Digital Scholarship and Disciplinary Culture: An Investigation of Sultan Qaboos University, Oman
The emergence of networked information and communication has transformed the accessibility and delivery of scholarly information and fundamentally impacted on the processes of research and scholarly communication. The purpose of this study is to investigate disciplinary differences in the use of networked information for research and scholarly communication at Sultan Qaboos University, Oman. This study has produced quantitative data about how and why academics within different disciplines utilize networked information that is made available either internally through the university library, or externally through networked services accessed by the Internet. The results indicate some significant differences between the attitudes and practice of academics in the science disciplines when compared to those from the social sciences and humanities. While respondents from science disciplines show overall longer and more frequent use of networked information, respondents from humanities and social sciences indicated more positive attitudes and a greater degree of satisfaction toward library networked services.
[1] Ministry of Information, Oman 2005-2006. 2006, Muscat: Ministry of
Information.
[2] Bailey, C.W., Scholarly Electronic Publishing on the Internet, the
NREN, and the NII: Charting Possible Futures. Serials Review 1994.
20(3): p. 7-16.
[3] Menzel, H., Information Needs and Uses in Science and Technology, in
Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, C.Z. Cuadra,
Editor. 1966, John Wiley and Sons: New York. p. 41-69.
[4] Garvey, W.D., K. Tomita, and P. Woolf, The Dynamic Scientific
Information User. Information Storage and Retrieval, 1974. 10(4): p.
115-131.
[5] Simonton, W.C., Characteristics of the Research Literature in the Fine
Arts During the Period 1948-1957. 1960, University of Illinois:
Chicago.
[6] Gleaves, E.S., Characteristics of the Research Materials Used by
Scholars who Write in Journals in the Field of American Literature.
1961, Emory University: Atlanta.
[7] Line, M.B., The Information Uses and Needs of Social Scientist: an
Overview of INFROSS. ASLIB proceedings, 1971. 23(8): p. 412-434.
[8] Skelton, B., Scientists and Social Scientists as Information Users: A
Comparison of Results of Science User Studies with the Investigation
into Information Requirements of the Social Sciences. Journal of
Librarianship, 1973. 5: p. 138-156.
[9] Lu, S., The Transition to the Virtual World in Formal Scholarly
Communication: A Comparative Study of the Natural Sciences and the
Social Sciences. 1999, University of California: Los Angeles.
[10] Bouazza, A., Use of Information Sources by Physical Scientists, Social
Scientists, and Humanities Scholars at Carnegi Mellon University, in
School of Library and Information Science. 1986, University of
Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh.
[11] Meadows, A.J., Communicating Research. 1998, California: Academic
Press.
[12] Bynum, W.E., et al, Dictionary of the History of Science. 1981, New
Jersey: Princeton University Press.
[13] Cohen, B., An Analysis of Interactions Between the Natural Sciences
and the Social Sciences, in The natural sciences and the social sciences:
some critical and historical perspectives, B. Cohen, Editor. 1993,
Kluwer Academic Publishers: Dordrecht, The Netherlands. p. 1-90.
[14] White, L.M., The Humanities, in Handbook of the Undergraduate
Curriculum: A Comprehensive Guide to Purposes, Structures, Practices,
and Change, J.L.R. Jerry G. Gaff, et. al.,, Editor. 1997, Jossey-Bass: San
Francisco. p. 262-279.
[15] Bishop, A.P., The Role of Computer Networks in Aerospace
Engineering. Library Trends, 1994. 42(4): p. 694-729.
[16] Brown, C.D., The Role of Computer-Mediated Communication in the
Research Process of Music Scholars: an exploratory investigation.
Information Research, 2001. 6(2).
[17] Shaw, W., The Use of the Internet by English Academics. Information
Research, 1998. 4(2).
[18] Zhang, Y., Scholarly Use of Internet-Based Electronic Resources: A
Survey Report. Library Trends, 1999. 46(4): p. 746-770.
