Search results

The paper aims to provide an overview of the e‐resources and services in Tsinghua University Library, Beijing, and describe five campus‐wide user surveys. It states how these user surveys play an important role in service quality enhancement.

Following a brief history of Tsinghua University Library, a summary of the collections and services developed in recent years is given. The library has made a great effort to learn about users' needs and to improve service delivery through a series of user surveys. The paper describes these surveys, including the conclusions and the improvement measures adopted.

Feedback gathered from user surveys provides vital information for improving library services. Through these user surveys, the library received a large amount of data to be analysed and a lot of valuable information, it promoted communication with our users, and the librarian's service literacy has also improved.

An overview of user surveys, including methodology, content, organisation, and implementation process, as well as data analysis, might offer reference and practical experience for other university libraries.

User surveys play an important role in the library's service quality enhancement. The paper provides a useful overview and practical experience of the topic.

This article compares the processes of community verification (CV) and user satisfaction surveys during the implementation of performance-based financing (PBF) in Mali and Burkina Faso.

The authors adopted a qualitative approach based on a multiple-case study design. Data were collected from August 10 to 25, 2017, in Mali, and from January to May 2016 in Burkina Faso. In Mali, 191 semi-structured interviews were conducted with investigators (people who collect information from health centre users in the communities, using survey tools), users, users' relatives, and health workers in three of the 10 health districts in the Koulikoro region. In Burkina Faso, 241 non-participatory observation sessions were recorded in a research diary, and 92 semi-structured interviews and informal discussions were conducted with investigators, community verifiers, users, PBF support staff at the national level, and administrative staff in one of the 15 health districts involved in PBF. The data were analysed inductively.

In both Mali and Burkina Faso, the delayed availability of survey forms led to a delay in starting the surveys. In Mali, to get off to a quick start, some investigators went to health centres to conduct the sampling with their supervisors. In both countries, investigators reported difficulties in finding certain users in the community due to incorrect spelling of names, lack of telephone details, incomplete information on the forms, common or similar sounding names within the community, and user mobility. There was little interference from health workers during user selection and surveys in both countries. In both countries, many surveys were conducted in the presence of the user's family (husband, father-in-law, brother, uncle, etc.) and the person accompanying the investigator. Also in both countries, some investigators filled in forms without investigating. They justified this data fabrication by the inadequate time available for the survey and the difficulty or impossibility of finding certain users. In both countries, the results were not communicated to health centre staff or users in either country.

CV and user satisfaction surveys are important components of PBF implementation. However, their implementation and evaluation remain complex. The instruments for CV and user satisfaction surveys for PBF need to be adapted and simplified to the local context. Emphasis should be placed on data analysis and the use of CV results.

There are similarities and differences in the CV process and user satisfaction surveys in Mali and Burkina Faso. In Mali, the data from the user satisfaction survey was not analyzed, while in Burkina Faso, the analysis did not allow for feedback. The local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that carried out the CV were pre-financed for 50% of the amount in Mali. In Burkina Faso, community-based organisations (CBOs) were not pre-financed. The lack of financing negatively impacted the conduction of the surveys. In Mali, fraudulent completion of survey forms by interviewers was more common in urban than in rural areas. In Burkina Faso, the frauds concerned consultations for children under five years of age. In Burkina Faso, the survey form was not adapted to collect data on the level of satisfaction of the indigent.

1. There were similarities and differences in the community verification (CV) processes in Mali and Burkina Faso.

2. In both Mali and Burkina Faso, tracing users within their community was difficult for several reasons, including incorrect or incomplete information on forms, common or similar names, and user mobility.

3. In both countries, there was no feedback on the results of the CV process to health centre staff or users.

4. Survey forms were falsified by investigators in both countries. In Mali, falsification was more common in urban than in rural areas. In Burkina Faso, falsification was more often observed for consultations for children under five years of age.

There were similarities and differences in the community verification (CV) processes in Mali and Burkina Faso.

In both Mali and Burkina Faso, tracing users within their community was difficult for several reasons, including incorrect or incomplete information on forms, common or similar names, and user mobility.

In both countries, there was no feedback on the results of the CV process to health centre staff or users.

Survey forms were falsified by investigators in both countries. In Mali, falsification was more common in urban than in rural areas. In Burkina Faso, falsification was more often observed for consultations for children under five years of age.

Libraries constitute a highly developing area as they always enrich their offered services in order to satisfy users' expectations. One of the most important factors in customization strategies and improvement of individual services must be user preferences. However, customization requires an in‐depth analysis of user preferences and an evaluation of future behavior. The main objective of this paper is to present a framework for analyzing changes of user preferences in a library.

