International Research Journal of Computer Science and Information Systems (IRJCSIS) Vol. 2(1) pp. 8-17, January, 2013
Available online http://www.interesjournals.org/IRJCSIS
Copyright © 2013 International Research Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Awareness and use of electronic information resources
by the faculty members of Indian institutes in Dubai
international academic city (diac): A survey
Moin Ahmad and Prof. K. C. Panda
Librarian, Institute of management Technology, Dubai, United Arab Emirate
Former Professor and Head, P.G. Department of Library and Information Science, Sambalpur University, Jyoti Vihar,
Orrisa, India
Accepted January 25, 2013
This paper aims to present the results of a study which was carried out to find out whether the faculty
members of Institutes/Universities are aware of and fully utilize the library databases and other electronic
information resources within and outside the libraries. The structured questionnaire method was used to
elicit data from the 30 faculty members of the three institutes, representing ten from each.The results
revealed that majority of the faculty members are aware and use the electronic information resources.
The study confirmed to some extent the lack of knowledge and use of libraries specific resources such
as e-theses, patents and CD-ROM database. It is also find that 100% faculty members agreed that eresources are very useful and important to their work. The findings will be useful for librarians and
faculty in highlighting the need to collaborate in integrating information literacy skills
Keywords: Library services; Information Resources; Electronic Information Resources; User studies; User
Awareness, DIAC
INTRODUCTION
In this electronic and Internet era, users have a number
of options to fulfil their information needs. They need not
come physically to the library to use print formats but can
stay at home or the office and access online a variety of
library resources and services via networks or
authentication methods at any time.
Information should be accessible, authoritative,
reliable, accurate, and timely. Due to the needs of faculty
for high-quality information, libraries have been early
adopters of electronic resources to provide information
services tailored to their needs.
Electronic resources have exploded in popularity and
use. They can and do enable innovation in teaching, and
they increase timeliness in research as well as increase
discovery and creation of new fields of inquiry
(Henderson and Machewan, 1997). Other reasons for
faculty to use e-resources include relating to increasingly
*Corresponding Author Email: moinahmadmalik@gmail.com
computer-literate students and keeping up to date in their
fields.
Users often prefer increased access to databases of
online-refereed journals and to the Web—which provides
information that is up to the minute, international in scope
and sometimes not available elsewhere because they
see these resources as easier to access and search
(Dalgleish and Hall, 2000). Availability of e-resources has
changed what users actually read and use. They now
tend to use only what is easily accessible. Therefore, they
visit the library a lot less, and, as such, discovery through
serendipity is reduced.
Access to e-resources has decreased the time spent
searching for information. Access is only as good as the
resources that can be afforded (e.g., the number of
computers and existence of network systems), the ability
to work with the tools, and the network infrastructure that
supports rapid and convenient connections (Forsman,
1998). The ability to use e-resources efficiently depends
on basic computer skills, knowledge of what is available
and how to use it, and ability to define a research
problem.
Ahmad and Panda 9
Faculty, due to the nature of their work—teaching,
research, should have ready access to information as
they need to remain themselves up-to-date before they
impart teaching and guidance to their taught. By their
teaching styles and course requirements, they affect the
use of the library’s collection and students’ perception of
the library. Computer-literate faculty may feel more
comfortable using electronic information sources and thus
gain more from using them compared to those who lack
Information Communication Technology (ICT) skills
(Majid and Abazova, 1998). How faculty attains the
above skills and knowledge depends on several
factors, such as their disciplines, academic status
and ranks, age, access (hardware and location) to
electronic resources, and training. Factors motivating use
can be, for example, what level of importance they
allocate to e-journals, how useful they have found them,
and the purpose (s) for which they use such resources.
