Study on factors influencing college students' digital academic reading behavior

Area of Science:

• Information Science
• Educational Technology
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the shift to online teaching and digital academic reading among college students.
• Digital academic reading has become the primary method for college students, replacing traditional paper media.
• Understanding digital reading behaviors is crucial in the evolving academic landscape.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate college students' digital academic reading behavioral characteristics.
• To explore internal and external factors influencing digital academic reading intention and use.
• To provide recommendations for optimizing digital reading environments and library resources.

Main Methods:

• Developed a digital academic reading information behavior (DARB) model based on UTAUT2 and digital reading theories.
• Recruited college students with digital academic reading behavior for the study.
• Collected data from 189 valid responses using a multi-stage sampling technique in Nanjing universities.

Main Results:

• Effort expectancy, social influence, price value, perceived risk, and habit significantly impact behavioral intention.
• Behavioral intention and habit significantly influence actual use behavior.
• Performance expectancy and facilitating conditions did not significantly influence behavioral intention.

Conclusions:

• Identified key drivers and barriers for college students' digital academic reading.
• Findings provide a basis for enhancing academic reading literacy programs.
• Recommendations are offered to improve the digital academic reading environment for students.