[19] Abdulaziz, T.O., Benefits of the Internet on Egyptians Academics at
Social Sciences Disciplines. Majallat Maktabat Almalik Fahad
Alwataniyya (Journal of King Fahad National Library), 2005. 11(1): p.
179-222. (source in Arabic).
[20] Abels, E.G., P. Liebscher, and D.W. Denman, Factors that Influence the
Use of Electronic Networks by Science and Engineering Faculty at
Small Institutions. Part I Queries. Journal of the American Society for
Information Science, 1996. 47(2): p. 146-158.
[21] Abels, E.G., P. Liebscher, and D.W. Denman, Factors that Influence the
Use of Electronic Networks by Science and Engineering Faculty at
Small Institutions. Part II Preliminary Use Indicators. Journal of the
American Society for Information Science, 1997. 48(6): p. 496-507.
[22] Costa, S. and J. Meadows, The Impact of Computer Usage on Scholarly
Communication Among Social Scientists. Journal of Information
Science, 2000. 26(4): p. 255-262.
[23] Eisend, M., The Internet as a New Medium for the Sciences: The Effects
of Internet Use on Traditional Scientific Communication Media Among
Social Scientists in Germany. Online Information Review, 2002. 26(5):
p. 307-317.
[24] Seyal, A.H., M.N. Abd-Rahman, and M. Mahbubur-Rahim,
Determinants of Academic Use of the Internet: a Structural Equation
Model. Behaviour & Information technology, 2002. 21(1): p. 71-86.
[25] Applebee, A., et al., Academics Online: A Nationwide Quantitative
Study of Australian Academic Use of the Internet. 1998, Adelaide:
Auslib Press.
[26] Applebee, A., P. Clayton, and C. Pascoe, Australian Academic Use of
the Internet. Internet Research: Electronic Networking Applications and
Policy, 1997. 7(2): p. 85-94.
[27] Bane, A.F. and W.D. Milheim, Internet Insights: How Academics are
Using the Internet. Computers in Libraries, 1995. 15(2): p. 32-36.
[28] Bruce, H., Internet Services and Academic Work: An Australian
Perspective. Internet Research, 1994. 4(2): p. 24-34.
[29] Budd, J.M. and L.S. Connaway, University Faculty and Networked
Information: Results of a Survey. Journal of the American Society for
Information Science, 1997. 48(9): p. 843-852.
[30] Heterick, B., E-content: Faculty Attitudes Toward Electronic Resources.
Educause Review, 2002. 37(4): p. 10-11.
[31] Houghton, J.W., C. Steele, and M. Henty, Changing Research Practices
in the Digital Information and Communication Environment. 2003,
Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.
[32] Kaminer, N., Scholars and the Use of the Internet. Library and
Information Science Research, 1997. 19(4): p. 329-345.
[33] Lazinger, S.S., J. Bar-Ilan, and B.C. Peritz, Internet Use by Faculty
Members in Various Disciplines: A Comparative Case Study. Journal of
the American Society for Information Science, 1997. 48(6): p. 508-518.
[34] Schauder, D., Electronic Publishing of Professional Articles: Attitudes
of Academics and Implications for the Scholarly Communication
Industry. Journal of the American Society for Information Science,
1994. 45(2): p. 73-100.
[35] Wang, Y.-M. and A. Cohen, Communicating and Sharing in
Cyberspace: University Faculty Use of Internet Resources. International
Journal of Educational Telecommunications, 2000. 6(4): p. 303-315.
[36] Abdullah, N.M., Faculty Members' Attitudes Toward the Internet at
Cairo University. Aalam Alma'lomat Walmaktabat Walnashir (World of
Information, Libraries, and Publishing), 1999. 1(1): p. 81-106. (Source
in Arabic).
[37] Adika, G., Internet Use Among Faculty Members of Universities in
Ghana. Library Review, 2003. 52(1): p. 29-37.
