic research and highlights opportunities and challenges it presents. It explores the status of Internet connectivity in Nigeria and examines the role of the Internet as a medium for academic communication, collaboration, interaction, and publishing. It discusses the contribution of the Internet to the development of education and research in Nigeria. It analyses the status of mass communication research in Nigeria, and identifies some technical and general systemic problems. The study was anchored on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and technology determinism theory. Using qualitative research design; it employed descriptive statistical tools to ascertain the role of the internet in mass communication research...........