Evaluating and enhancing research support services in UPM library

This study investigates the alignment between postgraduate students’ research support needs and the stages of the research lifecycle at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). Using a quantitative approach, data were collected through an online survey of UPM postgraduate students, yielding 193 responses. The findings reveal that students require support across all stages of the research lifecycle, with the highest demand in the publication and sharing stage (M = 4.45), followed by data processing and analysis (M = 4.40) and preservation (M = 4.28). Although the planning stage showed the lowest mean score (M = 4.07), it still indicated substantial needs in literature review, research design, and ethics. Key areas of support include writing for publication, journal selection, statistical software use (SPSS and Python), open-access publishing, and research data management. These findings underscore the potential for academic libraries to strategically tailor their services to different research lifecycle stages, thereby enhancing postgraduate research capabilities and contributing to the overall quality of institutional research.