[38] Bin-Alsabti, A., Electronic Exchange of Information Among Academic
Researchers at Mentouri University of Constantine. Alarabiyya 3000
(The Arabic 3000), 2003. 1 (source in Arabic).
[39] Boumarafi, B.M., Use of the Internet by Faculty Members at Al-Sharjah
University. Rissalat Almaktaba (Library Message), 2001. 36(2): p. 111-
116 (source in Arabic).
[40] Ehikhamenor, F.A., Internet Facilities: Use and Non-use by Nigerian
University Scientists. Journal of information science, 2003. 29(1): p. 35-
48.
[41] Jirjees, J.M. and A. Nashir, Use of the Internet by Faculty Members of
the Yemeni Universities in Sana'a City, in The united Arabic strategy
for Information in the era of Internet and other studies, AFLI, Editor.
1999, The Arab Federation for Libraries and Information (AFLI).
(Source in Arabic): Beirut.
[42] Mamtora, J., Pacific Academics and the Internet. Australian Academic
& Research Libraries, 2004. 35(1): p. 35-52.
[43] Uddin, M.N., Internet use by University Academics: A Bipartite Study
of Information and Communication Needs. Online Information Review,
2003. 27(4): p. 225-237.
[44] Garvey, W., Communication: The Essence of Science. 1979, Oxford:
Pergamon Press.
[45] Tenopir, C. Use and Users of Electronic Library Resources: an
Overview and Analysis of Recent Research Studies. 2003 (cited 2005
3/9); Available from:
http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub120/contents.html.
[46] Torma, S. and P. Vakkari, Dicipline, Availability of Electronic
Resources and the Use of Finnish National Electronic Library - FinELib.
Information Research, 2004. 10(1).
[47] Lu, S. A Cross Sectional Study of the Impact of the Internet on Formal
Scholarly Communication. in Information Access in the Global
Information Economy, October 25-29. 1998. Pittsburgh: ASIS.
[48] Talja, S. and H. Maula, Reasons for the Use and Non-use of Electronic
Journals and Databases: A Domain Analytic Study in Four Scholarly
Disciplines. Journal of Documentation, 2003. 59(6): p. 673-691.
[49] Lenares, D. Faculty Use of Electronic Journals at Research Institutions.
in 9th National Conference of the Association of College & Research
Libraries, 9 April 1999. 1999. Detroit, Michigan: ACRL.
[50] Borgman, C.L., Digital Libraries and the Continuum of Scholarly
Communication. Journal of Documentation, 2000. 56(4): p. 412-430.
[51] eJUST. E-Journal User Study: Report of First Survey. 2002 (cited 2005
1/5/); Available from: http://ejust.stanford.edu/method_surveys.html.
[52] Tomney, H. and P.F. Burton, Electronic Journals: A Study of Usage and
Attitudes Among Academics. Journal of information science, 1998. 24:
p. 419-429.
[53] Weingart, S.J. and J.A. Anderson, When Questions are Answers: Using
a Survey to Achieve Faculty Awareness of the Library's Electronic
Resources. College and research Libraries, 2000. 61: p. 127-134.
[54] Field, A., Discovering Statistics Using SPSS. 2nd ed. 2005, London:
SAGE Publications.
[55] Blanksby, P.E. and J.G. Barber, SPSS for Social Workers: An
Introductory Workbook. 2006, Boston: Pearson Education
[56] United Nations Development Programme. Arab Human Development
Report 2003: Building a Knowledge Society. 2003 (cited 2005 11
November); Available from:
http://www.undp.org.sa/Reports/AHDR%202003%20-%20English.pdf.
[57] Ibrhaim, A.E., Use and User Perception of Electronic Resources in the
United Arab Emirates University (UAEU). Libri, 2004. 54: p. 18-29.
[1] Ministry of Information, Oman 2005-2006. 2006, Muscat: Ministry of
Information.
