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Ghadeer Abosaeed Bachelor degree in Computer Sciences from

King Saud University (KSU), Riyadh

Master of Arts in Instructional Technology (MAIT) Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU)

Saginaw Valley State University May 2013

Ghadeer Abosaeed Bachelor degree in Computer Sciences from King Saud University (KSU), Riyadh Master of Arts in Instructional Technology (MAIT) Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU)

Saginaw Valley State University May 2013

ABSTRACT This study examined the effectiveness of using electronic books (e-books) as an alternative to printed books on students' attitudes at a university. The researcher used in this study one class which is EDL 551 Personnel Administration course at Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU) in Saginaw, Michigan. The researcher chose this class on the basis that all students that attended this course used the same e-textbook during Winter 2013 semester. Data was collected from students participating in the study via informal observations, students and faculty interviews, and attitudinal surveys. The researcher concluded that students who utilized e-books in their courses improved their studying and reading well and thus enhanced their learning outcomes. Furthermore, the researcher concluded that students attitudes and experiences toward e-books became more positive as a result to their continuous use of e-books in their studies.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would first like to thank my God above for granting me the wisdom and courage to be able to not only take on such a challenging task but to also be able to complete it. Completing this capstone was a very heavy task but thanks to my God again that gave me the power I was able to complete it. I would also like to thank my husband who was very supportive and helper to me throughout the duration of my action research project. He helped me too much to have the confidence and determination to complete other life tasks besides this task. I would like to thank Dr. Douglas Hansen who was very patient and collaborator with me to the fullest extent. Without his great accommodating nature, I would have never been able to finish this degree. He made a dream a reality by stepping outside of the box and enhancing a student's self-confidence. Last I would like to thank all of the professors in the instructional technology department for always being willing to work around my busy life. They all have truly made this degree attainable for me.

TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract Acknowledgements TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION Introduction Background Problem Statement Purpose of Study Research Question Definition of terms II. SUMMARY OF RELATED LITERATURE Introduction The effective use of E-books University Students Attitudes Toward E-book Conclusion III. METHODOLOGY Introduction Sample University Class Procedure Data Collection Observational Journal Students Attitude Surveys Students' and faculty interviews IV. RESULTS AND REFLECTIONS Introduction Observations Journal Faculty Interviews 2 3 4 6 6 7 8 8 8 8 01 01 01 52 01 05 05 05 05 04 04 00 02 02 02 06 06 06 06 09

Students Interviews Data Analysis Students Surveys V. CONCLUSION Introduction Summary of Data Journal Faculty interviews Students Interview Attitudinal Surveys Triangulation Experiencing Enquiring Examining Conclusions Recommendations VI. REFERENCES VII. APPENDIX Appendix A: Students' and faculty interviews Appendix B: Students Attitude Surveys Appendix C: Observational Journal

20 29 29 74 74 74 74 72 76 78 84 84 80 80 82 82 86 89 89 95 97

I. INTRODUCTION Introduction The researcher has worked in the education field for four years in Saudi Arabia. During that time, she worked as a computer's teacher in two educational institutions for undergraduates. Besides the teaching, the researcher gained an opportunity to help the technology coordinator in both institutions through assistance in maintaining the computer labs, installing software, and helping students and staff in solving problems regarding to their computers. Since the researcher had lots of experience with computer and its various application, as well as already done a lot of work with computers, she felt that it would be best to work towards her master's degree in Computer Sciences or any other area related to the technology. In May 2011, the researcher decided to resign from her teaching position and take the opportunity to obtain the master's degree in Instructional Technology and E-learning at Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU), Michigan. By obtaining this degree, the researcher would be able to expand her knowledge of technology and better assist her students when issues related to computer and technology arise. The researcher believes, from personal experience, that the e-book is an effective means to motivate students at a university in improving their studying and reading well and thus to enhance their learning outcomes. The researcher also believes that students attitudes toward e-books are becoming more positive as the technology of e-books improves and more ebooks become available in the libraries and Internet. Therefore, the researcher has undertaken this study to validate the effectiveness of using e-books as an alternative to printed books on student attitudes at university. The interest of university students in digital content, especially e-books, has gone off the charts. With the rapid acceptance of e-books for pleasure reading, attention has shifted now to e-textbooks and their promise to students of cost savings as well as cutting edge features.

However, the researchers want to know if the quality of e-books equivalent or better than traditional paper books for university students. Researchers also want to know if using ebooks improves students' attitudes at university and thus enhance their learning. There is a lack of understanding concern if using e-books effectively enhances students' attitudes and behaviors at university. This study will investigate the effectiveness of using e-books on students' attitudes at university. This study includes the following sections: background, problem statement, purpose of study, research question, and definition of terms. Background E-books became more practical and common as computer technology and Internet access became widespread. The birth of e-book era started in 1971 by Michael Hart who is the founder of Gutenberg project, which is the first and largest single collection of free ebooks. It has been nearly 40 years, but this is short life compared to the five-century old printed books. Several formats of e-books appeared and spread supported by major software companies, such as Adobe with its PDF format, and others supported by independent and open-source programmers such as HTML and XML formats. Furthermore, different formats are required to support all the different e-reading devices and reading methods. Because ebook is the digital representation of the printed material (printed book), the medium can vary from a computer to e-book readers, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), or mobile phone. Therefore, there are two main types of technologies available for reading e-books: online or Internet-based reading as well as offline by using e-book reading devices. In addition, there are several organizations, such as NetLibrary and Ebrary, which offer access to tens of thousands of e-books from a range of different publishers, such as Springer and Gale. These organizations emphasize that the number of e-book users has increased significantly in recent years. For instance, the number of downloads of Springers e-books grew from 25 million in 2007 to 41 million in 2008.

Problem Statement E-books to promote students learning at a university are becoming more and more prevalent. Furthermore, it seems that students attitudes toward e-books are becoming more positive as the technology of e-books improves and more e-books become available in the libraries. However, there is a concern that e-books may not effectively improve student attitudes at university. Hence, this study will prove the effectiveness of using e-books as an alternative to printed books on student attitudes at university. Purpose of Study The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of using e-books as an alternative to printed books on student attitudes at a university. Research Question Will using e-books improve student attitudes at a university? Definition of Terms Distance Learning- A formalized teaching and learning system specifically designed to be carried out remotely by using electronic communication. E-book- A text that has been published in a digital format that displays on specialized reading devices (e-readers), computers, smart phones, personal digital assistant (PDA), or other electronic devices. Ebrary- A database that contains nearly 20,000 e-books covering all academic subject areas. Ebrary allows users to search by title, keyword, author or browse by subject or table of contents. ETextReader Application- A program for reading e-texts. It has a built-in online dictionary for instant word definitions while reading. Hypertextual- Digital text in which the reader may navigate related information through embedded hyperlinks.

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NetLibrary- The leading provider of e-books and Internet- based content management services. NetLibrary e-books are full-text searchable. Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)- An information systems theory that models how users come to accept and use a technology. Think- Aloud Method- Strategy that asks students to say out loud what they are thinking about when reading, solving problems, or simply responding to questions posed by teachers or other students. Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)- An education system based on the Web to enhance a student's learning experience by adding computers and Internet in the learning process. Web- Based Multimedia- The presentation of instruction that involves the use of several media, such as movies, slides, music, animation, and lighting.

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II. SUMMARY OF RELATED LITERATURE Introduction Electronic book (e-book) is one of advanced learning tools that is rapidly moving into the educational setting. E-book is text that has been published in a digital format that displays on specialized reading devices (e-readers), computers, smart phones, personal digital assistant (PDA), or other electronic devices. E-book also has developed significantly over the past couple years to assist increasing the learning's outcomes of students at the universities. Different companies have launched with different strategies and ideas on how e-books will be delivered to students successfully and effectively. Since e-books are primarily available on the Internet, therefore they can be searched and located easily. E-books are gaining popularity among university students because they are often less expensive, easily searched, accessible from almost anywhere, and essentially weightless. These added conveniences are catching the attention a wide range of students at universities. The question being asked by researchers frequently is: Will the effective use of e-books improve student attitudes at the university? The following research has been conducted to answer this question. The literature review is divided into the following: The effective use of e-books and university students attitude toward e-books. The Effective Use of E-books Rothman (2006) explained the effective use of the OpenReader e-book software for distance education at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), where most of the 14,500 students used some forms of distance learning. The features of e-books served distance learners and educators from many aspects. The OpenReader e-book software was the best solution as an open-source software for e-books' users in distance education. According to Rothman (2006), "If ever a promising technology existed for educationand distance learning in particularit would be e-books" (p. 1).