The library plays a leading role in faculty-library
relationships and in instructional services such as
orientation and training in use of library resources. If
efficient and effective use is to be made of library’s eresources, then user training will have to increase both in
intensity and coverage. It is important to remember that
the ability of library staff to keep up to date is
necessary, and, therefore, training for them is crucial as
well.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
There are six Indian institutes/universities in Dubai
International Academic City (DIAC), of which three were
selected for this study. Indian Institutes in DIAC have
made significant investments in e-resources and
accompanying computer-based technology to ensure
access to e-resources. However, it is often generalized
that the resources under-utilized by the Faculty of these
institutes. This study therefore, investigates the
awareness and use of electronic resources subscribed by
the libraries under study. The objectives of the study were
to determine faculty’s awareness of e-resources; faculty’s
access to computers and use of e-resources in terms of
both number and frequency; and the areas of
training needed by faculty to utilize the existing eresources efficiently, and to recommend how the
library could fulfil the identified training needs and
what strategies the library could use to improve service
as well as to determine the areas for further
research. There is a dearth of information about eresources in the faculty. It is hoped that this study would
add to the body of the existing literature on use of eresources by to the faculty, besides encouraging further
studies of this nature covering different user groups. This
survey would also serve to benchmark use of eresources in DIAC.
DIAC: A Background
Dubai International Academic City (DIAC) is the world’s
only Free Zone dedicated to Higher Education.
Established in 2007 as part of TECOM Investments,
DIAC aims to develop the region’s talent pool and
establish the UAE as a knowledge-based economy. DIAC
is the premier destination for Higher Education in the
region, located on a fully-appointed 18 million sq. ft.
campus with modern state-of-the-art facilities, currently
has 27 Academic institutions from 11 countries including
world-renowned universities.
The DIAC campus is hosting to nearly 20,000 students
from
over 137 nationalities, show-casing the
cosmopolitan and multicultural nature of the region. DIAC
students have access to over 300 Higher Education
programmes, including Undergraduate and Post
Graduate programmes, from fields such as Engineering,
IT, Media, Business, Fashion Design, Healthcare, Mass
Communications, and many more. (Dubai International
Academic City, 2012)
Indian Institutes in DIAC Included in Sample Survey
Institute of Management Technology (IMT), Dubai
Founded in 2006, The Institute of Management
Technology (IMT), Dubai is a premium business school
accredited by the Ministry of Higher Education and
Scientific Research, UAE. IMT Dubai is a member of
premier international accrediting organizations such as
International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education
(IACBE), European Foundation for Management
Development (EFMD) and European Association for
International
Education
(EAIE).Through
these
international linkages, IMT strives to achieve global level
of excellence.
S P Jain Centre of Management
The Dubai campus sets an atmosphere that motivates a
student to learn and explore, and derive benefits from
interactions with the multinational student community of
the Dubai International Academic City (DIAC).
BITS, Pilani – Dubai
BITS, Pilani - Dubai (BPD) is the branch campus of the
internationally reputed BITS, Pilani - India. It was set-up
in September 2000 in Dubai in association with the ETA
Ascon Star Group, in response to the growing needs for
quality Engineering education among the residents of the
Middle East. BITS, Pilani commenced the Dubai
Campus with the formal approval of Ministry of HRD and
10 Int. Res. J. Comput. Sci. Inform. Syst.
Table-1. Distribution of Data by Demographic Information
Designation
Age
Rank
Assistant
Prof.
Associate
Prof.
No.
%
7
23.33
13
43.33
Professor
7
S. Lecturer
3
Total
30
Gender
No.
%
Gender
No.
%
6
20.00
Male
21
70.00
19
63.33
Female
9
30.00
23.33
Age
20-30
years
36-50
years
more then
50
5
16.67
Total
30
10.00
Total
30
University Grants Commission (UGC), Govt. of India.
(Indian Universities Dubai, 2012)
Literature Reviewed
The literature shows that many science and technology
libraries in India are providing EIS to their clientele.
Angello, (2010) in his study he fined lack of information
literacy skills among most of the researchers and this
was found to be limiting their access and use of eresources. Tyagi, (2012) in his survey showed that
majority of respondents marked that library possessed
useful online journals and databases for the scientific
community. The data scanned and preserved in
document management software play an important role to
access relevant information. Awareness among the users
about the availability of online journals was found highly
satisfactory. Online journals were mostly used for
research
needs
and
similarly
pharmacy
and
pharmacology discipline-based journals are used widely.