[2] Bailey, C.W., Scholarly Electronic Publishing on the Internet, the
NREN, and the NII: Charting Possible Futures. Serials Review 1994.
20(3): p. 7-16.
[3] Menzel, H., Information Needs and Uses in Science and Technology, in
Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, C.Z. Cuadra,
Editor. 1966, John Wiley and Sons: New York. p. 41-69.
[4] Garvey, W.D., K. Tomita, and P. Woolf, The Dynamic Scientific
Information User. Information Storage and Retrieval, 1974. 10(4): p.
115-131.
[5] Simonton, W.C., Characteristics of the Research Literature in the Fine
Arts During the Period 1948-1957. 1960, University of Illinois:
Chicago.
[6] Gleaves, E.S., Characteristics of the Research Materials Used by
Scholars who Write in Journals in the Field of American Literature.
1961, Emory University: Atlanta.
[7] Line, M.B., The Information Uses and Needs of Social Scientist: an
Overview of INFROSS. ASLIB proceedings, 1971. 23(8): p. 412-434.
[8] Skelton, B., Scientists and Social Scientists as Information Users: A
Comparison of Results of Science User Studies with the Investigation
into Information Requirements of the Social Sciences. Journal of
Librarianship, 1973. 5: p. 138-156.
[9] Lu, S., The Transition to the Virtual World in Formal Scholarly
Communication: A Comparative Study of the Natural Sciences and the
Social Sciences. 1999, University of California: Los Angeles.
[10] Bouazza, A., Use of Information Sources by Physical Scientists, Social
Scientists, and Humanities Scholars at Carnegi Mellon University, in
School of Library and Information Science. 1986, University of
Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh.
[11] Meadows, A.J., Communicating Research. 1998, California: Academic
Press.
[12] Bynum, W.E., et al, Dictionary of the History of Science. 1981, New
Jersey: Princeton University Press.
[13] Cohen, B., An Analysis of Interactions Between the Natural Sciences
and the Social Sciences, in The natural sciences and the social sciences:
some critical and historical perspectives, B. Cohen, Editor. 1993,
Kluwer Academic Publishers: Dordrecht, The Netherlands. p. 1-90.
[14] White, L.M., The Humanities, in Handbook of the Undergraduate
Curriculum: A Comprehensive Guide to Purposes, Structures, Practices,
and Change, J.L.R. Jerry G. Gaff, et. al.,, Editor. 1997, Jossey-Bass: San
Francisco. p. 262-279.
[15] Bishop, A.P., The Role of Computer Networks in Aerospace
Engineering. Library Trends, 1994. 42(4): p. 694-729.
[16] Brown, C.D., The Role of Computer-Mediated Communication in the
Research Process of Music Scholars: an exploratory investigation.
Information Research, 2001. 6(2).
[17] Shaw, W., The Use of the Internet by English Academics. Information
Research, 1998. 4(2).
[18] Zhang, Y., Scholarly Use of Internet-Based Electronic Resources: A
Survey Report. Library Trends, 1999. 46(4): p. 746-770.
[19] Abdulaziz, T.O., Benefits of the Internet on Egyptians Academics at
Social Sciences Disciplines. Majallat Maktabat Almalik Fahad
Alwataniyya (Journal of King Fahad National Library), 2005. 11(1): p.
179-222. (source in Arabic).
[20] Abels, E.G., P. Liebscher, and D.W. Denman, Factors that Influence the
Use of Electronic Networks by Science and Engineering Faculty at
Small Institutions. Part I Queries. Journal of the American Society for
Information Science, 1996. 47(2): p. 146-158.
[21] Abels, E.G., P. Liebscher, and D.W. Denman, Factors that Influence the
Use of Electronic Networks by Science and Engineering Faculty at
Small Institutions. Part II Preliminary Use Indicators. Journal of the
American Society for Information Science, 1997. 48(6): p. 496-507.
[22] Costa, S. and J. Meadows, The Impact of Computer Usage on Scholarly
Communication Among Social Scientists. Journal of Information
Science, 2000. 26(4): p. 255-262.
