ارزیابی خدمات پایگاه اطلاعات علمی ایران...

Iran Scientific Information Database (or “Ganj”) is the only comprehensive database of theses/ dissertations of the Iranian scholars and is considered one of the most reliable and most visited academic databases in Iran. Nowadays, tools like “Ganj” database are essential to support research and academic services and activities in higher education institutions. Therefore, expanding and making these tools more efficient can result in the efficiency of research and educational systems. But expanding and making these tools more efficient is not possible without measuring and evaluating their activities and services. Therefore, this research was conducted with the aim of evaluating “Ganj” database and knowing the views of the users of this database in order to improve the services. In order to carry out this evaluation, the viewpoints of 577 users of this database were collected and analyzed in an online survey about the three key dimensions of the E-qual model, i.e. usability, information quality, and service interaction. The findings of the research showed that the highest level of user satisfaction with the features of “Ganj” database is related to the “usability” dimension of the E-qual questionnaire (with an average of 5.32). Against this, the lowest level of user satisfaction with the features of “Ganj” database is related to the “Information Quality” dimension of the E-qual questionnaire (with an average of 5.10). In addition, the findings of inferential statistics showed that the difference in the views of users with different educational employment in different dimensions of E-qual, i.e. applicability (“F” = 0.376 and sig. = 0.865), information quality (Chisquare = 6.771 and sig. = 0.238), service interaction (chi-square = 2.751 and sig. = 0.738) is not statistically significant. However, the relationship between users’ familiarity with “Ganj” database and their opinion about the usability of this database is significant from a statistical point of view (correlation coefficient = 0.106 and sig. = 0.011). Therefore, it can be said that the more familiar users are with “Ganj” database, the more satisfied they are with the usability of this database. Also, based on the findings of the research, the more users use “Ganj” database, the more satisfied they are with the usability, quality of information, and service interaction of this database. Based on the findings of this research, it can be concluded that users’ satisfaction with “Ganj” database is at a high level in all three dimensions of the E-qual tool; however, the continuous improvement of this database should not be overlooked. Practical suggestions have been provided to improve the services of “Ganj” database. Some helpful solutions for improving “Ganj” database include adding more details to the records (such as adding an English abstract), making the database search more efficient, and shortening the “embargo” (delay in accessing full-text files). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]