The EIS is better for accessing current and
comprehensive information.
Ali and Satyanarayana, (2002) in their study point out
that Boolean operators followed by Truncation and Wild
cards are the most popular search service techniques
used among science and technology users in Delhi. They
suggested that user training is essential for the better use
of online resources, and so libraries should take
necessary steps in this regard. A study conducted at
NDRC, India reveals that end-users prefer to search
information by subject and key words. Natural language
search is preferred more than controlled vocabulary. The
author suggests that end-users should be taught about
the varied search strategies and the use of controlled
vocabulary to make the online process easier (Devi,
1996). Another survey conducted by Jansen, (2000)
reveals that people did feel hesitant in using advanced
search techniques and indeed that failure rates are high
when they are used. Ming, (2000) argues that keyword
searching on the internet needs to be supplemented by
Year of Graduation
Graduated
in
No.
%
1990 and
after
19
63.33
Experience
Experience
No.
%
0-5 years
3
10.00
1980-89
6
20.00
6-10 years
3
10.00
Before 1980
5
16.67
15
50.00
Total
30
11-15 years
16 and
above
9
30.00
Total
30
other search options, including word stemming, wild card,
proximity search, Boolean logic and term expression. A
smaller number of users from Patras University, Greece
accessed electronic journals on a daily or weekly basis
and they adopted a relatively unsophisticated, simplistic
approach to searching and limited use of Boolean
operators or other commands (Monopoli et al., 2002).
METHODOLOGY
For the present study, a structured questionnaire was
distributed among the faculty members of selected three
institutes (Appendix1). The questionnaire was comprised
of twenty-four questions in three sections: (1)
demographic information; (2) computer literacy, location,
and access; (3) knowledge and use of electronic
resources. The six questions on demographics sought to
create profile of the participants and to identify factors
that may affect use of e-resources. The second section
contained six questions on computer use: level of
computer literacy, location, access to the Internet,
frequency of use, and time spent on the computer. The
twelve questions in the third section examined the
participants’ knowledge and use of electronic resources
and perception of their competence in using the
resources. The target population surveyed were primarily
academic staff both full-time and part-time teaching staff.
A total 13 of questionnaires were distributed in each
institute and only 10 filled in questionnaires were selected
for data analysis.
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
Profile of Respondents
A total of 30 completely filled in questionnaires were
received i.e. 10 questionnaires from three institutes. Table
1 illustrates the demographic information of the
respondents. The resultant data show that, thirteen (43%)
out of 30 respondents were Associate Professor, followed
Ahmad and Panda 11
Table-2. Location of Internet Access
Location of Access
No. of persons who use
computers at this
location
28
30
3
Home
Office
Elsewhere
No. of
computer with
Internet access
28
30
3
% Internet
access at
location
100
100
100
Table 3. Knowledge of E-resources.
Sl. No.
E-resources
i.
iii.
v.
vii.
ix.
xi.
E-books
E-journals
E-newspapers
E-databases
E-reprints
E-theses
Have
Knowledge
23 (76.66%)
28 (93.33%)
25 (83.33%)
22 (73.33%)
16 (53.33%)
18 (60%)
by 7 (23.33%) each were Assistant Professors
and professors respectively. Only three (10%)
respondents were comes in the category of
Senior Lecturers. Majority (63.33%) of faculty
members are comes in the category of 36-50 years of
age. In case of gender the ratio of male and female is
7:3. The table further depicts that, nineteen (63.33%)
faculty members have completed their graduation after
1990 and fifty percent of the respondents are having
above 16 years of experience.
Computer Literacy,
computers
location,
and
access
to
As 100% of respondents used computers, use could be
considered universal. This universal use meant that it
was not possible to measure the effect of the factors such
as discipline; academic status and rank; age; gender;
length of service at the institutes; length of time since
graduation; place of study/access, hardware, and location
of e-resources; faculty’s perception of their ability to use
e-resources; and previous training, etc., on use of either
computers or e-resources. No consistency in comments
oridentical response was given for non-use. The majority
(64%) of faculty members felt that they were above
average or beyond in their own levels of computer
literacy.
