4.1 Scope of the study
The study was a comparison of the research and publication patterns and output of academic librarians in Kenya and South Africa from 1990 to 2005
4.2 Pilot study
This study was a pilot study that precedes a comprehensive study that will be carried out to compare the research and publication patterns and output of academic librarians in Eastern and Southern Africa from 1990 to 2006.
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Targeted population
Melville and Goddard (2001:34) define a population as any group that is the subject of research interest. Hence, this research targeted all academic librarians that were holding a bachelors degree and above, and who, at the time of the research, were working in three university libraries in Kenya, and four public universities in South Africa.
4.4 Sampling
Bless and Higson-Smith (2000:84) state that sampling means leaving certainty in favor of probability. The advantages of sampling are as follows:
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Collecting data from a sample does not consume time
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It is less costly
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Sampling is the only logical way to collect data
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It is the only way to collect data when the population is large, or when it would otherwise be impossible to gather data.
Bless and Higson-Smith (2000:84) note that there several methods available for sampling and that each of these methods have limitations that stem from sampling. The two authors further observe that sampling can be divided into two categories, i.e. probability sampling and non- probability sampling. For the purpose of this study, non-probability sampling was used in order to achieve adequate representation. Under non-probability sampling, the purposive sampling technique was selected.
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