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Rothman (2006) wanted student feedback on the new OpenReader e-book software that was implemented into all sections of computer science courses. A survey was administered to the classes during the Fall and Spring 2004-2005. There were 422 students who completed the survey. The surveys were administered the last week of classes after all coursework was completed and all assignments were taken. Rothman (2006) mentioned that the OpenReader e-book software represented an important step forward in the evolution of e-books for educational settings. Rothman (2006) found that the students indicated that the OpenReader e-book software was easy to use and a valuable learning tool. The software was successful in helping them learn the course concepts. The OpenReader software addressed many of the issues that impeded a lot of students of benefit from the e-book technology. The OpenReader software also intended to work on virtually all of the popular operating systems. Rothman (2006) found that the OpenReader software had capabilities to incorporate video, audio, blogs, annotations, and multi-threaded discussions in e-books. Also, it provided guidelines to guarantee the good display of text on a variety of screen sizes. Rothman (2006) emphasized that e-book were an excellent technological tool for distance learning for lots of factors. E-books could be more searchable via keyword than the best-indexed printed books, especially for multi-book searches. E-books also could be easily transmitted via Internet, therefore distance learners could gain the materials easily and efficiently. Rothman (2006) found that e-book ideally could be passed on to multi-user. Ebooks allowed for the ultimate in accessibility, especially for distance learners and others who were time-strapped. Additionally, distance instructors could edit their own e-books and distribute them online to their students. Rothman (2006) stated that e-books enhanced distance students to access the information, as well as helped revolutionize the processes of reading, analyzing, and researching in their courses.

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Rowhani and Sedig (2005) conducted a study on a number of students at the University of Western Ontario, Canada. The purpose of the study was to investigating the different ways in which students explore mathematical concepts using two versions of a mathematics ebook. The first version of the e-book used in the study was referred to as Platonic and Archimedean Solids E-book (PASE) with hypertextual features. The second version was PASE+, which had interactive visual qualities besides the hypertextual features. Rowhani and Sedig (2005) explored whether the students understanding of mathematical concepts improved with the augmentation of the e-book through the incorporation of interactive visuals. Rowhani and Sedig (2005) also investigated the influence of the interactive visuals on the students exploration and reasoning about mathematical information. The study participants were 24 undergraduate students who studied engineering and computer science courses. The participants had no previous experience with the e-book models used in the study. The study by Rowhani and Sedig (2005) involved grouping participants randomly into twelve pairs. The pairs were then divided into a treatment and control group. The treatment group was given PASE+ while the control group being assigned to PASE. The participants completed a pretest on geometry which involved multiple-choice questions. Subsequently, they were allowed to explore their versions of e-books for three consecutive days, 150 minutes a day. The participants were videotaped as they explored their e-books. In addition, the treatment group filled a questionnaire that allowed the researchers to collect qualitative and quantitative data. Each participant was interviewed to gather their ideas and impressions concerning the two versions of mathematics e-book. The variables measured in the study included the students understanding of mathematical information in relation to each of the e-book version. Data was obtained from the analysis of the pretest and posttest results. Data was also acquired using observations, interviews, questionnaires, and the videos recorded on the participants exploration of the e-books.

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Rowhani and Sedig (2005) emphasized that both PASE and PASE+ versions of mathematics e-book led to the students higher performance in geometry tests. However, the students who used PASE+ indicated to a better understanding of concepts than those who used PASE. Rowhani and Sedig (2005) also stated that both qualitative and quantitative results were obtained. The quantitative findings indicated that the participants scored better in the posttest than in the pretest. This finding was supported by the higher median value of the posttest scores than that of the pretest scores. This indicated a general improvement in performance after the students used the e-books. The group of participants who used PASE+ indicated a larger improvement at 59 % in performance from the pretest to posttest, compared to the 24% of the group who used PASE. In terms of qualitative findings, the two groups of participants indicated differences in their exploration of mathematical information. The group who used PASE had problems in visualizing and understanding information when using an e-book without visual features, as they could not form relevant relationships among concepts. This resulted in rote learning, as the students tried to memorize the information. Conversely, the group assigned to PASE+ was able to explore the e-book with interactive and visual features, such as simulations and maps, to form relationships between images and concepts. Consequently, the students using PASE+ developed better understanding of information, as the interactive features of the ebook allowed them to decode and comprehend the information for easy recall. Persky and Pollack (2010) conducted a study at a school of pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The study by Persky and Pollack (2010) examined the effect of using e-book and Web-based multimedia learning to facilitate students independent learning in a pharmacokinetics course. School of pharmacy at University of North Carolina used distance education strategy with a discussion board for students who participated in the pharmacokinetics course in 2009

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as a result of the increasing number of students enrolled in the course. Approximately 149 students enrolled in the course and they were using an e-book written by one of the instructors as supplemental information, as well as Web-based multimedia learning modules. Hundred percent of the course content was available in the online format for students in 2009. Attitudinal surveys were sent to students via email during the course and used to collect information on student perceptions of the course and the learning experience. Persky and Pollack (2010) emphasized that both e-books and Web-based materials were necessary means to improve students' distance-learning outcomes, as well as to encourage higher-order learning. Persky and Pollack (2010) found that both e-book and Web modules were used effectively in the course to increase student accountability through more independent learning and also increase the time spent on facilitating and assessing learning beyond that of knowledge and comprehension. The study found that 60% of students favored the e-book as a resource for the course compared to 20% who favored the Web-based material; the remaining 20% of students indicated to no preference. The most frequently cited reasons that students gave for preferring the e-book to the Web modules were that the e-book was easier to use, quicker to go through, and allowed to student to annotation. The study by Persky and Pollack (2010) also indicated that in an era when web-based learning was increasingly popular, outside-of-class learning did not have to be technology based, but could be from any type of student-friendly materials, such as e-books. Luik and Mikk (2008) realized that students gain information differently, so they conducted a study on a number of students, who were of different achievement levels at a University of Tartu at Estonia. The study's purpose was to find the characteristics of etextbooks that were related to the acquisition of knowledge by low- and high-achieving students. The study was carried out on several units of e-textbooks, which included mathematics, history, geography, chemistry, and the Estonian language. According to Luik

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and Mikk (2008), "Students are very different in their educational ability and they may benefit most from electronic textbooks, which differ in their text, graphics, self-assessment, navigation and design" (p. 1). The study by Luik and Mikk (2008) was carried out using 35 units from e-textbooks. The units of the e-textbooks presented a small body of information relatively and included various characteristics, including features of text, graphics, self-assessment, navigation by hyperlinks, and design. All the units were supplied with content tests. The learning time was not limited. Fifty-four students of both genders participated in the experiment, studied all the units, and did the examination. The students were divided into high-achieving and low-achieving groups, according to their average post-tests' score. The study results showed that there were 19 high-achieving students, 16 medium-achieving students, and 19 low-achieving students in the study, however the medium-achieving students were not considered in the study. Luik and Mikk (2008) proved that there was a relationship between e-textbook characteristics and knowledge acquisition by low-achieving and high-achieving students. These effective characteristics were different for high- and low-achieving students. Also, the learning results of high-achieving students correlated with a fewer number of characteristics of e-textbooks than the learning results of low-achieving students. Luik and Mikk (2008) found that the low-achieving students profited from clear instructions, familiar icons, examples, feedback, fewer terms, less graphics, and answering from the keyboard. While the high-achieving students benefited from key-combinations, menus with different levels, Internet, analogies, and lower density of terms in the content of the material. High-achieving students used the advanced methods of navigation successfully compared to low-achieving students. As for students self-assessment, the organization of self-assessment was important mainly for low-achievers. Furthermore, high-achievers needed few questions and low-achievers needed many questions on the essential material. Luik and

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Mikk (2008) concluded that e-textbooks should be different for learners with different achievement levels. Sun and Flores (2012) conducted a study for university students at a southern university in the United States of America. The purpose of study was to identify the extent of the impact of the use of e-books on the students learning experiences. Sun and Flores (2012) stated lots of features that make a lot of university students preferred e-books as an alternative to printed books. Of these features: e-books had built-in dictionaries and pronunciation guides, video, audio, and animation. Also, e-books were more portability, searchability, availability, interestingness, as well as less cost and easy to use. This study focused on three aspects which had a direct and indirect relationship to enhance students learning experiences; the three aspects were e-textbook helpfulness, learning outcome, and student involvement. In other words, this study focused on how e-textbooks may influence the learning experiences of university students in terms of the relationships between e-textbooks helpfulness, students involvement, and students learning outcomes. The participants of this study were undergraduate students from two majors which were psychology and business. The students from both majors used the same e-textbook and they got the codes to access it through the Internet. However, there was an option to obtain a hard copy of the e-textbook for a little amount of $15 of the university. Most of the students preferred to use the e-textbook in their classes but few of them did not. Therefore, the study was divided into two groups, one group consisted of 137 students who used e-textbook and other group consisted of 91 students who did not. To capture different aspects of students' learning experiences with the e-textbook, online survey was linked and distributed to all students through e-mails. The survey included several items to measure e-textbook helpfulness, student involvement, and learning outcome.