As table 2 shows that, the majority 28 (93.33%) of
respondents have access to computer at home and all of
them (100%) had an Internet connection, rather than at
their office. On the other hand, 30 out of 30 (100%)
respondents also have access to computer with Internet
have Knowledge
but not using
7 (23.33%)
2 (6.66%)
5(16.66%)
6 (20%)
10 (33.33%)
9 (30%)
No
knowledge
---2 (6.66%)
4 (13.33%)
3 (10%)
connection at their respective offices. Very few
respondents (10%) explore other location elsewhere for
Internet access. In case of frequency of computer use all
(100%) the respondents responded that they use
computer daily followed by 60% respondents use
computer above 4 hours a day which is quite
encouraging.
Awareness and use of electronic resources
It was realized that faculty were quite knowledgeable
about the e-resources available in their respective
institute’s libraries. Despite this knowledge of
computer and e-resources usage, 43% of respondents
have delegated computer-based research to someone
else. With regard to reasons for using electronic
resources, optimal usage of e-resources was for
professional research activities (88%); followed by 75%
use to support teaching; 74% for personal research; 70%
for Communication; 68% use the same for guiding
students; 34% use for their recreation and the reason
given the least often were administration (22%)
respectively.
Table 3 shows that, respondents between 53-93% are
having knowledge on six classes of e-resources. While eresources caught the attention of optimal percentage of
93.33% respondents’ similarly e-prints drew the
least priority in the knowledge domain. E-Newspapers
are the second highest 83.33% used e-resource followed
by e-books (76.66%). However, the percentage of
respondents’ who have the knowledge about e-resources
but are not using seems to be highly insignificant
12 Int. Res. J. Comput. Sci. Inform. Syst.
Table-4. Electronic resources/services used in last 3 years
Sl. No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
Resource
Library catalogue (OPAC)
CD-ROM databases
Internet/Web
Email
Email discussion lists or groups
Search engines
Use
21 (70%)
12 (40%)
30 (100%)
27 (90%)
15 (50%)
28 (93.33%)
Don’t use
5 (16.66%)
8 (26.66%)
-3 (10%)
5 (16.66%)
2 (6.66%)
Don’t know about it
4 (13.33%)
10 (33.33%)
--10 (33.33%)
--
Table-5. Frequency of usage of e-resources
Sl. No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Resources
Daily
CD-ROM databases
Library catalogue
Internet/Web
Email
Search engines
Online databases
Online journals
Library Website
5 (16.66%)
8 (26.66%)
29 (96.66%)
25 (83.33%)
20 (66.66%)
14 (46.66%)
10 (33.33%)
8 (26.66%)
At least 2–3
times a week
6 (20%)
5 (16.66%)
1 (3.33%)
5 (16.66%)
6 (20%)
8 (26.66%)
13 (43.33%)
10 (33.33%)
2–4 times a
month
10 (33.33%)
10 (33.33%)
--4 (13.33%)
6 (20%)
5 (16.66%)
8 (26.66%)
Rarely
Never
6 (20%)
5 (16.66%)
---2 (6.66%)
2 (6.66%)
4 (13.33%)
3 (10%)
2 (6.66%)
-------
Expert
6 (20%)
12 (40%)
23 (76.66%)
25 (83.33%)
22 (73.33%)
18 (60%)
21 (70%)
Beginner
20 (66.66%)
17 (56.66%)
7 (23.33%)
5 (16.66%)
8 (26.66%)
12 (40%)
9 (30%)
Unable to use
4 (13.33%)
1 (3.33%)
------
Table-6. Competence in use of e-resources
Sl. No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Resources
CD-ROM databases
Library catalogue (OPAC)
Internet/Web resources
Email
Search engines
Online databases
Online journals
Table 4 shows that those resources that were
available on the internet were used more by respondents
the percentage of usage of such resources includes:
Internet/Web (100%), email (90%), search engines
(93.33%) respectively. The study further reveals that,
50% of respondents used email discussion lists or
groups, followed by 70% OPAC and 40% used CD-ROM
databases respectively.
