Purpose The purpose of this paper is to use scholarly communication and citation data to rank the... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to use scholarly communication and citation data to rank the universities in a developing country perspective in Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach This paper used publication and citation data from Scopus to rank the universities in Bangladesh. The number of papers published in each year during 2008-2018 by the select 33 universities, faculty per capita, the two-year citations and the number cited articles were used to arrive at a yearly weighted score and overall score for each university. The overall score was used to produce the ranking of the universities in Bangladesh. Findings The findings indicate that the ranking system can be implemented at the national level as an annual exercise to rank the higher education institutions in developing country perspective. Originality/value This is the first time an effort has been made to rank the universities in Bangladesh using publication and citation data. The findings of this paper could help...
Purpose The aim of this paper is to empirically examine the usability of the Koha OPAC from a use... more Purpose The aim of this paper is to empirically examine the usability of the Koha OPAC from a user perspective. Design/methodology/approach A series of usability tests with Koha were carried out at a private university in Bangladesh. Both experienced and novice users participated in these tests. Experienced users participated only once, whereas novices took part in three successive sessions. At first, novices’ initial performance was recorded. Then, they performed the same tasks after a short training tutorial. Novices again participated in the retention experiment with the same tasks after four weeks. A set of seven tasks was given to the users to see their performance in terms of time taken, number of errors made and success scores. Performance data were captured through a computer screen recording software, and satisfaction scores were obtained using a modified version of Questionnaire on User Interface Satisfaction (QUIS). Comparisons of performance and satisfaction with Koha OP...
This paper presents the results of a heuristic evaluation with the Web of Science interface. Thre... more This paper presents the results of a heuristic evaluation with the Web of Science interface. Three human factors experts carried out their independent evaluation. The findings were then analysed and combined to discuss them with expert members to reach a consensus on usability issues identified. The heuristic evaluation helped to identify a number of both positive and negative aspects in the Web of Science interface. The key strength of the then current interface was its consistency in terms of conventions used, screen layouts, minimum use of colours, and use of graphics and icons.The main weakness lay in its functionality, i.e., searching, navigation, online help, etc. The results show the effectiveness of a heuristlc approach to evaluating user interfaces to online information retrieval systems.
This article proposes an assessment model for the evaluation and improvement of the service perfo... more This article proposes an assessment model for the evaluation and improvement of the service performance of academic libraries. It presents a Service Performance Control Matrix (SPCM), an instrument to report the level of service performance and to simultaneously provide strategic directions to sustain, improve or recover service quality. SPCM also provides a guideline for determining the order of improvement for service. The model is applied to five public university libraries in Bangladesh, using a modified version of the SERVQUAL questionnaire. This questionnaire asks students to indicate their opinions on desired, minimum, and actual service performance by the university library on a 7-point Likert scale. The results of this study indicate the applicability of the SPCM model in determining the service quality of academic libraries. With more research effort, we expect this model to be evolved as a practical solution to assessing library service performance worldwide.
The article provides an overview of the expectations and perceptions of library service quality f... more The article provides an overview of the expectations and perceptions of library service quality from university students in Bangladesh. A modified version of the five dimensional SERVQUAL instrument was used to collect data from the universities. Respondents were asked to indicate their opinion on three columns, i.e., desired, minimum, and perception of service performance using 28 service items. It was found that the students’ desired expectation for services is unreasonably high. The study, therefore, made an effort to examine the sources of their expectation to develop and validate an alternative item-scale for service quality assessment. The results indicate that the students’ expectation sources had a significant impact on their opinion on service quality. A large proportion of students felt that their expectation for quality services is their right. This led them to rate higher desired expectation score for services. It suggests that user's desired service expectation is unrealistic and is not reliable for quality measurement. Based on this, the study argues that the prior scales of service quality assessment, particularly the calculation of the gap difference between perception of service performance and desired service expectation cannot produce a realistic result. An alternative item-scale, called real service expectation, was developed to calculate the gap score between perception of service performance and real service expectations. The computation of real service expectation, and the corresponding gap analysis could provide a new strategic direction for service quality assessment in academic libraries.
