An evaluation of usage and acceptance of electronic journals of the World Health Organization staff in the Western Pacific Region
The study focused on understanding e-journals in the context of user needs. It sought to understand the role and fit of e-journals in the scientific scholarly activities and work of WHO staff in the Western Pacific Region (WPR). The objectives of this study are: (1) To determine the reasons why WH...
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| Resource Type: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Quezon City : School of Library and Information Studies, University of the Philippines
2007.
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| Summary: | The study focused on understanding e-journals in the context of user needs. It sought to understand the role and fit of e-journals in the scientific scholarly activities and work of WHO staff in the Western Pacific Region (WPR). The objectives of this study are: (1) To determine the reasons why WHO staff in the Western Pacific Region use or do not use e-journals; (2) To determine the frequency of e-journal usage of WHO staff in the Western Pacific Region; (3) To determine how WHO staff in the Western Pacific Region stay current in their fields; (4) To know how WHO staff in the Western Pacific Region access e-journals, i.e., either through personal and/or institutional subscriptions to journals; (5) To determine their attitudes towards some of the features offered by e-journals; (6) To determine their format preferences in searching, retrieving and reading full-text journal articles; (7) To know how e-journals affect their research activities; and (8) To determine what features, they would like to see added to e-journals. An electronic survey questionnaire was used as the main instrument for gathering data in this study. The electronic survey questionnaire was pre-tested and was consequently distributed to the P-staff of WHO in WPR through electronic mail in a span of three months - from October 03, 2005 until December 31, 2005. Findings of the study revealed that the major advantages which serve as motivating force for them for using e-journals include accessibility (easy and faster access), availability, currency, and searchability/retrieval possibilities, while the major disadvantages that discouraged them from using e-journals include accessibility (password restrictions, etc.), dependency on networks, and difficulty of reading on the screen. E-journal usage is an important part of the work of WHO staff in WPR and they have been using e-journals on a regular basis in order to stay current in their respective fields. They access these journals through personal subscriptions, society memberships and WPRO Library's institutional journal subscriptions. WHO staff in WPR used e-journal features such as email alert services, hyperlinking system, electronic manuscript submissions, etc. which were viewed as very useful. Majority of the respondents said they preferred online methods over the print copy in retrieving full-text journal articles. They have also felt that e-journals did affect their research activities or productivity. The results of this study indicate a growing interest in e-journals among this group of users. There was a very high usage and strong acceptance and enthusiasm for future e-journals, although certain reservations remained. Recommendations were suggested in order to improve e-journals access to WHO staff in WPR and to e-journals as a whole. |
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| Item Description: | Vita. |
| Physical Description: | xiv, [90] leaves |