[23] Eisend, M., The Internet as a New Medium for the Sciences: The Effects
of Internet Use on Traditional Scientific Communication Media Among
Social Scientists in Germany. Online Information Review, 2002. 26(5):
p. 307-317.
[24] Seyal, A.H., M.N. Abd-Rahman, and M. Mahbubur-Rahim,
Determinants of Academic Use of the Internet: a Structural Equation
Model. Behaviour & Information technology, 2002. 21(1): p. 71-86.
[25] Applebee, A., et al., Academics Online: A Nationwide Quantitative
Study of Australian Academic Use of the Internet. 1998, Adelaide:
Auslib Press.
[26] Applebee, A., P. Clayton, and C. Pascoe, Australian Academic Use of
the Internet. Internet Research: Electronic Networking Applications and
Policy, 1997. 7(2): p. 85-94.
[27] Bane, A.F. and W.D. Milheim, Internet Insights: How Academics are
Using the Internet. Computers in Libraries, 1995. 15(2): p. 32-36.
[28] Bruce, H., Internet Services and Academic Work: An Australian
Perspective. Internet Research, 1994. 4(2): p. 24-34.
[29] Budd, J.M. and L.S. Connaway, University Faculty and Networked
Information: Results of a Survey. Journal of the American Society for
Information Science, 1997. 48(9): p. 843-852.
[30] Heterick, B., E-content: Faculty Attitudes Toward Electronic Resources.
Educause Review, 2002. 37(4): p. 10-11.
[31] Houghton, J.W., C. Steele, and M. Henty, Changing Research Practices
in the Digital Information and Communication Environment. 2003,
Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.
[32] Kaminer, N., Scholars and the Use of the Internet. Library and
Information Science Research, 1997. 19(4): p. 329-345.
[33] Lazinger, S.S., J. Bar-Ilan, and B.C. Peritz, Internet Use by Faculty
Members in Various Disciplines: A Comparative Case Study. Journal of
the American Society for Information Science, 1997. 48(6): p. 508-518.
[34] Schauder, D., Electronic Publishing of Professional Articles: Attitudes
of Academics and Implications for the Scholarly Communication
Industry. Journal of the American Society for Information Science,
1994. 45(2): p. 73-100.
[35] Wang, Y.-M. and A. Cohen, Communicating and Sharing in
Cyberspace: University Faculty Use of Internet Resources. International
Journal of Educational Telecommunications, 2000. 6(4): p. 303-315.
[36] Abdullah, N.M., Faculty Members' Attitudes Toward the Internet at
Cairo University. Aalam Alma'lomat Walmaktabat Walnashir (World of
Information, Libraries, and Publishing), 1999. 1(1): p. 81-106. (Source
in Arabic).
[37] Adika, G., Internet Use Among Faculty Members of Universities in
Ghana. Library Review, 2003. 52(1): p. 29-37.
[38] Bin-Alsabti, A., Electronic Exchange of Information Among Academic
Researchers at Mentouri University of Constantine. Alarabiyya 3000
(The Arabic 3000), 2003. 1 (source in Arabic).
[39] Boumarafi, B.M., Use of the Internet by Faculty Members at Al-Sharjah
University. Rissalat Almaktaba (Library Message), 2001. 36(2): p. 111-
116 (source in Arabic).
[40] Ehikhamenor, F.A., Internet Facilities: Use and Non-use by Nigerian
University Scientists. Journal of information science, 2003. 29(1): p. 35-
48.
[41] Jirjees, J.M. and A. Nashir, Use of the Internet by Faculty Members of
the Yemeni Universities in Sana'a City, in The united Arabic strategy
for Information in the era of Internet and other studies, AFLI, Editor.
1999, The Arab Federation for Libraries and Information (AFLI).
(Source in Arabic): Beirut.