This paper examines the validity of Lotka's law to authorship distribution in the field of nu... more This paper examines the validity of Lotka's law to authorship distribution in the field of nutrition research in Bangladesh. A list of periodical articles on various aspects of nutrition research in Bangladesh published during 1972-2006 was compiled for analysis. Using "full productivity" of authorship, a total of998 personal author names were identified. Lotka's law was tested using both generalized and modified fonns and Kolmogorov-Smimov goodness-of-fit tests were applied. The results suggest that author productivity distribution predicted in Lotka's generalized inverse square law is not applicable to nutrition research of Bangladesh. Using least-squares excluding high productive authors and maximum likelihood methods, Lotka's law is found to be applicable to nutrition research of Bangladesh.
Purpose – The aim of this paper is to empirically investigate the information skills of undergrad... more Purpose – The aim of this paper is to empirically investigate the information skills of undergraduate students at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire-based survey was administered to obtain data about undergraduates’ information skills. The questionnaire consisted of demographic information, computer and Internet experiences, and a set of ten questions relating to information skills. A total of 199 undergraduate students responded to the survey. Findings – The results indicate that undergraduates’ information skills were poor. Only a few of them were successful in answering some of the questions correctly. There are significant differences in information skills among respondents in terms of gender, age, possession of personal computers and computer and Internet experience. The main reasons for these differences and the general failure in answering the task questions correctly are mostly attributed to the absence of information literacy ...
PurposeThe main purpose of this paper is to describe the results of a survey conducted in two spe... more PurposeThe main purpose of this paper is to describe the results of a survey conducted in two specialized public universities in Bangladesh to assess students' electronic information resources use and their satisfaction with university subscribed resources.Design/methodology/approachA structured questionnaire was used to assess the use of and satisfaction with university subscribed electronic resources by the students. The major problems faced by them in accessing online resources were also identified. In order to analyze the influence of students' demographic characteristics on overall satisfaction with university subscribed resources, Mann‐Whitney and Kruskal‐Wallis tests were carried out. The problems faced by the students were tested in relation to their opinion on overall satisfaction using chi‐square test.FindingsThe survey results showed that the students are not at all satisfied with the current level of university subscribed online resources. The students identified...
Program: electronic library and information systems, 2014
Purpose – The aim of this paper is to investigate the current status of public universities in Ba... more Purpose – The aim of this paper is to investigate the current status of public universities in Bangladesh in terms of library resources and services, IT infrastructure and training requirements for the establishment of a centralized, networked electronic library for the universities in the country. Design/methodology/approach – A survey was conducted in March-April 2012 to ascertain the level of library automation practices, access to online resources and IT facilities utilized by the public universities in Bangladesh. The survey questionnaire was distributed through post and emails directed to the university librarians. The librarians were also asked to identify the type of IT-related training they had and the type of training they require. Findings – The survey results indicate that there are insufficiencies in library resources, automation practices, access to online resources and IT facilities in the universities. Although the use of computer and network technologies in older un...
Purpose-This paper aims to investigate users' individual differences such as gender and status in... more Purpose-This paper aims to investigate users' individual differences such as gender and status in service quality assessment of Independent University, Bangladesh Library (IUBL), a top-ranking private university library in Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach-A survey was conducted among IUBL users using modified version of SERVQUAL instrument. User responses for minimum, expected, and perceived services were calculated by gender and status. The gap scores between perceived and minimum services (adequacy gap) and perceived and expected services (superiority gap) by different groups were computed. Finally, the gap scores of gender and status groups were compared statistically using Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Findings-The results showed overall IUBL met minimum service expectations of its gender and status groups. However, desired service expectations were not met though they were close to desired service quality. There were significant differences in gap scores by both gender and status groups. The overall and dimensions superiority gaps were significant between male and female users. Similarly, the overall adequacy gap and dimension-wise gaps were significant across status groups. These findings suggest that SERVQUAL scores differ across library users' gender and status. Originality/value-The SERVQUAL modification is done carefully as per local settings. Furthermore, this is the first time an attempt has been made to assess individual differences in service quality of a private university library system in Bangladesh.
Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to describe the pattern of electronic information resources ... more Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to describe the pattern of electronic information resources use and satisfaction with university-paid resources by the faculty members in eight public universities in Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach-An online questionnaire was used to assess the contemporary use of, and satisfaction with, university subscribed electronic resources by the faculty members. The major constraints faced by them in accessing online resources were also identified. To analyze the influence of demographic characteristics on overall satisfaction with e-resources, Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were carried out. The constraints faced by the faculty members were tested in relation to their opinions on overall satisfaction using chi-square tests. Findings-The results showed that faculty members are not generally satisfied with the current level of university subscribed e-resources. They identified limited number of titles, limited access to back issues, difficulty in finding information, inability to access from home, limited access to computers and slow download speed as major constraints. These constraints do affect e-resources use in the public universities. However, these constraints are mainly related to the poor IT infrastructure and limited access to e-resources, which may also lead to other constraints such as an unwillingness to use the resources regularly and consequently low satisfaction with such resources. Originality/value-This is the first time an effort has been made to assess the use of university-paid online information resources by the academic community in Bangladesh. This study could be used to assess faculty needs for electronic resources which may also lead to a more dynamic interaction with such resources.
PurposeThe purpose of this article is to review the research on human‐computer interfaces for lib... more PurposeThe purpose of this article is to review the research on human‐computer interfaces for library‐based commercial online information retrieval (IR) systems.Design/methodology/approachThe review first focuses on basic interface issues for information retrieval such as interface style, end‐user searching, query formulation, relevance feedback and browsing. The second part deals with cognitive engineering in IR including mental models and individual differences. Finally, the topics on user interface engineering are covered. These include user interface guidelines, usability evaluation methods and interface engineering techniques.FindingsThe review shows that user interface design has received a limited attention from IR researchers. There is a need for adopting human‐computer interaction (HCI) techniques into IR interface designs, but this issue has not yet been fully recognised by the commercial database vendors and distributors. The paper recommends that applying HCI techniques ...
PurposeThe main aim of this paper is to assess Dhaka University students' perceptions of ease... more PurposeThe main aim of this paper is to assess Dhaka University students' perceptions of ease‐of‐use and their satisfaction with University Library's online public access catalogue (DUL OPAC).Design/methodology/approachA survey questionnaire was developed and used to collect data on students' demographics, online catalogue use and their perceptions of ease‐of‐use and satisfaction with OPAC. In order to analyze the influence of students' demographic and individual characteristics on their perceptions and satisfaction, Mann‐Whitney and Kruskal‐Wallis tests were carried out.FindingsThe results showed that students are overwhelmingly satisfied with the DUL OPAC. Although there are some differences in students' perceptions of and satisfaction with the university OPAC, a formal task‐based usability testing and adopting a user‐centered design can ensure the usability of the OPAC in the future. The paper suggested some heuristic guidelines for designing interfaces for on...
Purpose–The main aim of this paper is to report on an examination of the service quality of Dhaka... more Purpose–The main aim of this paper is to report on an examination of the service quality of Dhaka University Library (DUL), a premier public university library in Bangladesh, from its users' viewpoint. Design/methodology/approach–A survey was conducted among faculty, graduate and undergraduate students of DUL using a modified version of SERVQUAL. The gap differences between users' expected and perceived services were calculated. The concept of zone of tolerance was applied to see which items of service quality equal, ...
PurposeThe purpose of this research is to compare the results of two different usability techniqu... more PurposeThe purpose of this research is to compare the results of two different usability techniques in evaluating the Web of Science interface.Design/methodology/approachAt first three human factors experts conducted a heuristic evaluation with the interface. Then, usability testing was conducted with 22 students recruited from various departments at Loughborough University, UK.FindingsA comparison of these techniques showed that heuristic evaluation revealed qualitative information whereas usability testing uncovered mostly quantitative data about usability of the interface. Although heuristic evaluation found more problems than usability testing, it also identified complementary information.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper recommends applying multiple usability techniques to ensure comprehensiveness in evaluating IR interfaces.Originality/valueThis paper shows that using multiple usability techniques resulted in a high degree of comprehensiveness in evaluating IR user i...
PurposeThis paper aims to describe the library services available to rural dwellers and a summary... more PurposeThis paper aims to describe the library services available to rural dwellers and a summary of focus groups discussions (FGD) conducted in northern districts of Bangladesh.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is divided into two sections. The first section describes rural library services in Bangladesh. The second section discusses the results of FGDs carried out separately in ten rural communities in northern areas of Bangladesh.FindingsThe results of FGDs highlight the general information needs of rural communities, their reading, listening and viewing habits and awareness of rural library activities. The findings suggest that the rural libraries largely meet the informational needs of the local community and play a crucial role in the educational advancement of local people.Originality/valueThis is the first time an effort has been made to assess the impact of rural library activities using FGDs in Bangladesh. This paper shows that FGDs could be an effective way to assess ...