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Sun and Flores (2012) found the existence of indirect relationship between e-textbook helpfulness and learning outcome through the mediation of student involvement. The results of survey indicated that different ways in which the e-textbook was used by students led to different learning experiences of students. This study found when e-textbooks were perceived as helpful tools, students were likely to spend more time on reading materials, searching for relevant topics, reviewing for tests, doing exercises with immediate feedback, as well as discussing with others. Therefore, e-textbooks helpfulness enhanced student involvement in learning and then had a positive impact on learning outcomes. The results of this study indicated that there was a mediation of student involvement among e-textbook helpfulness and learning outcome for students who used the e-textbook in class, but such mediation was not present for those who did not. Therefore, students who used the e-textbook in class had a higher level of involvement and more realistic learning outcome expectations than those who did not. According to Sun and Flores (2012), "E-textbooks facilitate student involvement and enhance the learning experiences. In this sense, e-textbooks have great potential as a tool for innovative learning" (p. 12). Chen, Wei, Wang, and Lee (2007) evaluated the use of web-based e-book learning system at the National Central University in Taiwan. The study examined the system with an incorporated contextual knowledge recommender to help students to reading online and solve problems promptly. The web-based e-book learning system was a great avenue for selfdirected learning. Thus, the web-based e-book learning system was devised to support online learning. Chen et al. (2007) conducted an experiment to explore students online reading behaviors by using an e-book and obtain their opinion concerning the web-based e-book learning system. Fifty-three students, who took introduction to computer science course, participated in the experiment. All students studied in a traditional classroom and used the web-based e-

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book learning system after class to support their learning. Participants online reading behaviors and annotations were recorded to evaluate their impact of using the web-based ebook learning system. Every two weeks during the study period, students took a test to evaluate the relationship among reading behaviors and test results. Chen et al. (2007) confirmed that web-based e-book learning system was an amazing trend to facilitate students' self-directed learning and improve learning outcomes. The study results showed that students preferred accessing knowledge and joining discussions through this system. In addition, the web-based e-book learning system had lots of features that assisted students to concentrate on reading and enhance comprehension. In this system, students could easily summarize, annotate, or raise questions to query the knowledge repository and join online discussions simply by marking a passage in e-book. The study findings indicated that student online reading increased significantly after using the e-book. Chen et al. (2007) mentioned also that most students were very willing to use this system to learn material and prepare for exams. Furthermore, a positive correlation existed between amount of time spent using this system and test grade. The study findings indicated that students who spent considerable time using the system, they obtained excellent grades in tests. The study by Langston (2003) was conducted at the California State University (CSU) from the fall of 2000 to December 2001 to investigate the use of a NetLibrary collection of e-books in the universitys library. NetLibrary is a collection of online books (ebooks) and resource materials. The purpose of the study involved introducing e-books and developing a model for the creation of a common e-book collection. The study aimed at developing an understanding of the possible uses of e-books in the California State Universitys libraries. Additionally, the study aimed at testing the feasibility of using e-books to promote higher access to information in the Universitys libraries. Langston (2003) also

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examined the challenges associated with the analysis of e-book usage, thereby developing a user feedback statement. The study by Langston (2003) involved 338,700 students who were enrolled to California State Universitys twenty-three campuses between September and December 2001. The e-book pilot study was facilitated by the universitys Information Resources Committee (EAR). The committee consisted of ten librarians who represented the universitys twentythree campuses. However, the EAR committee delegated its responsibility of developing and carrying out the study to a coordinating group, comprising of representatives of librarians from six campuses. The methodology involved the collection of e-books from the NetLibrary, which provided more than 23,000 titles in 2000. In the selection of titles, an e-mail survey was conducted informally during the 2000 summer, where representatives from the CSUs libraries were asked to indicate the subjects that were the most interesting to them. Langston (2003) examined the statistics on the title and subject usage, besides conducting a user survey. The responses obtained from the survey were used for the selection of subjects that included science, computer science, business and economics, psychology, and education. Excel spreadsheets were then distributed to the coordinating team members. Each of the member selected specific titles from the provided lists. The main selection criteria involved the author, publisher, and subject. Langston (2003) proved that e-books were an effective learning medium for different categories of students. The study indicated that the NetLibrary e-books constituted a crucial medium for the access of information. The e-book users indicated their satisfaction concerning the effectiveness of e-books for learning. The findings also indicated that the CSUs twenty-three libraries recorded 17,473 e-book uses between March and December 2001. Langston (2003) mentioned that the e-book usage was highest in the months of April, May, October, and November. Subjects that had the highest number of titles were

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characterized by the highest usage. In an online survey which involved 118 respondents, the obtained results indicated that (77%) of the e-book users were first-time users, with (44%) were undergraduates, (20%) were graduates, and (21%) were faculty members. Additionally, (62%) of users accessed the e-books while at campus, whereas the rest (38%) of users accessed the e-books from off-campus. Langston (2003) concluded that universities should therefore create collections of e-books to promote maximum access to information. The study by Hernon, Hopper, Leach, Saunders, and Zhang (2007) was conducted in Simmons College which is a small private college located in Boston, USA. The purpose of study was to examine the undergraduate students' behavior in the research and use of e-books in three disciplines, which were economics, literature, and nursing at Simmons College. "Most students in three disciplines trust the library collection and assume that if the library includes a database for e-books in its homepage, that resource must be reliable and trustworthy" (Hernon et al., 2007, p. 7). Hernon et al. (2007) conducted a number of observations and interviews with a number of students of three disciplines in order to highlight the differences among the students in searching and using e-books. The study by Hernon et al. (2007) was based on 15 students, five students from each discipline, and they participated in this study voluntarily. Observing student search behavior afforded an opportunity to investigate the types of e-books used by students. The interviews among students focused on four areas for discussion on topics related to e-books, including the types of e-books used, purpose of the use of e-books, and how students access to e-books and use them. The study by Hernon et al. (2007) found that e-book was a great element at Simmons College library and used frequently by faculty and students in three areas, which were economics, literature, and nursing. Hernon et al. (2007) reported that there were usage variations on types of e-books among students of different disciplines. Current monographs,

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literary dictionaries and criticisms, and reference sources were the major type used by students of economics, literature, and nursing, respectively. The study by Hernon et al. (2007) also found that the participants frequently relied on digital resources, often full-text of ebooks and e-journals in searching for information. The interviews results emphasized that participants showed a great interest in the use of e-books as a key means in the research and writing papers for their assignments. The participants liked e-books for lots of reasons. They felt that e-books were more convenience than the printed books, so they did not need to visit the library physically to gain the desired source. This study also emphasized that students utilized e-books because they were less cost and more efficiency, currency, and portability than the printed books. This study also showed that the diversity of resources of e-books encouraged a lot of students to access e-books. Most of the students were familiar with both NetLibrary and Ebrary collections, however NetLibrary collection was visited most frequently by the students at Simmons College. Finally, the participants were very likely to browse or scan content of e-book not the whole e-book. Vernon (2006) conducted a study on a number of his students who enrolled in a Master's in Social Work (MSW) at Indiana University (IU), USA. The study by Vernon (2006) investigated how students adapted to using a completely online textbook instead of a traditional paper text. Indiana University offered the MSW degree online for its students, and this procedure needed to design several online materials to enhance student online learning and transform courses. Vernon (2006) stated that electronically-distributed textbooks had a great opportunity for social work students who took their Master's degree online at IU. Vernon (2006) conducted a case study on 23 students who studied a single advanced MSW practice course. The case study examined how students might adapt to an online textbook. Vernon (2006) selected a single Web site, which was Community Tool Box Web site, as the only source for readings. Students recorded each reading session through discrete

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daily assignments. The class met once per week for 16 weeks and was focused on theories and methods of community practice interventions. The Web site was organized like a paper textbook. It contained a table of contents and was divided into 46 chapters. Students were required to work completely online to pass this class. Weekly online quizzes consisted of multiple-choice questions were used over the semester to determine whether the students actually completed the online readings. Vernon (2006) confirmed that the students in this class were remarkably enthusiastic about using the Web site and their experience were positive toward the e-textbooks. Although most students generally adapted to the e-textbook, a few students did not because of interface design, time constraints, and study strategies. Also, students' grades proved that they actually did the reading online. As a result, all students had passing grades with a class average of (89.4%) on the quizzes. Vernon (2006) mentioned that most students were open to using computers, which was not surprising for graduate-level students. Most students also stated that their online experience generally improved over time. McFall (2005) conducted a study on a group of computer science students at Hope College in Michigan, USA. The purpose of study was to examine the motivation of the design of an e-textbook that seeks to transform how textbooks were used inside and outside the class. McFall (2005) used an e-textbook application, which was eTextReader that run on Microsoft's TabletPC operating system. ETextReader was designed and implemented to address the shortcomings of using other e-books as textbooks. ETextReader application had lot of features for facilitate changing the way that students interact with their textbook. McFall (2005) also evaluated the use of eTextReader's impact on the way that students use their textbooks. The study by McFall (2005) used eTextReader as the primary text in two offerings of introduction to computer science course. The first offering was during the fall of 2003, while