The paper presents detailed results of two independent user satisfaction surveys conducted in an interval of five years in the Library of the Technical University of Crete and analyzes them using a proposed framework. However, the framework can be applied in every modern library. The analyses are based on non‐parametric statistical techniques and a multicriteria satisfaction analysis method, which is a multicriteria preference disaggregation approach.

Overall, user judgments for both surveys show that 50‐70 percent of users are “very satisfied” or “satisfied”. The percentage of “satisfied” users increased from 2005 to 2010 (almost 18 percent) and “very satisfied” remained almost the same.

Results are mainly focused on the evaluation of potential trends of user preferences. Furthermore, results of a benchmarking analysis are also presented, based on the evolution of satisfaction levels for the quality characteristics of the offered services.

The goal of the presented study and proposed framework and methodology is to help library decision makers track changes to user preferences and improve the provided services according to those preferences.

This paper describes a comprehensive user survey carried out in an Irish higher education academic library (Waterford Institute of Technology library service) as part of a strategic initiative to engage with library users.

Two major user groups – full‐time undergraduate students and academic staff – were surveyed. The survey instrument was a hardcopy questionnaire. The paper outlines the relative merits of different survey types and the reasoning behind the final choice of survey instrument.

The main results of the survey are synopsised. The paper also includes selected free‐text comments made by survey respondents and the library's response to the results in terms of how issues highlighted will be addressed.

The survey focused on two specific user groups, which leaves scope for future research by this institution into how the library is used by other types of users, such as distance learners.

The survey was a good way of communicating with users. This was the first time such a project has been undertaken at WIT and WIT library service will continue to survey users on a regular basis and to use the results to inform service delivery.

As the first comprehensive survey to be undertaken in the Institute of Technology sector in Ireland, the paper is of potential value to library practitioners in this, or indeed in other sectors, who are considering doing a survey of their users.

An examination of the methodology and results from patron use surveys of networked electronic services at four geographically disparate academic health science libraries in the USA between 1999 and 2002. The principal fields of inquiry include demographic differences between in‐house library users as compared to remote library users by status of user; users’ purposes for accessing electronic services; how the purpose of use differs between traditional, in‐person, library services; and differences in usage of electronic resources based upon the location of users. The results of this study should help guide service decisions in academic health sciences libraries.

Smart card-based E-payment systems are receiving increasing attention as the number of implementations is witnessed on the rise globally. Understanding of user adoption behavior of E-payment systems that employ smart card technology becomes a research area that is of particular value and interest to both IS researchers and professionals. However, research interest focuses mostly on why a smart card-based E-payment system results in a failure or how the system could have grown into a success. This signals the fact that researchers have not had much opportunity to critically review a smart card-based E-payment system that has gained wide support and overcome the hurdle of critical mass adoption. The Octopus in Hong Kong has provided a rare opportunity for investigating smart card-based E-payment system because of its unprecedented success. This research seeks to thoroughly analyze the Octopus from technology adoption behavior perspectives.

Cultural impacts on adoption behavior are one of the key areas that this research posits to investigate. Since the present research is conducted in Hong Kong where a majority of population is Chinese ethnicity and yet is westernized in a number of aspects, assuming that users in Hong Kong are characterized by eastern or western culture is less useful. Explicit cultural characteristics at individual level are tapped into here instead of applying generalization of cultural beliefs to users to more accurately reflect cultural bias. In this vein, the technology acceptance model (TAM) is adapted, extended, and tested for its applicability cross-culturally in Hong Kong on the Octopus. Four cultural dimensions developed by Hofstede are included in this study, namely uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, individualism, and Confucian Dynamism (long-term orientation), to explore their influence on usage behavior through the mediation of perceived usefulness.

TAM is also integrated with the innovation diffusion theory (IDT) to borrow two constructs in relation to innovative characteristics, namely relative advantage and compatibility, in order to enhance the explanatory power of the proposed research model. Besides, the normative accountability of the research model is strengthened by embracing two social influences, namely subjective norm and image. As the last antecedent to perceived usefulness, prior experience serves to bring in the time variation factor to allow level of prior experience to exert both direct and moderating effects on perceived usefulness.