The low usage and awareness of the email discussion
lists or groups and CD-ROM databases might reflect
lower need for these resources. Despite the fact that over
80%
of
respondents
used
e-resources
for
communication, email was apparently the tool of choice,
because email discussion lists and groups did not enjoy a
high level of usage. One reason for low usage of email
discussion lists could be that no well-known email
discussion lists exist and the generally available ones did
not treat content relevant to the respondents, hence not
so significant.
It may be observed from table 5 that the Web and the
email are found to be the highest used e-services as
indicated by 96.6% and 83.33% respectively, followed by
Search engines (66.66%) for finding information on the
Internet and the libraries specific resources (i.e. OPAC,
online databases/journals and library website, etc.) were
the least frequently used. The libraries specific resources
also had high levels of never having been used.
In regard to the objectives of usage of pace resources,
the resultant data show that, e-resources were primarily
used to support faculty’s research (83%), teaching (75%),
and, to a lesser extent, students to present information
(65%). In teaching, use of such resources was high in
terms of recommending e-resources (85%) to the
students. To a lesser extent, respondents expected
students to use e-resources in presentations (65%) and
communication with students via email (66%).
Regarding usefulness of e-resources, 100% of the
respondents agreed and felt that e-resources are
important to their work. In regard to the source of
knowledge about such resources the study indicates that,
Ahmad and Panda 13
the majority (85%) of faculty were self-taught, while
formal training was the next most-used method (60%)
followed by learning from family or friends with 45%.
In terms of competence, table 6 reveals that, use of
email (83.33%) and web (76.66) were found highest,
followed by search engines (73.33%) and online journals
(70%). CD-ROM databases competence is lowest as use
of CD-ROM databases. In case of OPAC, S. P. Jain
Institute and BITS Pilani are the institutes who don’t have
web OPAC at their credit.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The overall result of the study indicates that the use of eresources in the institutes studied was reasonably high.
It is concluded that 100% of respondents used eresources. However, there is lack of awareness among
the respondents in regard to the effective usage of eresources, more particularly the CR-ROM databases and
OPAC services. The study confirmed to some extent the
lack of knowledge and use of libraries specific resources
and supported the suggested problem that its eresources are underused. To counteract this situation,
greater promotion of resources should be done on priority
basis. Thus, informing faculty of what is possible, what is
available, and how e-resources are used become
imminent. This study itself could be considered a move in
this direction that, the faculty need to be informed and
should be kept upto date about the varied e- resources
available in the respective parent library system. The
second recommendation focuses on user orientation and
training on effective use of e-resources and their
implications. Noting the limitations of the methods by or
sources from which faculty has learned about eresources, mainly self-taught and from family or friends,
means that comprehensive training is needed as faculty
participating in this study, including those who considered
themselves as expert or above average in terms of use,
stated their clear desire for such training. The third
recommendation refers to faculty’s readiness to access
and use e-resources as a significant number of students
use
e-resources
in
their
presentations
being
recommended by the faculty to them. In above findings
implied that, the library should continue to acquire and
provide network access to e-resources. The fourth
recommendation relates to faculty’s use of e-resources
for communication, especially email and its use in
communication with students. Email may be an
appropriate medium with which to communicate with
faculty. The fifth recommendation refers to the response
indicating that many of the faculties are innovative and
willing to be part of the information revolution.
There is a scope for further investigation on
information-seeking behaviour of faculty, especially
comparative studies of the disciplines. Using direct
observation to characterize the information sources used
by faculty may be possible. Other research questions to
guide the content of further training are: To what extent
does faculty depend on the library for research? What is
the level of satisfaction with the present level of
resources and services? What are the actual competence
levels in use of e-resources? What is the effect of eresources on collaboration and scholarly communication?
How does faculty keep up to date with the available
resources?
REFERENCES
Henderson T, Machewan B (1997). “Electronic collections and wired
faculty”, Library Trends, Vol. 45 (3):488–98.
Dalgleish A, Hall R (2000), “Uses and perceptions of the World Wide
Web in an information-seeking environment”, J. Library Inform. Sci.,
32 (3):104–16.
