ERIC Number: EJ1058464
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2375-2033
EISSN: N/A
Factors Influencing Students' Likelihood to Purchase Electronic Textbooks
Stone, Robert W.; Baker-Eveleth, Lori
Interdisciplinary Journal of E-Learning and Learning Objects, v9 p89-103 2013
Technological advances touch multiple aspects of an individual's life. One such example is the use of information technology to provide online books. Online books have been introduced in education in the form of electronic textbooks (e-texts). The research question examined here is among those students who have purchased or used an e-text, what factors motivate their willingness or likelihood to purchase an e-text? A model and hypotheses linking the factors of usefulness, arousal, ease of use, value, and effort to the likelihood to purchase an electronic textbook are presented. The model and hypotheses are tested using a sample of 529 student responses to a questionnaire distributed in a mid-sized university in the western United States. Using these responses, the model and hypotheses are tested using a structural equations approach and maximum likelihood estimation. The results indicate that an e-text's usefulness, its ease of use, and students' arousal regarding the e-text significantly impact students' likelihood to purchase an e-text. However, the student's perceived value of an e-text and how worthwhile their effort to search for low price textbooks did not impact these students' likelihood to purchase an electronic textbook. A discussion and conclusions are also presented.
Descriptors: Textbooks, Electronic Publishing, Student Attitudes, Hypothesis Testing, Probability, College Students, Questionnaires, Structural Equation Models, Usability, Student Interests, Costs, Student Surveys, Technology Uses in Education, Likert Scales, Factor Analysis
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A