Reading behavior in digital environments among higher education students

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study reading behavior in the digital environment based on demographic factors including faculty, degree and gender among higher education students of Isfahan University.Design/methodology/approachThis study was survey descriptive using a researcher‐made questionnaire and data collection was accomplished using stratified random sampling method. The population of the study was the postgraduate students from seven faculties of Isfahan University. Different aspects of reading behavior were studied including the amount of reading of electronic resources, the style of reading electronic resources, the amount of annotating the electronic and print resources, the amount of printing out electronic documents for reading, and preference of reading medium.FindingsThe study showed that the amount of reading of electronic resources is highest in the students of technical and engineering subjects, while the amount of printing out of electronic documents is highest in the faculty of sciences. PhD students usually make use of scanning for reading electronic resources, whereas postgraduate students generally print out more electronic documents.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study will help university authorities and digital libraries managers to provide better services to users and students.Originality/valueWith the advent of internet and computers, reading is not the same as in the past. Reading in the digital age has changed and this paper tries to give some insight about the reading behavior of students and their preferences and the differences based on faculty, degree and gender.