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the second offering was during the spring of 2004. The study by McFall (2005) was conducted on 38 students enrolled in these two sections. Student learning was assessed via course examinations and overall grades, whereas student perceptions toward eTextReader usage were assessed via online surveys. McFall (2005) emphasized that an application such as eTextReader provided an ideal supporting environment to improve reading through many active reading techniques. McFall (2005) also found that e-textbooks could facilitate students' learning and read more actively, and this absolutely led to motivate students' learning. Students and faculty reactions to the eTextReader were mostly positive. Students appreciated the features that eTextReader had, including the ability to annotate and share annotations, such as notes and diagrams among the readers of the text, the ability to present multiple views of content, the ability to highlighting important portions of the text, as well as un-highlight a portion of the text. McFall (2005) concluded that eTextReader was widely accepted by students and faculty and transformed the way that students interacted with the e-textbook to enhance student learning significantly. McClelland and Hawkins (2006) conducted a study at Liverpool John Moores University (JMU) in Liverpool, United Kingdom (UK). Universities in the UK with enrolment of around 22,000 students initiated strategies to develop learning strategies from the year 1995. The study by McClelland and Hawkins (2006) examined the problems, tensions, contrasts, and complementarities that surrounded the use of e-books in order to developing learning environments for students in UK higher education. Therefore, the program established at JMU identified and assisted the university commitment in learning development through using variety of e-book titles. The perspectives on the usage and development of various ebooks in the university to support fundamental learning environments were significant. McClelland and Hawkins (2006) used four case studies, which included the outsource model with in-house benefit, the outsourced model, hybrid model, and the in-house

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model. The study helped in the development of this program, where the variables used to determine the need for the improvement in the education system were almost in the case studies. Student notes, lecture presentations, revision materials, individual leaning materials, e-books, and Webpages were among the variables used to fulfill the objective of this project and its processes. The development of web materials together with e-books was by McGraw and supported by JMU. The e-books were accessible from the university's website which eased the learning process in the university as well as supported Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs). McClelland and Hawkins (2006) confirmed that the experience of development at JMU was successful to a large degree. The rapid developments revealed that the usage of ebooks in VLEs became available positively in the educational sector of the UK. McClelland and Hawkins (2006) found that users preferred some features of printed books to be preserved in the e-books, while also other users preferred e-books to be written in a scannable style. McClelland and Hawkins (2006) concluded that e-book development served as a module to assist students' learning. Reynolds (2011) examined the trends or factors that influenced the growth of etextbooks in United States (US) higher education. Reynolds (2011) conducted a study on a number of US higher learning institutions and other offices bearing public academic excellence in the country. Reynolds (2011) emphasized that the growth of e-book usage in the US higher education was on the increase. Reynolds (2011) found that the current rate of e-book sale in the US took a portion of 1.5% annual increase. This replicated a higher and increasing use of e-books in the institutions. Reynolds (2011) conducted a number of interviews with representatives from leading etextbook publishers. The study by Reynolds (2011) showed also increases in digital textbooks sales of 80-100% in 2010, as well as there was a close to 42% of students purchased or at

26

least made a purchase of an e-book in the course of their studies. This percentage often increased annually as at 24% from 2007. Reynolds (2011) summarized the factors that influenced the recent rise in the use of digital texts in the US higher education schools as follows: the cost of e-textbooks as a lowerpriced alternative to printed textbooks, the availability of e-textbooks, buying and sharing of e-textbooks, format standards for e-textbooks, the growth of the trade e-book market, the continued growth of for-profit institutions and e-learning at a rate of 20.7% in 2005 to 26.2% in 2010, and the growth of online retail and distribution options. Also of the factors that influenced the use of e-books were the development of e-reader technology, along with the evolution of tablet devices and smartphones. Reynolds (2011) concluded that the Internet technology had been the major supplier to the increasing motivation to use e-textbooks among students. Students got motivated to use such sources since they guided them to achieve more than they were doing in their school performance. University Students Attitudes Toward E-books Chu (2003) studied the factors that affected the student's usage or non-usage of e-books at the Palmer School of library and information science in the United States of America (USA). Chu (2003) stated that there were an increasing number of e-book titles in Palmer School library. Chu (2003) used a questionnaire which was distributed to the masters and doctoral students who studied with him two courses. The questionnaire consisted of only nine questions; these questions were divided into two parts. The first part was for students who used e-books before, while the second part was for students who did not. Also, the questions depended on whether they used e-books before or not. A total of 27 students completed the questionnaire. The data was then analyzed quantitatively as well as qualitatively.

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Chu (2003) emphasized that the majority of students (75%) used e-books in the past for lots of reasons. The respondents stated that both availability around the clock as well as searchability were the most important reasons for using e-books. The respondents also preferred to read e-books mostly by computers without using special e-readers. Whereas, the respondents who never use e-books (25%) mainly thought that e-books were hard to read and browse, as well as need special equipment. However, about half of the non-users of e-books planned to explore some e-book titles in the future. Berg, Hoffmann, and Dawson (2010) conducted a study on a group of undergraduate students who enrolled in Faculty of Science programs at the University of Western Ontario in Canada. The study by Berg et al. (2010) used a prompted think-aloud method to gain an understanding of the information retrieval behavior of students in both electronic and printed books. Also, the study used qualitative analysis techniques to examine the ways that students use e-books versus printed books. A sample of 20 undergraduate students participated in this study. Berg et al. (2010) chose this group because undergraduate science students were heavy users of e-books at the University of Western Ontario in Canada. Each participant was asked to think aloud while carrying out eight information retrieval tasks by using eight books, four of which were provided as printed books and four as e-books. Also, Each participant completed four tasks using e-books and four with print books. By the end of the study, each task was completed an equal number of times in both printed and electronic books. Half of the participants performed the assigned tasks in printed books first, and the other half of the participants began with tasks in e-books. Berg et al. (2010) used for data analysis a questionnaire, video recordings, verbatim transcripts, and the researchers' written notes which made while participants were completing the assigned tasks.

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The study by Berg et al. (2010) highlighted lots of differences between how information retrieval tasks were carried out in both printed and electronic books. Some participants in this study appeared to appreciate printed books, which resulted in more direct processes for finding information than when they used e-books. Some participants also tended to prefer the linear strategies of printed books; some did not like the fact that the sense of linearity is lost with e-books. However, the study by Berg et al. (2010) indicated that search functionality and navigation were critical to students' approval of e-books. The interactive features of e-book platforms (such as search capabilities) were potentially the most significant advantage that ebooks had over print books. The participants indicated that they preferred using printed books for extensive reading, but e-books were useful for selective reading and reference purposes. Abdullah and Gibb (2008) examined students' attitudes towards e-books, as well as their use and usability of e-books in higher education. The study was conducted on a number of undergraduate and graduate instructional students at the University of Strathclyde. The integration of e-books with other e-formats in Strathclyde libraries had not only created opportunities, but had also created some challenges, such as acquisition and collection development, along with standards and technology management. Abdullah and Gibb (2008) hypothesized that there was a relationship among e-books usage, familiarity with the term ebook, and awareness of e-books. The study by Abdullah and Gibb (2008) included an online survey was sent via email to all undergraduate and graduate instructional students. Only a total of 1,372 respondents completed the survey fully. The majority of the respondents (90%) were undergraduate students, while only (10%) were graduate students. The online survey was divided into two sections: the first section was targeted the respondents who used e-books before, whereas the second section was for respondents who had never used e-book. The online survey consisted of questions that were related to students attitudes towards e-books, such as level of e-books

29

usage, familiarity with the term e-book, e-books awareness, purpose of using e-books, and reasons of using and not using e-books. The survey results identified positive attitudes towards e-books by students. However, Abdullah and Gibb (2008) emphasized the importance of promoting e-books in order to ensure widespread awareness and use of e-books. Seventy- two percent of the respondents indicated that they were familiar with the term e-book before the survey, however only 43% were aware of the availability of e-books from the library. The findings revealed that a majority of students (50%) had not used e-book before the survey. The study by Abdullah and Gibb (2008) proved that e-book usage influenced by two factors: respondents familiarity with the term e-book before the survey and their awareness of e-book availability in the library. The study showed that more respondents that had used an e-book before the survey were aware of e-book availability in the library. The respondents mentioned lots of reasons for using e-books, including e-books were freely available in the library and had features that were not available in printed books, such as hyperlinks, bookmarks, annotations, and videos. While some respondents stated the reasons for not using e-books, including lack of awareness of their availability, unfamiliarity with e-book technology, discomfort during reading on screen, preference for printed books, and e-books need special equipment. In addition, respondents stated that they used e-books for four main purposes, which are finding relevant content (37%), selective reading (21.4%), extended reading (20.8%), and fact finding (16.2%). Liu (2006) compared between the extent of graduate students usage of printed resources and electronic resources, which included e-books at the San Jose State University, USA. Liu (2006) stated that graduate students had different perceptions and preferences in their choice of printed and electronic books. The study by Liu (2006) also discussed the circumstances

