Perceptions of E-books Among Students and Instructors in Higher Education

Research Purpose: Electronic books (e-books) have been predicted to have strong impact in higher education. But the adoption rate of e-books adoption in higher education has been slower than anticipated. A study of the perceptions of the perceptions towards e-books among students and instructors in higher education as well as the factors driving those perceptions might provide insights into the slow adoption rate. Research Questions: 1. What are the perceptions of College (CEGEP) and university students and instructors towards e-books? 2. How do respondents’ perceptions towards e-books differ demographically? 3. How do students and instructors’ perceptions differ among different types of reading materials (general news, professional information, scholarly information)? 4. Which characteristics drive students’ and instructor’s perceptions towards e-books? 5. Are participants aware of the terms and conditions of ownership of e-books? Literature review: The Technology Acceptance Model, which explains users’ decisions to adopt new technology, underlies this study. Technically, e-books refers to the hardware on which people read digital materials, the software that presents the material on-screen, and the content that users actually read. Development of e-books was first proposed in 1945, with the first successful commercial e-book hardware appearing in 2007. Previous studies of users’ perceptions of e-books have been mixed; some suggest users like them while others have found resistance. Perceptions vary among different demographic groups such as male and female groups, students and instructors groups, and younger and elderly groups. Specific factors that generate favorable impressions of e-books include their low cost, convenience (store many books on a single, portable, lightweight device) and special features, like searching and annotating functions. Specific factors that hinder interest include compatibility issues (books bought for one device cannot be used on others), technical glitches, and quality of reading (which is lower in online situations). Methodology: Online survey distributed to 869 participants distributed to students and faculty at one college and one university in Canada providing descriptive and inferential data. Statistical analyses such as t-test, one-way ANOVA and correlation are implied. Results: Participants generally have positive attitudes towards e-books, but males, and those with higher levels of education and previous experience with e-books tend to have more positive attitudes. But participants’ still see printed materials as more credible than e-books and online scholarly and professional publication. In addition, participants who were less likely to take notes when reading and who had fewer concerns about plagiarism had higher perceptions of e-books. Participants also lack awareness of the terms and conditions of ownership of e-textbooks. Implications: This study provides instructors, librarians, and book publishers more detailed knowledge about the factors that could influence adoption of e-books in higher education. It also demonstrates that the Technology Acceptance Model is a useful framework for exploring the adoption of this technology.