Forsman RB (1998). “Managing the electronic resources transforming
research libraries: challenges in the dynamic digital environment”,
Advances in Librarianship, 22(1):1–19.
Majid S, Abazova AF (1998). “Computer literacy and use of electronic
information sources by academics: a case study of International
Islamic University, Malaysia”, Asian Libraries, 8(4):100–11.
Dubai International Academic City (2012). Indian available at:
http://www.diacedu.ae/ (accessed June
Indian
Universities
Dubai,
UAE
(2012).
Available
at:
http://www.diacedu.ae/academic-partners/indian-universities/
(accessed June (2012).
Angello C (2010). “The awareness and use of electronic information
sources among livestock researchers in Tanzania”, J. Inform.
Literacy, 4 (2):6-22.
Tyagi S (2012). “Use of Electronic Information Resources at the Indian
pharmacopoeia Commission”, DESIDOC Journal of library and
Information Technology, 32 (2):171-78.
Ali NPM, Satyanarayana NR (2002) “Online searching of scientific
information: a study of science and technology libraries in Delhi”,
paper presented at National Conference on Information
Management in E-Libraries, Allied Publishers Ltd, New Delhi,
Kharaghpur, 587-92.
Devi VC (1996), “Attitude of the end-users towards online information
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Jansen BJ (2000). “The effect of query complexity on web searching
results.” Inform. Res, 6(1):12-23.
Ming DC (2000). “Access to digital information: some breakthrough and
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14 Int. Res. J. Comput. Sci. Inform. Syst.
Appendixs
Authors Biographies
Moin Ahmad, M. Phil, currently is working as a Librarian in Institute of Management Technology, Dubai, UAE since 2011
and pursuing his PhD in the Postgraduate Department of Library and Information Science, Sambalpur University, Orissa,
India. He contributed 8 articles in different LIS fields published in national and International journals. His main field of
interest is Open Access, Bibliometrics, Library Consortia and Information Management.
Prof. K.C. Panda, Former Professor and Head of Department in the Postgraduate Department of Library and
Information Science, Sambalpur University, Orissa, India. He has a PhD and is the author of five books and numerous
articles. He has supervised twenty successful PhD researchers. Dr. Panda is a former US Fulbright fellow. Information
Technology and Research Methodology are the subjects of interest to him.
Questionnaire
Please tick (√) the appropriate answer.
Section-1: Demographic Information
1. Name of Institute and department in which you work?
………………………………………………………..
2. Please indicate your rank/grade in job you currently hold.
a.
Assistant Professor
b.
Associate Professor
c.
Professor
3. Age (Please tick the range in which your age fall)
a.
20–35 years
b.
36–50 years
c.
More then 50 years
4. Gender:
a.
Male
b. Female
5. Year in which you graduated?
a.
1990 and after
b.
1980–1989
c.
Before 1980
6. What is the total length of your teaching e experience?
a. 0-5 year’s
b. 6-10 years c. 11-15 years d. 16 years and above
Section-2: Computer literacy, Location, and Access
……………………….
7. What is your level of computer literacy?
a.
Expert
b.
Above average
c.
Average
d.
Below average
e.
Beginner
f.
No literacy and ignorant.
8. Do you use a computer?
a.
Yes
b. No
(If you do not use a computer, go to question 12.)
9. If yes, please tick location where you use the computer and indicate if that computer has Internet access.
(Check all that apply.)
Ahmad and Panda 15
Location of use
Internet Access
a.
Home
…………..
b.
Office
……………
c.
Elsewhere (e.g., Internet cafe´, friend) ……………
10. How frequently do you use a computer, on average?
a.
At least daily
b.
2–3 times a week
c.
Once a week or less
d.
2–3 times a month
e.
Once a month or less
f.
No specific frequency (as and when desired)
……………….
…………….
…………….
11. How much time do you spend on an average per session?
a.
0-1 hrs
b.
1-2 hrs
c.
2-3 hrs
d.
3-4 hrs
e.