30

that affected the selection of use among digital libraries and traditional libraries to satisfy their information needs. Liu (2006) designed a questionnaire of seven questions in order to gather information about the perceptions, preferences, and use of printed and electronic resources of graduate students. The questionnaire also included an optional section, which consisted of six questions to explore circumstances that affected on their choice of resources format and the type of libraries. The questionnaires were distributed to students either in class, at the library, or at the student center. In total, 133 graduate students completed questionnaires of diverse disciplines, including library and information science, business administration, computer science, and social sciences. The study by Liu (2006) explained that graduate students in different disciplines had different preferences for information sources when they completed their assignments and essays. The questionnaire results showed that (52%) of all respondents used library electronic resources, such as e-books and e-journals, and (28.6%) of respondents used Internet. While only (15.8%) of respondents used library printed sources, such as printed books and journals when completing their assignments and essays. Therefore, Liu (2006) found that the majority of participants in this study had desire to meet their information needs through a mix of printed resources and electronic resources, which included e-books and e-journals. In addition, familiarity, availability, and convenience were the key factors that affected the strong preference for library online resources by students. Letchumanan and Tarmizi (2011) conducted a study on a sample of undergraduates from the engineering department at the University of Putra Malaysia, Malaysia. The study investigated the intention of using e-books as learning material among engineering students by using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and gender as its external variable. "The technology acceptance model (TAM) originally is the preeminent theory that is widely used

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to explain and predict user acceptance of new information system" (Letchumanan & Tarmizi, 2011, p. 3). Also, based on TAM , the level of e-book technology acceptance by students depended on two main constructs, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. External variables, such as gender in this study, could directly influence perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. Letchumanan and Tarmizi (2011) conducted a questionnaire which was distributed during class time among engineering students of both genders who had experience in using ebooks and good computer skills. The questionnaire consisted of 20 items with eight in the first section and 12 in the second section. The first eight items of the questionnaire addressed key characteristics such as age, gender, experience in using e-books, frequency of using ebooks, and computer skills. While, the 12 items in the second section addressed four constructs, which included perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, attitudes towards using e-books, and intention towards using e-books. In total of 169 questionnaires from respondents who had previous experience in using e-book were analyzed. Letchumanan and Tarmizi (2011) proved that TAM was a valuable tool in investigating the intention of using e-books among undergraduates from engineering department. The study results revealed that perceived ease of use had significant effect on perceived usefulness in the adoption of e-books technology. Therefore, Letchumanan and Tarmizi (2011) emphasized that perceive ease of use played important role in making the e-book to be perceived as useful among respondents. The study also found that perceived usefulness was the greatest predictor of intention to use e-books. Hence, Letchumanan and Tarmizi (2011) confirmed that students' intention to use e-books increased significantly when they found that e-books were useful for them in their learning activities and could assist them to improve their course performance and their course work productivity. In addition, most of the respondents agreed that e-book was useful reference material for their coursework, so they

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had generally favorable attitude towards using the e-book. Letchumanan and Tarmizi (2011) concluded that gender was not an important factor to perceive e-book as useful and easy to use among respondents. Wu and Chen (2011) examined graduate students usage of and attitudes towards ebooks at National Taiwan University in Taipei, Taiwan. E-books became the essential components of university library collections. Moreover, National Taiwan University library expanded its budgets to include e-books. The university library started to build an e-book collection in 2006; the collection in 2011 included over 900,000 e-books titles. The study by Wu and Chen (2011) focused on comparing graduate students attitudes towards e-books in four different disciplines, which included humanities, social sciences, science and technology, and medicine. The study by Wu and Chen (2011) conducted interviews with a number of graduate students of National Taiwan University. A total of 20 graduate students from the fields of humanities, social sciences, science and technology, and medicine were interviewed; five students were interviewed from each discipline. All questions in this study related to e-book usage, therefore only those who had e-book experiences were qualified to participate. Interview questions were sent via email to participants in advance in order to give them an opportunity to review first their experiences with e-books. Wu and Chen (2011) found a few variations among students use behavior in different disciplines. Wu and Chen (2011) emphasized that students attitudes toward e-books became more positive. The results of interviews indicated that 11 students reported that they used ebooks frequently, five occasionally, and four rarely. The study also showed that graduate students used e-books mainly for the purposes of study and research. Monographs were the type of e-book that students used most often, followed by textbooks and reference tools. Participants stated lots of features of using e-books, including easy to search, convenient to

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access, easy to save without limitation, environmentally friendly, and convenient for bibliographic management. While participants appreciated the convenience of using e-books, students mentioned several limitations, including discomfort when reading from the screen and the need to install software before reading. All participants liked the keyword search function of e-books. Most of the time, graduate students browsed a few paragraphs or pages online and then printed out copies for further reading. They also borrowed the corresponding paper versions of the e-books from the library. Wu and Chen (2011) concluded that students preferred that university libraries supplied both the electronic and paper versions. Ebrary is a collection of thousands of online full text books (e-books) and other materials in a variety of subject areas. Ebrary collection has lots of features, such as the ability to highlight text and take notes, as well as providing PDF technology. The study by Parkes (2007) examined the using of ebrarys e-books at Staffordshire University, which is located in the middle of England. Staffordshire University offered e-learning for its students and used Blackboard as the essential Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) through the Information Services (IS) available at the university. Parkes (2007) discussed the importance of using e-books for students through a project occurred in 2003/2004 and aimed to integrate e-books from ebrary and other e-resources into VLE in order to assist students in general and e-learning students in particular to access ebooks. The project was applied by Staffordshire University in partnership with ebrary as a supplier of e-books, and Emerald which is an e-journal provider. The project also was aimed to enable students to research in both ebrary and Emerald effectively. Therefore, students and teachers used formulate queries within VLE search tools and then pass these on to Emerald or ebrary. As a result, students and teachers were able to gain resources as links which could be flexibly attached to content in the VLE.

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The experience with providing e-books to users at Staffordshire University was very positive. The ability of students to access ebrarys e-books and then capture the information they need quickly and easily was very valuable. Materials from ebrarys e-books were also embedded in the Blackboard and VLE with links to pages, images, and text extracts. The study by Parkes (2007) emphasized also that the students did not use e-books in the same manner as they used print books; furthermore, they used the most useful extracts from the book rather than browsing it entirely. Parkes (2007) found that e-books inevitably played a great role in information provision at Staffordshire University, as well as teachers were very aware of e-books to produce the e-learning materials for students. The study by Zhang and Beckman (2011) was conducted on a number of graduate students, scientists, and faculty members from the chemistry department and biology department of Indiana University at Bloomington (IUB). Zhang and Beckman (2011) examined several topics related to e-books in order to get a better understanding about how well e-books were accepted by graduate students, scientists, and faculty members for both research and teaching. The IUB libraries had collections of e-books from different sources, such as Springer, Wiley, Elsevier, and Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), and Ebrary. The availability of e-books changed the way that scientists, faculty members, and students accessed, read, shared, and stored books and articles at Indiana University. Zhang and Beckman (2011) used in their study an online survey and interviews with a number of graduate students, scientists, and faculty members. The online survey was sent out to the mailing lists of two departments and included ten questions only. Whereas the interviews were conducted with eight active users, who frequently accessed and used ebooks, from faculties and graduate students of two departments. Interviews aimed to detect their experience with e-books usage. The online survey addressed various topics regarding ebooks, which included e-book awareness by users, finding e-books, e-books Vs. print books,

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advantages of e-books, e-books format and features, promoting the use of e-books, and ebook publishers. The number of respondents to the survey was 78 from both departments. The survey results indicated that e-books had become an important service offered by the libraries at Indiana University. Participants showed a high rate of awareness of e-books. Seventy- four percent of the respondents stated that they were aware of the e-books available in the IUB libraries, while 26% were not. The respondents mentioned also that they were finding e-books from several resources. Fifty- four percent of the respondents focused on ebook web pages on IUB libraries for finding e-books, while 43% of respondents focused on library announcements, 30% of respondents relied on search based on a research topic, and 18% relied on recommendations from colleagues for finding e-books. Most participants of the survey preferred e-books more than printed books. Fifty- three percent of respondents chose e-books while 47% chose print books. In addition, participants mentioned lots of reasons to use e-books. Sixty- eight percent of the respondents stated that e-books were available 24/7, 12% stated that multiple users could use an e-book, 9% stated that e-books were portable, and 6% stated that e-books were lower price. As for the format of e-books, 92% of the respondents preferred PDF format, and 12% preferred HTML format, while 8% preferred e-books on e-book readers and 5% preferred ebooks on mobile devices. Participants also stated lots of features that influenced their opinions about e-books. The ability to print or save (80%), search the full text (77%), and ease of use (52%) were the top three desirable features, while the capability of note taking (27%), and sharing with colleagues (19%) were the next two desirable e-book features. For the preferred e-book publishers or vendors, participants mentioned that the top three e-book publishers were Wiley (40%), Springer (29%), and Elsevier (18%). Other choices were Royal Society of Chemistry (5%), Ebrary (5%), and Books 24/7 (3%).

