A study on the usage of electronic journals, databases and Alert services by faculty members of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences

Subject Areas : Journal of Knowledge Studies

nadjla hariri ¹ , Farzaneh Fazli ²

1 - Associate professor of IAU- Research and Sciences branch
2 - Master degree of LIS. Expert of the University of Health Services and Medical Sciences of Kermanshah.

Received: 2011-10-11 Accepted : 2012-03-07 Published : 2012-05-21

Keywords: Electronic journals-Databases-Alert services-Faculty members-Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences,

Abstract :

Objective: The main purpose of this research is to investigate the process of using databases and electronic journal services including Alert services by faculty members among libraries which delivered these services in Shahid Beheshti medical university (SBMU). Methodology: The research method was survey, and the data were gathered using a self- administered questionnaire. Study participants were 92 faculty members who were selected by a purposive sampling method among SBMU faculty members which declared they used Alert services. Findings: Our findings indicated that 52.2% of study participants started their searches for journal articles via PubMed. Using search engines and accessible databases in the university were second and third priority, respectively. 46/7% of faculty members review 2 to 3 pages of search results. The lack of article's full- text links in the search results were reported as a main problem and 92.2 percent of users preferred PDF format to study the articles. The most important reason for the use of Alert services was to become aware of updated articles published in their field, and their 1st step in following up articles was reading the abstracts. Faculty members had access to full- text articles through SBMU's subscription. Conclusion: Considering that the majority of faculty members searched for journal articles using PubMed and in the first place, and use subscribed SBMU's databases as their third priority, it is highly recommended to better introduce these database to faculty members which may lead to better utility of costs. In addition, introducing the advantages of the Alert services to faculty members by the libraries can be useful in becoming aware of updated and needed articles published in their field.  

References:

بشیری، جواد (1386). بررسی نیازهای اطلاعاتی اعضای هیات علمی سازمان تحقیقات و آموزش کشاورزی. پژوهش و سازندگی در زراعت و باغبانی،(75)،58-50

بهادرانی، مهناز؛ یمانی ، نیکو (1381). بررسی دانش، نگرش و عملکرد اعضای هیات علمی دانشگاه علوم پزشکی اصفهان پیرامون کاربرد رایانه و شبکه اینترنت. مجله ایرانی آموزش در علوم پزشکی،(5).

تمجید، سمیه؛ رضایی شریف آبادی، سعید (1389). بررسی استفاده بهینه از فناوری اطلاعات توسط رزیدنت‌ها در دانشگاه علوم پزشکی ایران. مدیریت سلامت، 13(40).

جعفربیگلو، موسی (1380). اطلاع رسانی گزینشی رویکرد هزاره سوم. فصلنامه اطلاع رسانی، 17(3و4).

سلاجقه، مژده (1389). بررسی میزان رضایت از مراکز اطلاع رسانی، مجلات الکترونیکی و پایگاههای اطلاعاتی تخصصی، و رابطه آنها با سن، جنس،و رتبه علمی اعضای هیات علمی. علوم و فناوری اطلاعات، 25(3).

Bae, C.W.; Hahm, C.K. (2010). An Understanding of New Concepts and Publication Ethics in the Use of Online Medical Journals and their Database Web Sites.  Journal of the Korean Medical Association, 53 (8),  685-694.

Belkin, N.J. ;  Croft, W.B  (1992).  Information filtering and information retrieval: two sides of the same coin?.  Communication of the ACM, 35 (12),   29-38.

De -Groote, Sandra L. ; Dorsch,  Josephine L. )2001).  Online journals: impact on print journal usage.  Bull Med Libr Assoc, 89(4),  372–378.

De -Groote, Sandra L. ; Dorsch,  Josephine L.)2003(.  Measuring use patterns of online journals and databases.  Journal of the Medical Library Association, 91(2),  231-240.

Francis H. (2005).  The information seeking behavior of social science faculty, the University of the West Indies.  St. Augustine,  31(1),  67-72.

Jabr, N.H. (2008).  Alert services as an approach to satisfy researchers` current awareness needs; the case of Sultan Qaboos University.  The Electronic Library, 26 (6),  882-95.

Jansen, B. J. ;  Spink, A. (2005).  An analysis of Web searching by European AlltheWeb.com users.  Information Processing and Management ,   ( 41),  361–381. (Accessed 14 Feb., 2011).

Koing, M.E.D.  (2000).   Information services and productivity: a backgrounder, in Kanti Srikantaiah, T  .(Ed.), Knowledge Management for the Information Professional, ASIS Monograph Series, Information Today, Medford, NJ.

Penn State Libraries (2007).  What is an Alert service?, Social Library, Penn State Libraries, available at: www.Libraries.psu.edu/socialsciences/alertwhat.htm

Queensland University of Technology (2007). Alert services, available at: www.library.qut.edu.au/databases/auto-toc.jsp

Silverstein, C. ; Henzinger, M. ;  Marais, H. ; Moricz, M. (1999).  Analysis of a very large web search engine query log. ACM SIGIR Forum, available at: www.acm.org/sigir/forum/F99/Silverstein.pdf.  (Accessed 14 Feb., 2011).

Spink, A. ; Ozmutlu, S. ; Ozmutlu, H.C. ; Jansen, B.J. (2002).  US versus European web searching trends. SIGIR Forum, 36(2), 32-38. available at: www.acm.org/sigir/forum/F2002/spink.pdf. (Accessed 14 Feb., 2011).

Stanford E-Journal User Survey (2007). available at : http//ejust.stanford.edu/usersurvey2-linked.htm. (Accessed Feb. 18, 2009).

Tenopir, Carol. (2003). Use and Users of Electronic Library Resources: An Overview andAnalysis of Recent Research Studies. Washington, DC: Council on Library and Information

Resources. http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub120/pub120.pdf. (Accessed Feb. 18, 2009).

Young, H. (1983). The ALA Glossary of library and information Science, American Library Association, Chicago,IL.