The Needs of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Tools for Research Development: A Case in Laos

Abstract

Recent advances in information and communication technology (ICT) have allowed humans to accomplish various tasks more effectively. This also applies to the quality of education, research, and development. For this reason, as one of the countries striving to improve the education system quality, Laos aims to leverage the ICT. As the empirical data on the ICT tools needed to achieve this goal in Laos is limited, this gap in extant knowledge has motivated the present study. Its aim is to examine the views of Laotian academics on the ICT tools and platforms needed, level of ICT usage, and required ICT training. The data for this quantitative study was obtained through a survey involving 11 participants who are directly involved in Building Research Building Social Research Capacities in Higher Education Institutions in Lao PDR and Malaysia (BRECIL) under the ERASMUS project. Subsequent analyses revealed that SPSS, Survey Monkey, Google Scholar, and Grammarly are among the tools academics need the most to support them in research. They also require plagiarism and grammar checking, dissemination and networking, and analysis and interpretation platforms. Most of the respondents also indicated the need for training on how to use ICT tools for analyzing research data. These findings can be used by the educational decision makers when formulating their strategies for introducing ICT tools and organizing training for Laotian academics on research and development.