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to use scholarly communication and citation data to rank the... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to use scholarly communication and citation data to rank the universities in a developing country perspective in Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach This paper used publication and citation data from Scopus to rank the universities in Bangladesh. The number of papers published in each year during 2008-2018 by the select 33 universities, faculty per capita, the two-year citations and the number cited articles were used to arrive at a yearly weighted score and overall score for each university. The overall score was used to produce the ranking of the universities in Bangladesh. Findings The findings indicate that the ranking system can be implemented at the national level as an annual exercise to rank the higher education institutions in developing country perspective. Originality/value This is the first time an effort has been made to rank the universities in Bangladesh using publication and citation data. The findings of this paper could help...
Purpose The aim of this paper is to empirically examine the usability of the Koha OPAC from a use... more Purpose The aim of this paper is to empirically examine the usability of the Koha OPAC from a user perspective. Design/methodology/approach A series of usability tests with Koha were carried out at a private university in Bangladesh. Both experienced and novice users participated in these tests. Experienced users participated only once, whereas novices took part in three successive sessions. At first, novices’ initial performance was recorded. Then, they performed the same tasks after a short training tutorial. Novices again participated in the retention experiment with the same tasks after four weeks. A set of seven tasks was given to the users to see their performance in terms of time taken, number of errors made and success scores. Performance data were captured through a computer screen recording software, and satisfaction scores were obtained using a modified version of Questionnaire on User Interface Satisfaction (QUIS). Comparisons of performance and satisfaction with Koha OP...
This paper presents the results of a heuristic evaluation with the Web of Science interface. Thre... more This paper presents the results of a heuristic evaluation with the Web of Science interface. Three human factors experts carried out their independent evaluation. The findings were then analysed and combined to discuss them with expert members to reach a consensus on usability issues identified. The heuristic evaluation helped to identify a number of both positive and negative aspects in the Web of Science interface. The key strength of the then current interface was its consistency in terms of conventions used, screen layouts, minimum use of colours, and use of graphics and icons.The main weakness lay in its functionality, i.e., searching, navigation, online help, etc. The results show the effectiveness of a heuristlc approach to evaluating user interfaces to online information retrieval systems.
This article proposes an assessment model for the evaluation and improvement of the service perfo... more This article proposes an assessment model for the evaluation and improvement of the service performance of academic libraries. It presents a Service Performance Control Matrix (SPCM), an instrument to report the level of service performance and to simultaneously provide strategic directions to sustain, improve or recover service quality. SPCM also provides a guideline for determining the order of improvement for service. The model is applied to five public university libraries in Bangladesh, using a modified version of the SERVQUAL questionnaire. This questionnaire asks students to indicate their opinions on desired, minimum, and actual service performance by the university library on a 7-point Likert scale. The results of this study indicate the applicability of the SPCM model in determining the service quality of academic libraries. With more research effort, we expect this model to be evolved as a practical solution to assessing library service performance worldwide.
The article provides an overview of the expectations and perceptions of library service quality f... more The article provides an overview of the expectations and perceptions of library service quality from university students in Bangladesh. A modified version of the five dimensional SERVQUAL instrument was used to collect data from the universities. Respondents were asked to indicate their opinion on three columns, i.e., desired, minimum, and perception of service performance using 28 service items. It was found that the students’ desired expectation for services is unreasonably high. The study, therefore, made an effort to examine the sources of their expectation to develop and validate an alternative item-scale for service quality assessment. The results indicate that the students’ expectation sources had a significant impact on their opinion on service quality. A large proportion of students felt that their expectation for quality services is their right. This led them to rate higher desired expectation score for services. It suggests that user's desired service expectation is unrealistic and is not reliable for quality measurement. Based on this, the study argues that the prior scales of service quality assessment, particularly the calculation of the gap difference between perception of service performance and desired service expectation cannot produce a realistic result. An alternative item-scale, called real service expectation, was developed to calculate the gap score between perception of service performance and real service expectations. The computation of real service expectation, and the corresponding gap analysis could provide a new strategic direction for service quality assessment in academic libraries.
