Research on Information Science and Public Libraries

Study the factors affecting digital reading behavior of students at the University of Tabriz

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Akbar Majidi 1
Faegeh Mohammadi Ghazi-Jahani 1
Sara Hasannejad-Maleki 2

1 Department of knowledge and Information Science, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

2 MSc in knowledge and Information Science, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

10.61882/publlij.2025.2068782.1018
Abstract
Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the factors affecting the digital reading behavior of students at the University of Tabriz.
Methods: The present study is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive-correlational in terms of data collection method, which was conducted by survey method. The statistical population of the study consists of all students of Tabriz University (about 18,101), and the sample size was determined as 369 using Krejci and Morgan table. The sampling method was stratified random sampling with proportional size. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire. Its face validity was confirmed by experts in this field and its reliability was measured using Cronbach's alpha coefficient at 74%. After collection, 229 questionnaires were analyzed. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data using SPSS software, and SmartPLS was used for model fitting and hypothesis testing.
Results: The results of the Pearson correlation coefficient test showed that there is a significant relationship between all the variables studied and digital reading behavior. The t-values of the coefficients of each of the predicted paths of the factors of ease of use, perceived usefulness, relative advantage, perceived value, social influence, motivation and interest, performance expectation, attitude towards using the Internet, and digital information literacy skills with digital reading behavior indicated a significant relationship, and thus all the research hypotheses were confirmed. These factors explained a total of 52% of the changes in the dependent variable of digital reading behavior. The goodness of fit index (0.46) was obtained, which indicates that the conceptual model of the research is at a strong level.
Conclusion: Digital reading behavior can be influenced by various factors. In making policies in the field of reading, universities and academic libraries should pay attention to all logical and irrational factors affecting digital reading and provide the necessary infrastructure for digital reading. Also, the results of this research can be useful for e-book designers and digital content providers to cultivate digital reading behavior.

Keywords

Reading
digital reading
digital reading behavior
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Research on Information Science and Public Libraries
Volume 31, Issue 3 - Serial Number 122
Reading Special Issue
September 2025
Pages 39-56

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