The resulting research model is analyzed by partial least squares (PLS)-based Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach. The research findings reveal that all cultural dimensions demonstrate direct effect on perceived usefulness though the influence of uncertainty avoidance is found marginally significant. Other constructs on innovative characteristics and social influences are validated to be significant as hypothesized. Prior experience does indeed significantly moderate the two influences that perceived usefulness receives from relative advantage and compatibility, respectively. The research model has demonstrated convincing explanatory power and so may be employed for further studies in other contexts. In particular, cultural effects play a key role in contributing to the uniqueness of the model, enabling it to be an effective tool to help critically understand increasingly internationalized IS system development and implementation efforts. This research also suggests several practical implications in view of the findings that could better inform managerial decisions for designing, implementing, or promoting smart card-based E-payment system.

The National Capital FreeNet (NCF) in Ottawa, Canada is one of the largest and most successful community online services in the world. A sample of 1,073 National Capital FreeNet (NCF) users were surveyed about their demographic characteristics, their access methods, and their levels of satisfaction. The results indicate that NCF users are not a specialized group in the community, but are comparable to the local regional population in age, education, and income. NCF users most often connect from home using modems, often using equipment and telephone lines purchased specifically for this service. NCF users connect to the system regularly, and usage of the system was not strongly related to demographic factors. NCF users are very satisfied with the system and satisfaction and donations were not strongly related to demographic factors or use of the system. These results suggest that this community network has a broad appeal and that current and future online services may have significant widespread impacts on individuals and society.

The paper reports an intensive survey of medical library users in the Oxford teaching hospitals and the University science departments. Six survey techniques were used and selected results are given for each. It was concluded that the characteristic having most influence on information‐seeking behaviour and library usage was the relative amounts of the user's time devoted to clinical practice and to research respectively. Three distinct user types were identified and ‘rich picture’ descriptions based on the survey evidence are given for each. A second paper will describe a systems study which linked the survey to library management decision‐making.

This article summarizes the main findings of a survey, undertaken in early 1994, of open access CD‐ROM in British public libraries. The survey examined how well Public Library Authorities (PLAs) were implementing CD‐ROM technology for public use and how well the general public were fairing with CD‐ROMs. The survey was both quantitative and qualitative in nature: current national statistics for CD‐ROM distribution in PLAs were sought, case studies of 13 PLAs who provided open access CD‐ROM were conducted and finally an end‐user survey of 4 of these libraries was undertaken. The principal findings of the survey are as follows. In 1992 only 5% of PLAs provided CD‐ROMs for public use, but by 1994 this figure had risen to 12%. London and English County PLAs had the highest proportion of CD‐ROMs for public use. PLAs with CD‐ROM services were not necessarily the big spending authorities. National newspapers accounted for the majority of CD‐ROMs in use. The main management concerns were lack of adequate user training and documentation. All PLAs wanted to update and expand their CD‐ROM services. This matched one of the main demands from users, which was for more facilities, but PLAs failed to address the users' other main demand ‐ the provision of greater assistance. The predominant user group was young students. Educational institutions played a significant role in training users in the use of CD‐ROMs. Most users searched newspaper and business titles. Finally, there was a high level of user satisfaction with CD‐ROM searching.

To measure the success of corporate social software (CSS), interviews, surveys, content and usage data analysis have been commonly used in practice. While interviews and surveys are only capable of making perceived use and benefits transparent, usage data analysis reveals many objective facts but does not allow insights into potential user-benefits. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to link both perspectives to advance CSS success measuring.

The research case is References+, a Corporate Social Software developed at Siemens to facilitate worldwide sharing of knowledge, experiences, and best practices since 2005. References+ currently has around 15,000 registered members located in more than 80 countries. This paper evaluates results from a user survey with nearly 1,500 responding employees and links all survey results to the corresponding participant’s data on platform use to generate additional insights.

The paper generates findings on how CSS is used in practice and how it is perceived by employees of a large-scale enterprise. Furthermore, it explores how a combination of subjective and objective evaluation methods can be applied to advance the state-of-the-art in measuring use and benefits. By linking CSS usage data to corresponding survey data, the paper provides results on what type of use of CSS may create what type of benefit.

This study encourages practitioners to take advantage of a variety of instruments for measuring the benefits of CSS. It generates numerous arguments for practitioners on how to make the benefit of CSS more transparent to financial-oriented decision-makers to successfully defend knowledge management projects against shrinking IT budgets.

This paper is one of the first attempts to explore the relationship between “perceived use” and “perceived benefits” measured by surveys and “factual use” measured by CSS usage statistics for knowledge management research. The findings of this paper may empower the role of user surveys in generating additional insights on use and benefits.