This paper examines the validity of Lotka's law to authorship distribution in the field of nu... more This paper examines the validity of Lotka's law to authorship distribution in the field of nutrition research in Bangladesh. A list of periodical articles on various aspects of nutrition research in Bangladesh published during 1972-2006 was compiled for analysis. Using "full productivity" of authorship, a total of998 personal author names were identified. Lotka's law was tested using both generalized and modified fonns and Kolmogorov-Smimov goodness-of-fit tests were applied. The results suggest that author productivity distribution predicted in Lotka's generalized inverse square law is not applicable to nutrition research of Bangladesh. Using least-squares excluding high productive authors and maximum likelihood methods, Lotka's law is found to be applicable to nutrition research of Bangladesh.
Purpose – The aim of this paper is to empirically investigate the information skills of undergrad... more Purpose – The aim of this paper is to empirically investigate the information skills of undergraduate students at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire-based survey was administered to obtain data about undergraduates’ information skills. The questionnaire consisted of demographic information, computer and Internet experiences, and a set of ten questions relating to information skills. A total of 199 undergraduate students responded to the survey. Findings – The results indicate that undergraduates’ information skills were poor. Only a few of them were successful in answering some of the questions correctly. There are significant differences in information skills among respondents in terms of gender, age, possession of personal computers and computer and Internet experience. The main reasons for these differences and the general failure in answering the task questions correctly are mostly attributed to the absence of information literacy ...
PurposeThe main purpose of this paper is to describe the results of a survey conducted in two spe... more PurposeThe main purpose of this paper is to describe the results of a survey conducted in two specialized public universities in Bangladesh to assess students' electronic information resources use and their satisfaction with university subscribed resources.Design/methodology/approachA structured questionnaire was used to assess the use of and satisfaction with university subscribed electronic resources by the students. The major problems faced by them in accessing online resources were also identified. In order to analyze the influence of students' demographic characteristics on overall satisfaction with university subscribed resources, Mann‐Whitney and Kruskal‐Wallis tests were carried out. The problems faced by the students were tested in relation to their opinion on overall satisfaction using chi‐square test.FindingsThe survey results showed that the students are not at all satisfied with the current level of university subscribed online resources. The students identified...
Program: electronic library and information systems, 2014
Purpose – The aim of this paper is to investigate the current status of public universities in Ba... more Purpose – The aim of this paper is to investigate the current status of public universities in Bangladesh in terms of library resources and services, IT infrastructure and training requirements for the establishment of a centralized, networked electronic library for the universities in the country. Design/methodology/approach – A survey was conducted in March-April 2012 to ascertain the level of library automation practices, access to online resources and IT facilities utilized by the public universities in Bangladesh. The survey questionnaire was distributed through post and emails directed to the university librarians. The librarians were also asked to identify the type of IT-related training they had and the type of training they require. Findings – The survey results indicate that there are insufficiencies in library resources, automation practices, access to online resources and IT facilities in the universities. Although the use of computer and network technologies in older un...
Purpose-This paper aims to investigate users' individual differences such as gender and status in... more Purpose-This paper aims to investigate users' individual differences such as gender and status in service quality assessment of Independent University, Bangladesh Library (IUBL), a top-ranking private university library in Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach-A survey was conducted among IUBL users using modified version of SERVQUAL instrument. User responses for minimum, expected, and perceived services were calculated by gender and status. The gap scores between perceived and minimum services (adequacy gap) and perceived and expected services (superiority gap) by different groups were computed. Finally, the gap scores of gender and status groups were compared statistically using Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Findings-The results showed overall IUBL met minimum service expectations of its gender and status groups. However, desired service expectations were not met though they were close to desired service quality. There were significant differences in gap scores by both gender and status groups. The overall and dimensions superiority gaps were significant between male and female users. Similarly, the overall adequacy gap and dimension-wise gaps were significant across status groups. These findings suggest that SERVQUAL scores differ across library users' gender and status. Originality/value-The SERVQUAL modification is done carefully as per local settings. Furthermore, this is the first time an attempt has been made to assess individual differences in service quality of a private university library system in Bangladesh.
Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to describe the pattern of electronic information resources ... more Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to describe the pattern of electronic information resources use and satisfaction with university-paid resources by the faculty members in eight public universities in Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach-An online questionnaire was used to assess the contemporary use of, and satisfaction with, university subscribed electronic resources by the faculty members. The major constraints faced by them in accessing online resources were also identified. To analyze the influence of demographic characteristics on overall satisfaction with e-resources, Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were carried out. The constraints faced by the faculty members were tested in relation to their opinions on overall satisfaction using chi-square tests. Findings-The results showed that faculty members are not generally satisfied with the current level of university subscribed e-resources. They identified limited number of titles, limited access to back issues, difficulty in finding information, inability to access from home, limited access to computers and slow download speed as major constraints. These constraints do affect e-resources use in the public universities. However, these constraints are mainly related to the poor IT infrastructure and limited access to e-resources, which may also lead to other constraints such as an unwillingness to use the resources regularly and consequently low satisfaction with such resources. Originality/value-This is the first time an effort has been made to assess the use of university-paid online information resources by the academic community in Bangladesh. This study could be used to assess faculty needs for electronic resources which may also lead to a more dynamic interaction with such resources.
PurposeThe purpose of this article is to review the research on human‐computer interfaces for lib... more PurposeThe purpose of this article is to review the research on human‐computer interfaces for library‐based commercial online information retrieval (IR) systems.Design/methodology/approachThe review first focuses on basic interface issues for information retrieval such as interface style, end‐user searching, query formulation, relevance feedback and browsing. The second part deals with cognitive engineering in IR including mental models and individual differences. Finally, the topics on user interface engineering are covered. These include user interface guidelines, usability evaluation methods and interface engineering techniques.FindingsThe review shows that user interface design has received a limited attention from IR researchers. There is a need for adopting human‐computer interaction (HCI) techniques into IR interface designs, but this issue has not yet been fully recognised by the commercial database vendors and distributors. The paper recommends that applying HCI techniques ...
PurposeThe main aim of this paper is to assess Dhaka University students' perceptions of ease... more PurposeThe main aim of this paper is to assess Dhaka University students' perceptions of ease‐of‐use and their satisfaction with University Library's online public access catalogue (DUL OPAC).Design/methodology/approachA survey questionnaire was developed and used to collect data on students' demographics, online catalogue use and their perceptions of ease‐of‐use and satisfaction with OPAC. In order to analyze the influence of students' demographic and individual characteristics on their perceptions and satisfaction, Mann‐Whitney and Kruskal‐Wallis tests were carried out.FindingsThe results showed that students are overwhelmingly satisfied with the DUL OPAC. Although there are some differences in students' perceptions of and satisfaction with the university OPAC, a formal task‐based usability testing and adopting a user‐centered design can ensure the usability of the OPAC in the future. The paper suggested some heuristic guidelines for designing interfaces for on...
Purpose–The main aim of this paper is to report on an examination of the service quality of Dhaka... more Purpose–The main aim of this paper is to report on an examination of the service quality of Dhaka University Library (DUL), a premier public university library in Bangladesh, from its users' viewpoint. Design/methodology/approach–A survey was conducted among faculty, graduate and undergraduate students of DUL using a modified version of SERVQUAL. The gap differences between users' expected and perceived services were calculated. The concept of zone of tolerance was applied to see which items of service quality equal, ...
PurposeThe purpose of this research is to compare the results of two different usability techniqu... more PurposeThe purpose of this research is to compare the results of two different usability techniques in evaluating the Web of Science interface.Design/methodology/approachAt first three human factors experts conducted a heuristic evaluation with the interface. Then, usability testing was conducted with 22 students recruited from various departments at Loughborough University, UK.FindingsA comparison of these techniques showed that heuristic evaluation revealed qualitative information whereas usability testing uncovered mostly quantitative data about usability of the interface. Although heuristic evaluation found more problems than usability testing, it also identified complementary information.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper recommends applying multiple usability techniques to ensure comprehensiveness in evaluating IR interfaces.Originality/valueThis paper shows that using multiple usability techniques resulted in a high degree of comprehensiveness in evaluating IR user i...
PurposeThis paper aims to describe the library services available to rural dwellers and a summary... more PurposeThis paper aims to describe the library services available to rural dwellers and a summary of focus groups discussions (FGD) conducted in northern districts of Bangladesh.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is divided into two sections. The first section describes rural library services in Bangladesh. The second section discusses the results of FGDs carried out separately in ten rural communities in northern areas of Bangladesh.FindingsThe results of FGDs highlight the general information needs of rural communities, their reading, listening and viewing habits and awareness of rural library activities. The findings suggest that the rural libraries largely meet the informational needs of the local community and play a crucial role in the educational advancement of local people.Originality/valueThis is the first time an effort has been made to assess the impact of rural library activities using FGDs in Bangladesh. This paper shows that FGDs could be an effective way to assess ...
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Papers by Zabed Ahmed