Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study reading behavior in the digital environment based
on demographic factors including faculty, degree and gender among higher education students of
Isfahan University.
Design/methodology/approach – This study was survey descriptive using a researcher-made
questionnaire and data collection was accomplished using stratified random sampling method. The
population of the study was the postgraduate students from seven faculties of Isfahan University.
Different aspects of reading behavior were studied including the amount of reading of electronic
resources, the style of reading electronic resources, the amount of annotating the electronic and print
resources, the amount of printing out electronic documents for reading, and preference of reading medium.
Findings – The study showed that the amount of reading of electronic resources is highest in the
students of technical and engineering subjects, while the amount of printing out of electronic
documents is highest in the faculty of sciences. PhD students usually make use of scanning for reading
electronic resources, whereas postgraduate students generally print out more electronic documents.
Practical implications – The findings of this study will help university authorities and digital
libraries managers to provide better services to users and students.
Originality/value – With the advent of internet and computers, reading is not the same as in the
past. Reading in the digital age has changed and this paper tries to give some insight about the reading
behavior of students and their preferences and the differences based on faculty, degree and gender.
Keywords Reading, Reading behaviour, Digital environment, Students, Iran, Universities,
Electronic resources
Paper type Research paper