Evaluation of Digital Library Services at Virtual Faculties of Universities in Iran from the Perspective of Graduate Students

Authors

Maryam Zarghani, Iran University of Medical SciencesFollow
Niloofar Mohaghegh, The faculty member of the Department of Medical Library and information Science, School of Health Management and Information sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IranFollow
Mohammad Reza Alibeik, The faculty member of the Department of Medical Library and information Science, School of Health Management and Information sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IranFollow
Nima Motamed, The faculty member of the Department of Social Medical, Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, IranFollow
Afsaneh Dehnad, Associate professor of English Language Department, School of Health Management and Information Sciences, department of Medical Education, Center for Educational Research in Medical Sciences, E-Learning Center(CERMS)Follow

Date of this Version

Fall 10-2-2019

Abstract

This paper was conducted to evaluate digital library services of virtual faculties of Medical Universities in Iran from the perspective of graduate students of e-learning. This study was an applied survey conducted among graduate students studying in the virtual centers in Ministry of Health and Medical Education and Ministry of Science Research and Technology in 2017-2018. The instrument of the study was a questionnaire, the inter-item reliability of which was measured, by Cronbach's alpha coefficient (0.90). The reliability was measured by using Pearson correlation coefficient (0.79). A sample size of 378 students was selected through Cochran formula and Morgan table. The data were collected through email, online and in-person. The study was performed in 9 months (June to February 2018) and 257 completed questionnaires were analyzed by SPSS software version 18. The findings indicated 63.3 % and 36.2 % of participants belonged to MOHME and MOSRT .There were 44.7% of women and 54.9% of men. 79.3% of the virtual education centers of MOHME and 45.2% of the centers of MOSRT have been affiliated with the Central Library.The most used sources of information, in MOHME with 48.8% and in MOSRT with 63.4%, were databases. In MOHME with 31.1%, the main problem was the excessive amount of unrelated information on Internet sites, and in MOSRT with 53.8%, it was the limited availability and lending of resources from libraries with a significant level (pvalue>0.001). Students in both groups used library resources aimed at doing homework assignments (MOHME was 76.8% MOSRT 57.3%), and theses (MOHME with 57.9% and MOSRT with 51.6%. Considering the results, specific measures should be taken to improve the access to online library resources and services for students. Resources such as textbooks, theses, relevant websites and required information of virtual students should be taken into consideration.