[42] Mamtora, J., Pacific Academics and the Internet. Australian Academic
& Research Libraries, 2004. 35(1): p. 35-52.
[43] Uddin, M.N., Internet use by University Academics: A Bipartite Study
of Information and Communication Needs. Online Information Review,
2003. 27(4): p. 225-237.
[44] Garvey, W., Communication: The Essence of Science. 1979, Oxford:
Pergamon Press.
[45] Tenopir, C. Use and Users of Electronic Library Resources: an
Overview and Analysis of Recent Research Studies. 2003 (cited 2005
3/9); Available from:
http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub120/contents.html.
[46] Torma, S. and P. Vakkari, Dicipline, Availability of Electronic
Resources and the Use of Finnish National Electronic Library - FinELib.
Information Research, 2004. 10(1).
[47] Lu, S. A Cross Sectional Study of the Impact of the Internet on Formal
Scholarly Communication. in Information Access in the Global
Information Economy, October 25-29. 1998. Pittsburgh: ASIS.
[48] Talja, S. and H. Maula, Reasons for the Use and Non-use of Electronic
Journals and Databases: A Domain Analytic Study in Four Scholarly
Disciplines. Journal of Documentation, 2003. 59(6): p. 673-691.
[49] Lenares, D. Faculty Use of Electronic Journals at Research Institutions.
in 9th National Conference of the Association of College & Research
Libraries, 9 April 1999. 1999. Detroit, Michigan: ACRL.
[50] Borgman, C.L., Digital Libraries and the Continuum of Scholarly
Communication. Journal of Documentation, 2000. 56(4): p. 412-430.
[51] eJUST. E-Journal User Study: Report of First Survey. 2002 (cited 2005
1/5/); Available from: http://ejust.stanford.edu/method_surveys.html.
[52] Tomney, H. and P.F. Burton, Electronic Journals: A Study of Usage and
Attitudes Among Academics. Journal of information science, 1998. 24:
p. 419-429.
[53] Weingart, S.J. and J.A. Anderson, When Questions are Answers: Using
a Survey to Achieve Faculty Awareness of the Library's Electronic
Resources. College and research Libraries, 2000. 61: p. 127-134.
[54] Field, A., Discovering Statistics Using SPSS. 2nd ed. 2005, London:
SAGE Publications.
[55] Blanksby, P.E. and J.G. Barber, SPSS for Social Workers: An
Introductory Workbook. 2006, Boston: Pearson Education
[56] United Nations Development Programme. Arab Human Development
Report 2003: Building a Knowledge Society. 2003 (cited 2005 11
November); Available from:
http://www.undp.org.sa/Reports/AHDR%202003%20-%20English.pdf.
[57] Ibrhaim, A.E., Use and User Perception of Electronic Resources in the
United Arab Emirates University (UAEU). Libri, 2004. 54: p. 18-29.
@article{"International Journal of Business, Human and Social Sciences:51418", author = "Ali S. Al-Aufi and Paul Genoni", title = "Digital Scholarship and Disciplinary Culture: An Investigation of Sultan Qaboos University, Oman", abstract = "The emergence of networked information and communication has transformed the accessibility and delivery of scholarly information and fundamentally impacted on the processes of research and scholarly communication. The purpose of this study is to investigate disciplinary differences in the use of networked information for research and scholarly communication at Sultan Qaboos University, Oman. This study has produced quantitative data about how and why academics within different disciplines utilize networked information that is made available either internally through the university library, or externally through networked services accessed by the Internet. The results indicate some significant differences between the attitudes and practice of academics in the science disciplines when compared to those from the social sciences and humanities. While respondents from science disciplines show overall longer and more frequent use of networked information, respondents from humanities and social sciences indicated more positive attitudes and a greater degree of satisfaction toward library networked services.
", keywords = "Academics, Arab World, Disciplinary Culture,Networked Information, Scholarly Communication, Sultan QaboosUniversity, Oman.", volume = "3", number = "6", pages = "687-11", }