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Zhang and Beckman (2011) summarized the findings of interviews as follows: interviewees stated that e-books used in both research and teaching. More than one senior faculty member mentioned that they were selecting various chapters from several e-book titles, so the students did not need to carry heavy textbooks and spend a lot of money on several textbooks. Faculty members also emphasized the importance of teaching students about the e-books of the library and they needed to collaborate with the librarians in order to promote the e-book usage. The study by Anuradha and Usha (2006) was conducted at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore, India. This study examined the use and usability of e-books from the perspectives of users in an academic and research environment at the Indian Institute of Science. Anuradha and Usha (2006) showed that the need for e-books by students was due to several factors, including: e-books offered multimedia information, such as video and audio, full-text searching, reference linking, flexibility in searching and browsing, availability online, selection of different types of fonts and styles, and portability. Also, e-reader software allowed users to highlight, annotate, underline, and bookmark. "E-books represent a logical step on the timeline of publishing and the evolution of digital collections" ( Anuradha & Usha, 2006, p. 2). The case study was applied on a number of researchers of both students and staff in the institute. The study by Anuradha and Usha (2006) included a questionnaire which was distributed to a number of researchers via e-mail regarding their use of e-books. The questionnaire consisted of 27 questions and its results were classified into six aspects, which included ebooks usage by researchers, use of computers, definition and opinion about e-books, features of e-books, recommendations regarding e-books, and awareness of e-book technology. In total, 101 questionnaires were completed, and the respondents were 16 from staff and 85

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from students which indicated to the proportion the using of e-books and answering the questionnaire by the students was greater than was done by the staff. Anuradha and Usha (2006) emphasized that there was an elevated and effective use of e-books by students more that the staff. The questionnaire results indicated that most of the respondents used e-books for academic purposes (58.33%), some of them for entertainment (1.66%), and (45%) for both. All the respondents used computers for a variety of works, such as text processing, e-mail, browsing the Internet, and others. Also, questionnaire results showed that respondents utilized different types of e-books, however reference material and technical books were the most frequently used. As for the features of e-books that impressed respondents, searchability came first with (71.66 %), then accessibility (63.33%), and then mobility (50%). The study by Anuradha and Usha (2006) also indicated that the majority of respondents (90 %) used Adobe reader software, although some (10%) also used Ebrary reader and Microsoft e-books reader software. Thirty- eight percent of respondents gave recommendations for improving e-books, and these included better awareness of the content of e-books, and the need to reduce the time taken to browse the pages of e-books. Thirtyeight percent of respondents were aware of e-books and their technology, whereas (26%) of respondents were not. The study indicated that more students' responses were positive on the use of e-books. However, there was need for greater awareness since most of their uses are formal and not technical. Shelburne (2009) conducted a study on all e-books users of undergraduates, graduates, faculty members, and academic staff at the University of Illinois, USA. The growing availability of e-books to users at the University of Illinois had begun to affect the user perceptions and attitudes toward e-books. Furthermore, the growing usage rate for e-books in the University of Illinois library indicated a rapidly expanding interest in e-books content.

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Therefore, the study by Shelburne (2009) investigated usage patterns and attitudes toward ebooks at the University of Illinois. Shelburne (2009) used a survey was sent to all students, faculty members, and staff at the University of Illinois via campus mass e-mail. The survey was designed to cover general user experiences with e-books, their awareness and usage of e-books, their likes and dislikes about e-books, and their predictions of how they will use electronic and printed book materials in the future. In total, 1547 participants completed the survey. Shelburne (2009) confirmed that the development of e-book technologies assisted indeed the majority of the participants to find e-books easier and more efficient than traditional printed books. The survey results showed that (55%) of respondents were aware that e-books were offered by the University of Illinois library for their use, while (45%) were not. Also, (57%) of participants indicated that they used e-books for lots of reasons. Seventy- eight percent of their e-book use was for research, (56%) for study, and (10%) for teaching and leisure. Whereas approximately (42%) of respondents indicated that they did not use e-books because they did not know that e-books were available in the library and did not like to read from the screen. Overall, Shelburne (2009) found that e-books gained a lot of interest with library users at the University of Illinois and became an important service offered by the university library and Internet. Letchumanan and Tarmizi (2010) conducted a study on a number of mathematics students at University Putra Malaysia (UPM). The study by Letchumanan and Tarmizi (2010) explored utilization pattern of e-book among mathematics students since the UPM library hoped to increase the collection of e-books specially mathematics e-books and needed to know the mathematics students perceptions on e-books. Letchumanan and Tarmizi (2010) used a structured questionnaire in order to collect information about e-book utilization pattern among mathematics students. The questionnaires

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were distributed by the professor who taught that particular class. About 35 undergraduate students participated in this study and they completed their questionnaire during their class period. Letchumanan and Tarmizi (2010) used simple random sampling method to collect data. "E-book can promise better knowledge delivery, accessibility and long lasting knowledge repository. Hence, students should make use of this facility to keep abreast with the e-book technology" (Letchumanan & Tarmizi, 2012, p. 7). The study by Letchumanan and Tarmizi (2010) revealed that the respondents preferred e-books as compared to printed books. A high percentage of the respondents (53.8%) indicated that they preferred to read ebook on screen, however (46.2%) of the respondents reported that they preferred to use printed books compared to e-book. The study also found that most of the respondents (84.6%) used e-book to find materials for their assignments and (61.5%) to do their research work. Availability and searchability were the main two reasons that motivated respondents to use e-books. Respondents stated that unfamiliarity with the technology was the main reason that hindered them of using the e-books. Levine-Clark's (2006) study aimed to determine users' awareness of e-books, as well as how and why they used them at the University of Denver. Levine-Clark (2006) stated that Penrose library at the University of Denver invested heavily in e-books over the past several years without a real sense of how or why they were used. Levine-Clark (2006) used a survey which was sent to all University of Denver students, faculty, and staff. The survey consisted of 19 questions; these questions were designed to gather feedback about e-books usage and awareness. The survey was completed by 2,067 respondents of undergraduates, graduate students, faculty members, and staff. Levine-Clark (2006) mentioned that all respondents were pleased with the e-books format, as well as e-books were quite useful for them. Survey results showed that e-books

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were used by about half of the campus community. Majority of respondents stated that they were aware that Penrose library at the University of Denver provided access to e-books. Moreover, (71%) of undergraduates had access to e-books, while (56%) of graduate students and (53%) of the faculty members had access to e-books. Also, over half of respondents (52%) indicated that they used e-books for lots of reasons. The ability to access e-books remotely as well as the ability to search within the text were the main reasons to access and use e-books. Although most respondents (60%) indicated a preference for printed books over e-books, however an even larger number (over 80%) indicated a degree of flexibility between the two formats. The study by Rickman, Holzen, Klute, and Tobin (2009) was conducted at Northwest Missouri State University (NMSU). The study's purpose was to determine the feasibility of using e-textbooks at NMSU through the process of transition from the rental of traditional textbooks to the rental of e-textbooks. Rickman et al. (2009) stated that the key factor that encouraged NMSU in thinking for transition process was the cost of textbooks, which was a growing concern among higher educations constituency of students. Rickman et al. (2009) conducted a pilot study consisted of three phases, which included e-book readers, laptop computers, and implementation, respectively. Phase one aimed to evaluate the effective use of Sony Reader for students as a newest e-reader. In phase one, over 50 faculty members volunteered with four e-textbooks selected based mostly on the availability of appropriate e-textbooks for their courses. Phase two aimed to evaluate etextbooks designed for use on students' laptops. In phase two, 11 departments volunteered to participate in the study. Across the 11 departments, 20 classes were selected to use etextbooks on laptops; approximately 500 students participated in the study. Phase three aimed primarily to manage the transition to e-textbooks in a way that contained costs and obtained the support of students and faculty members.