4 hrs and above
12. If you do not use a computer, please indicate which of the following reasons that prevents you from such use?
(Check all that apply.)
a.
No computer access
b.
No Internet access
c.
No email address
d.
No formal training or lack of knowledge
e.
No interest
f.
No need
g.
No time
h.
High cost
i.
Other
Section-3: Knowledge and use of electronic resources.
13. Do you delegate your research using electronic resources to someone else or taking help from someone (e.g.,
secretary, research assistant, family member)?
a.
Yes
b. No
14. Are you aware that the following electronic resources are available in your Library?
Yes
No
a.
Library catalogue (OPAC)
………..
………..
b.
CD-ROMs
………..
………..
c.
Internet
………..
………..
d.
Online databases
………..
………...
e.
Online journals
………..
…………
f.
Library Website
…………
…………
g.
Open (Free) Access Resources
…………
…………
15. Why do you use electronic resources? (Check all that apply.)
a.
Communication
b.
Recreation
c.
Professional research activities
d.
Support teaching activities
e.
Personal research
f.
Administration
g.
For guiding students
h.
For presenting paper in conferences and seminars
i.
Other reason
16 Int. Res. J. Comput. Sci. Inform. Syst.
16.
Do you have knowledge on the following e-resources?
Having Knowledge
Using Knowledge No Knowledge
but not using
a.
E-Books
……….
…….......
b.
E-Journals
……….
…….......
c.
E-Newspapers
……….
…….......
d.
E-databases
……….
…….......
e.
E-reprints
……….
…….......
f.
E-theses
……….
…….......
g.
E-patents and standards
……….
…….......
………….
………….
………….
………….
………….
………….
………….
17. Which electronic resources or services have you used in the last 3 years? (Some specific resources have been
indicated.)
Resource
Use
Don’t use
Don’t know about it
a.
Library catalogue (OPAC)
……
……….. ………….
b.
CD-ROM databases
……
………. ……….
c.
Internet/Web
……
………. ……….
d.
Email
……
………. ……….
e.
Email discussion lists or groups ……
………. ……….
f.
Search engines
……
………. ……….
g.
Online databases
……
………. ………….
h.
Online journals
……
………. …….
i.
Library Websites
……
………. …….
j.
Other electronic resources or services ………………………………………
18. How often have you used the following electronic resources?
Daily
At least 2–3 times a week
2–4 times a month
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
CD-ROM databases
Library catalogue
Internet/Web
Email
Search engines ……
Online databases
Online journals ..…
Library Website ……
……
……
……
……
……
……
……
……
……
……
……
……
Rarely
……
……
……
……
……
……
..…
……
……
……
..…
19. In the last year, have you
Yes
No
a.
Used electronic formats (computers, Internet, CD-ROMs) in teaching
b.
Used electronic resources for your research
c.
Expected students to present information in electronic formats
d.
Used email or groups to communicate with students
e.
Recommended online resources to students
20. Have you found the information located in electronic resources useful?
a.
Yes
b.
No
c. Don’t know
21. How do you rate the importance of the electronic resources to your work?
a.
High importance
b.
Somewhat important
c.
Little importance
d.
No importance
e.
Don’t know
22. How did you learn to use electronic resources? (Check all that apply.)
Never
..…
..…
..…
..…
…….
..…
..…
…….
….
….
…….
…….
…….
…….
…….
…….
…..
….
….
….
….
….
….
….
Ahmad and Panda 17
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
Self-study (reading books/articles, tutorials, etc.)
Family, friend, or colleague
Formal training/course (paid, official training)
Library training received in house
Do not use
Other:
23. If you use electronic resources, how do you rate your competence in use of the following?
Expert
Beginner
Unable to use
a.
CD-ROM databases
…….
………..
………….
b.
Library catalog (OPAC) …….
………..
………….
c.
Internet/Web resources …….
………..
………….
d.
Email
…….
………..
………….
e.
Search engines
…….
………..
………….
f.
Online databases
…….
………..
………….
g.
Online journals
…….
………..
………….
24. Do you have additional comments or recommendations?
Thank you very much for your kind assistance!
Name and Signature of the Respondent.