Abstract

As the world becomes increasingly complex by the day, different forms of collaboration has become critical and researchers are coming together through collaborative efforts to make informed decisions and solve complex problems, especially in universities. Collaborative research among diverse groups of academics is now highly promoted by institutions and funding agencies, and very often provide a form of mentoring and support to younger researchers. By combining the strengths of multiple perspectives, collaborative research creates a stronger foundation for the development of new ideas and solutions. Collaborative research has become the key to developing solutions that can have a significant impact on the society or on a profession, including the Library and Information Science (LIS) profession. This opinion paper therefore, examined collaborative research for career progression of LIS professionals in university libraries in Nigeria. It discussed the concept of collaborative research; various types of collaborative research needed by LIS professionals for their career progression such as, collaboration within the institution, interdisciplinary collaboration etc.; elements of collaborative research, benefits of collaborative research, and challenges of successful collaborative research such as problem of sharing responsibilities and credits, conflicts, poor communication, name tagging, etc. The paper mapped out strategies for а successful collaborative research such as clear communication, collaborative agreement among others. The paper recommended that LIS professionals who participate in collaborative research must consider the ethical implications of research and to ensure that the rights and privacy of participants are respected, among others.