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Rickman et al. (2009) found that the experience of transition from the rental of traditional textbooks to the rental of e-textbooks at NMSU was almost positive. Rickman et al. (2009) also confirmed that although the transition process to e-textbooks at NMSU required more time than they thought, but the integration of e-textbooks across the universitys academic environment ensured that e-textbook technology became the core of students educational experiences. In addition, the study results showed that participants preferred the reading of e-textbooks by the use of laptop computers more than the use of Sony Readers. Participants in phase two of the study mentioned that laptop computers provided lots of capabilities, such as active web links, quizzes, and shared notes, while Sony Readers did not. Rickman et al. (2009) concluded that the students and faculty members involved in phase one of the study helped in determine that the Sony Reader was not ready for full deployment. Furthermore, Rickman et al. (2009) considered that the laptop computer was a basic service that could not be replaced by current e-reader technology. Conclusion The use of e-books is growing at an increasing rate each year. Electronic publications always attract lots of students at the university due to their nature of mobility and dynamic features. E-book as one of the electronic publications in the academic libraries has taken its place besides its print counterpart as an awesome method of bringing the published text in the digital format to students. Because e-book's technology can be implemented without the need for expensive print tasks, a growing number of companies that produce e-books have developed e-book's capabilities to ensuring that by using this tool, the students' attitudes toward e-book will improve. Lots of researchers have conducted studies where their studies' outcomes are quite positive regarding e-books. They show that there is a positive correlation in improving students' attitudes toward e-book with the e-book involvement in education. Finally, lots of

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researches confirmed that e-books are the next generation information's sources which might replace many current formats and tools. For the future, many researchers believe that the success of e-books are mainly dependent on their effectiveness in education as well as the multiple facilities that e-books have, including the integration of many sources of learning in one educational tool, which is e-book.

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III. METHODOLOGY Introduction This study was designed to analyze the effectiveness of using e-books as an alternative to printed books on student attitudes at a university. The methodology section is about the selection of students used to gather data and the over all process used to perform the study at the university. In this section, the researcher will describe the sample used at the university and the classroom, procedures, and ways of data collection in this action research project. Sample Students that attend EDL 551 Personnel Administration course at Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU) and use the same e-textbook in their course were included in this study. University Saginaw Valley State University is located in University Center, Michigan, in the area between Bay City, Saginaw, and Midland. Saginaw Valley State University was founded in 1963 as a private liberal arts college and received university status in 1987. Saginaw Valley State University has academic programs at both the undergraduate and graduate level. There are five colleges: The College of Arts and Behavioral Science, the College of Business and Management, the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, the College of Education, and the College of Science, Engineering, and Technology. Bachelors degrees are offered in a variety of fields within the various academic colleges. Degrees at the bachelors level can be received in such areas as athletic training, computer science, economics, general business, marketing, political science, physics, and social work. Graduate programs are offered in business administration, communication and multimedia, education, nursing, and administrative science. Support services for students at SVSU include counseling, a health center, academic workshops, career advising, financial advising, and much more. Students are encouraged to

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take advantage of the many support services. Student life opportunities are an important part of campus life. Student organizations, volunteer opportunities, athletic teams, Greek life, campus activities, residential life, and much more make SVSU an exciting campus to attend. Class The students that participated in this study were 16 graduates who enrolled in the EDL 551 Personnel Administration course in the Winter 2013 school year. The students in the class were from two majors: Education Leadership and Instructional Technology at SVSU. Approximately half of students (seven students) were international students who are enrolled in the master's program in Instructional Technology and E-learning. While the rest of students (nine students) were American students. Most of them were teachers in middle schools. In total, nine of students are female and seven are male. Procedure This action research project was conducted during the Winter 2013 school year at SVSU. The participants in this study included graduate students who enrolled in EDL 551 Personnel Administration course from two different disciplines: Education Leadership and Instructional Technology. The researcher chose the EDL 551 Personnel Administration course based on the fact that all students from both majors used the same e-textbook during the course and they had accounts to access it through the Internet from CourseSmart website. Hundred percent of the course content was available in the online format for students. All students were required to read chapter or two chapters of e-textbook every week in order to analyze the case study available at the end of each chapter. All students were asked permission to be part of this study. Once permission from participants to conduct the study had been obtained, the researcher then began collecting observational data weekly in an observational journal. In the journal, the researcher recorded observations of students reading and using e-textbook during the class period. The researcher

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was able to observe students every week during their enrollment in the course and their use of e-textbook. The observational journal continued throughout the course of the study. Interviews of several students in the class were conducted by the researcher during the class period in late February 2013. The researcher conducted interviews in order to know if students felt that using e-textbooks in their courses improved their attitudes toward e-books as well as enhanced their learning outcomes. The interviews with the students gave the researcher information on the students attitudes toward e-textbook and their experiences with using e-books. In addition, the researcher conducted interviews with number of faculty who already use e-textbooks with their students. The researcher wanted through interviews with faculty to know their opinion on using e-textbooks in their classes as well as to know their future expectations for using and improving e-books at university. To capture different aspects of students' learning experiences with the e-textbook, an attitudinal survey was distributed to all students via e-mail during the course at the beginning of February 2013. The survey included several items to measure the effectiveness of using etextbooks on students attitudes at university. The researcher compiled and analyzed the data that was provided by the surveys. Data from the surveys, interviews, and observation notes were then analyzed to determine the resulting conclusions about the effectiveness of using e-textbooks as an alternative to printed books on students attitudes at university. Date Collection The data for this project was collected using four different methods: observational journal, student attitude surveys, students' interviews, and faculty interviews. All data from the surveys, interviews, and observations were analyzed to determine the results about the effectiveness of using e-textbooks on students attitudes at university as well as how students

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experiences toward e-textbooks improved as a result of students use of e-textbooks in their courses. Observational Journal The observational journal for this study was conducted during the course period. The researcher recorded observations for the students weekly in a journal format (see Appendix C). The observer took notes about the students' attitudes toward the e-textbook used in the course and their reactions of reading and using e-textbook. Students Attitude Surveys The student attitude survey (see Appendix B) allowed the researcher to determine students attitudes toward e-books used in their courses. The survey consisted of 14 questions in the form of multiple choices and it also contained two questions where the students were able to construct their own response. Students' and faculty interviews The researcher conducted random interviews (see Appendix A) with students who participated in this study to determine the effectiveness of using e-textbooks in their courses on their attitudes at university. The students were asked seven questions in which their responses and reactions were recorded. Any other input that the students wanted to give was also recorded. Also, the researcher conducted interviews with selected faculty to know their opinion on using e-textbooks with their students as well as to discover their perceptions on the use of e-books in their teaching. Seven questions were asked by the researcher to two of faculty who use e-textbooks in their classes.

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IV. RESULTS AND REFLECTIONS Introduction The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of using e-books as an alternative to printed books on students attitudes at a university. The researcher collected data from students who attended EDL 551 Personnel Administration course at Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU) and used the same e-textbook in the course. Data was collected from January 2013 through February 2013. The results section contains data that was collected by the researcher using variety of instruments during this study. The observations section shows various main themes that appeared throughout the 11 week observation period. In the data analysis section, graphs are used to enhance the findings of this study as well as to analyze students' attitudes toward the use of e-textbooks using an attitudinal survey. The researcher conducted informal interviews with selected faculty and students to obtain an understanding of how they viewed the effectiveness of using e-books. The interview questions and responses are analyzed in the observations section. Observations Observational Journal During the study, the researcher kept an observational journal (see Appendix C) of the students attitudes toward the e-textbook used in the course and their reactions of reading and using e-textbook. Students were observed weekly on the day in which they were attending the class. There is a journal entry for each student which compiles their individual attitudes toward e-textbook used in the course. As the journal entries were analyzed, a few themes became evident. The three themes that appeared through the journal entries were skill level, student participation, and student attitude.

