Attitudes of Saudi Arabian Students Toward the Use of Digital Libraries in Higher Education By © 2018 Maha Hassan Fasi Submitted to the graduate degree program in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Chair: Dr. Ronald Aust Dr. Young-Jin Lee Dr. Bruce Frey Dr. Richard Branham Dr. Suzanne Rice Date Defended: 30 March 2018 The dissertation committee for Maha Hassan Fasi certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Attitudes of Saudi Arabian Students Toward the Use of Digital Libraries in Higher Education Chair: Dr. Ronald Aust Date Defended: 30 March 2018 ii Abstract Universities worldwide are transitioning to integrate technology to enhance and augment using E-learning. This study investigated attitudes of Saudi Arabian students toward the use of digital libraries in higher education at Taibah University in Madina. Data were collected to explore the relationship between Saudi students’ computer literacy skills, as well as their demographic background, and 1) their use of digital libraries, 2) their attitudes toward digital libraries, and 3) their perceived usability of digital libraries. Descriptive statistics, independent-samples , simple and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to address the research questions. Participants were 240 undergraduate students enrolled at Taibah University. Most of them were senior (about 52%), female (about 62%), and majored in Education Science (about 47%). Analyses of the self-report survey data show that students used digital libraries on a weekly basis (M = 3.52, SD = 1.45), using a 6-point Likert-scale (1 = Never and 6 = More than 4 times per day). Results also show that students’ computer literacy skills were pretty good (M = 3.82, SD = 0.88), based on a 5-point Likert-scale (1 = No experience and 5 = Very skilled). On average, students’ attitudes toward digital libraries were positive (M = 4.21, SD = .68), measured by a 5-point Likert- scale (1 = Strongly disagree and 5 = Strongly agree). In general, the level of students’ perceived usability of digital libraries was moderate (M = 3.34, SD = .49), according to a 5-point Likert- scale (1 = Strongly disagree and 5 = Strongly agree). Results of linear regression and independent-samples show that students’ computer literacy skills were a significant predictor of their use of digital libraries, attitudes toward digital libraries, and perceived usability of digital libraries. The more skilled students were in computer iii literacy, the more likely they would use digital libraries (β = .299, t(221) = 2.57, p = .01); the more skilled they were in computer literacy, the more positive their attitudes were toward digital libraries (β = .201, t(225) = 3.70, p <. 001); and the more skilled they were in computer literacy, the higher the level of the perceived usability of digital libraries was (β = .115, t(202) = 2.99, p = .003). Only the access to technology and the Internet at school was significantly and positively related to students’ attitudes toward digital libraries. No relationships were found between the access to technology and the Internet (either at school or at home) and students’ use of digital libraries or their perceived usability of digital libraries. Regarding the impact of students’ demographic background on the three dependent variables (i.e., students’ use of digital libraries, attitudes toward digital libraries, and perceived usability of digital libraries), only one significant relationship was found. That is, students’ perceived usability of digital libraries was significantly related to their gender. Female students had a higher level of perceived usability of digital libraries. iv Dedication I dedicate this work to: My beloved mother and father, the source of my optimism and happiness Thank you for your unlimited support, encouragement, love, and supplications, I love you. My wonderful children Turki, Jumanah, Lujain. Safana, and Abud-Alrazaq Thank you for your love, which inspires me to work with enthusiasm, hope, and joy With all my love and my wishes for all of them to be healthy and happy v Acknowledgment In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious and the Most Merciful Alhamdulillah, all praises and thanks are due to Allah for the strengths and His guidance, blessing in completing this study. My deepest appreciation, and gratitude to my chair and advisor, Dr. Ron Aust, who supports me a lot of advice, patience, encouragement, dedication, instruction, and guidance. I am also extremely like to thank the members of my committee; Dr. Young-Jin Lee, Dr. Suzanne Rice, Dr. Branham Richard, and Dr. Bruce Frey, for their comments, support, encouragement, kindness, patience, and suggestions all the time during working on my dissertation. It has been a pleasure to work with each of these outstanding professionals. Appreciation and gratitude go to my lovely children, for their encouragement, sacrifices, and love. They always bring happiness, hope, and joy to me. Thank you, my pleasant children. To all my friends, thank you for your encouragement and support in every moment. My friendship makes my life an enjoyable experience. Elshaikh Faiza and Alqahtani Ebtisam. Many thanks for all of you. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iii Dedication ....................................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgment ........................................................................................................................... vi List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ xi List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. xi Chapter 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 Saudi Digital Libraries ........................................................................................................ 2 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Overview .................................................................................. 2 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Profile ....................................................................................... 3 Educational System in Saudi Arabia................................................................................... 4 The Saudi Arabia Higher Education System ...................................................................... 5 Higher Education and Universities in Saudi Arabia ........................................................... 5 Taibah University................................................................................................................ 6 E-Learning in Saudi Arabia ................................................................................................ 7 Taibah Digital Library ........................................................................................................ 7 Statement of the Problem .................................................................................................... 8 The Need for the Study ....................................................................................................... 8 Purpose of the Study ......................................................................................................... 10 Research Questions ........................................................................................................... 10 Research Hypotheses ........................................................................................................ 10 The Significance of the Study ........................................................................................... 11 Definition of Terms........................................................................................................... 12 Chapter Summary ............................................................................................................. 13 Chapter 2 Review of Literature ..................................................................................................... 14 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 14 Definition of Digital Libraries .......................................................................................... 14 Educational Digital Library .............................................................................................. 15 vii The Need for Digital Libraries .......................................................................................... 16 Advantages of Digital Libraries ........................................................................................ 19 Disadvantages of Digital Libraries ................................................................................... 20 Format of E-books ............................................................................................................ 21 Students’ Preferences ........................................................................................................ 22 Evolution of Library Services ..........................................................................................