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Skill Level The first theme that became evident in the data was the difference in skill level among the participants. Throughout the study, the participants worked in the same e-textbook and their skills in the use of the e-textbook differed due to differences in their previous experience in the use of e-books or in the use of technology such as laptop or e-reader. The students were divided into two main categories: students that had obviously high skill level in the use of ebooks and students that had low skill level in the use of e-books. The students who had high skill level became more professional in the use of e-textbook compared to the students who had not. These students had enough background in the use of e-books. Therefore, they profited more from the effective characteristics that e-textbook had, such as the ability to annotate and highlight, the ability to search via keyword, the ability to use index page, and the ability to navigate from chapter to other easily and efficiently. While the students who had low skill level in the use of e-textbook spent a hard time to use and navigate throughout the e-textbook used in the course. They did not have any previous background in the use of e-books, thus they did not benefit from all great characteristics that e-textbook had. Student Participation The second theme that was evident in the journal was student participation. The students who participated in this study had different levels of motivation toward e-books. Lots of students look at the e-book as an ideal solution based on the fact that most of e-books less cost compared to printed books and this is what happened exactly with participants in this study. Most participants showed a lot of motivations to use the e-textbook during the class period and their participation in the class discussions were very effective. They brought their e-reader to the class every week which enhanced them to access the information needed in the class as well as helped them to engage effectively in the weekly discussions. Some

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students who did not have special e-reader are motivated to use their laptops during the class period to access the e-textbook and also to discuss all the topics assigned to them each week. While other students showed few motivations toward e-textbook. They did not bring any electronic devices to read e-textbook in the class, thereby their engagement in the weekly discussions were very limited or ineffective. Most of the time, these students printed copies of the important parts that were required discussion in the class because they did not want to carry their laptop. This absolutely reflects the lack of their motivation towards the use of ebooks. Student Attitude The final theme that was identified in the journal was student attitude. Throughout the study, the students attitudes and their experience toward the e-textbook improved week after week. At the beginning of the course, all students were required every week to read chapter to two chapters of e-textbook at home in order to analyze the case study available at the end of each chapter and then to discuss it during the class period. Some students in the class showed a broad understanding during the discussion period and their participation in the activities and exercises were effective. These students already had enough experience in the use of e-books and their attitudes toward e-books were already positive. However, there were a few students whose engagement in the discussions during the class was very limited. These students did not have a previous background in the use of ebooks and they were always spending more time in reading and analyzing the e-textbook. But with the near completion of the course, their attitudes toward the e-textbook increased noticeably. These students became more willing to bring their laptops for solving the activities and exercises in the class as well as discussing with others. All this reflects the fact that student who used the e-textbook frequently during the class had a higher level of involvement in discussions and activities and his/ her learning experiences enhanced clearly.

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Faculty Interviews At the beginning of the study, two professors at Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU) were interviewed in order to know their opinion towards the usage of e-books with their students as well as their expectations for e-books future. Overall, the interviewed professors felt positively towards e-books that were used in their classes. The first interview question given to the professors that already used e-textbooks with their students was, "How familiar, if at all, are you with e-books?" Both professors mentioned that they were very familiar with e-books. One professor said that she provides e-textbooks for her students beside to hard copies and then students have the freedom to choose among electronic or paper books. Also, she said she downloaded some of e-books for read them for herself. Other professor stated that she used only different chapters of different e-books in most of her classes. For herself, she reads lots of electronic materials, including e-books. The second interview question that was given to the professors was, "Have you used them in your classes? If so, what did you think of them?" Both professors said that they used e-books with their students a lot in recent years whether in the form of e-textbooks or in the form of separate chapters cover the material. They believe that e-books are great tools in education and they see more and more e-books each semester. One professor mentioned that she always gives her students the choice at first between both kinds of books and then the choice depends on the person's preference. The third question in the interviews that was given to the professors was, "How often do you use them?" Both professors mentioned that the e-books usage in their classes depends on the fact if the textbook available in electronic format or not. One professor stated that she uses often specific pages of e-books along with other resources to cover the information needed in the course. Other professor said that she always lets students know if a paper book available in CourseSmart website as an e-book. She said she prefers the use of e-books for

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her students because they cheapest than printed books. But if any student prefers the use of paper book, she absolutely allows to him/ her to use it. The fourth question asked, "What was student input about them?" One professor stated that students' inputs about e-books depended really on their level of knowledge with e-books. She said, " I see lots of students prefer the e-books usage while still there are others who prefer the use of printed books, it is personal's preferences again". Other professor said that students' inputs about e-books will increase when their experience and attitudes toward ebooks become more positive. The fifth interview question given to the professors was, "How would you find out if a book is available as an e-book?" Both professors said that they go online first to look up if a textbook is available as an e-textbook. One professor mentioned that she downloaded most of e-textbooks that she used recently for free from the Internet for her students. She used the university website many times to look up some e-textbooks titles. Other professor said that she always goes to CourseSmart website first to search about the availability of the e-book. If it is not available in CourseSmart, she goes to Amazon.com. The sixth interview question was, "Do you see any advantages to using e-books with your students rather than printed books? If so, what are the advantages?" Both professors found lots of advantages for using e-books. They agreed that most of e-books less cost compared to the paper books. They found that e-books can be the perfect solution for the problem of high prices and the weight of the books that suffered by a lot of university students. One professor stated, "I see lots of features for using e-books and I see many students are very glad to use e-book in the class, but again it is up to the student's preferences. I need from my students to cover the material, and I do not care how they do that". The seventh and last question in the interviews was, "In your opinion, what is the future of e-books?" Both professors see that e-books will have a very large space in the future. They

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predict that most university students (if not the all) will use e-textbooks as a result of the availability of more and more e-textbooks titles in the future. One professor stated that currently still there are some titles which are not available in electronic format, but she expects that everything will be available in electronic format in the near future. Student Interviews A random group of seven students was interviewed individually by the researcher to collect data. A student interview form (see Appendix A) included a series of seven questions regarding students personal use of e-books as well as their attitudes toward e-books. This data is gathered in charts format in the following information and shows the individual responses of each student.

Question 1
6 5 Number of Students

0 Students

E-books 1

Printed books 1

Both 5

Figure 1: Preferences Figure 1 shows the results from the first question given to the selected students that already used e-books in their courses. Students were asked the question, "Which would you prefer: the usage of e-books or the usage of printed books and Why?" Out of seven students

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who participated in the interview, five students out of seven or 71% responded that they would prefer both the usage of e-books and paper books in their classes because they were very familiar with both printed books and e-books. They stated that they would prefer the usage of paper books because they liked the fact of having a book in hand as well as the opportunity to turn a page and touch a book. On the other hand, they wanted to access the digital world through using e-books. There was only one student out of seven or 14% that preferred the usage of printed books because she felt uncomfortable reading lengthy e-book material from the screen. One student out of seven or 14% stated that would prefer the usage of e-books because he could access/ use e-books easily and efficiently.

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Question 2
7 6 Number of Students 5 4 3 2 1 0 Students

Yes 6

No 0

Maybe 1

Figure 2: Use of Another E-textbook Figure 2 shows the results from the second interview question in the set of interview questions asked of selected students that already used e-books in their courses. The question was asked, "If given a chance to use another e-textbook in another class, would you like to use it or not?" In answering this question, six students out of seven or 86% out of seven students responded positively; they would like to use another e-textbook in another class. There were no students that responded with a no saying they would not use an e-textbook. One student out of seven or 14% stated that he may use another e-textbook again and elaborated that it would depend on the subject matter and the type of class.

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Question 3
7 6 Number of Students 5 4 3 2 1 0 Students

Yes 6

No 1

Figure 3: Recommendations Figure 3 shows the results of the third interview question that was given to the selected students that already used e-books in their courses. The students were asked, "If you are asked by another student about e-books, would you recommend their use or not?" Out of seven interviews, six students out of seven or 86% of the students replied positively that they would recommend the usage of e-textbooks as a great mean in learning and studying. One student out of seven or 14% replied that there would be no recommendation given for the use of e-books.

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Question 4
5

4 Number of Students

0 Students

Academic/ Studying 5

Academic and Self 2

Figure 4: Purpose for Using E-textbook Figure 4 shows the results of the question four given to the selected students that already used e-books in their courses. The question asked, "What was your purpose for using the etextbook in this course?" Out of seven students, five students or 71% of the students responded that they wanted the use of e-textbook for academic purpose; they saw that etextbook could cover the content of the course well and they were happy during the use of etextbook in their studying. Two of the students out of seven or 29% were international students and responded they were using the e-textbook for both academic and self purposes. They stated that they could understand the course content well due to their ability to translate the difficult passages that they were not understand, thus their learning experience towards ebooks improved positively.

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Question 5
5

4 Number of Students

0 Students

Individual purchase 3

shared purchase 4

Figure 5: Ways for Obtaining the E-books Figure 5 shows the results from question five of the interviews with the students that already used e-books in their courses. The students were asked, "What was the way that you used for obtaining the e-books?" Out of seven interviews, three students out of seven or 43% of the students reported that they obtained the e-textbook by individual purchase. They stated that they purchased the e-textbook by creating accounts in CourseSmart website. Also, they mentioned that they used CourseSmart for the first time in their life, and it was very flexible and easy to use. Whereas, four students out of seven or 57% reported that they obtained the e-textbook by creating one account in CourseSmart website and shared the same e-textbook among themselves.

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Question 6
5 4 Number of Students

0 Students

less expensive 3

Sharing with colleagues 0

Both 4

Figure 6: Reasons for Using the E-textbook Figure 6 shows the results of question six of the interviews with the selected students that already used e-books in their courses. Students were asked, "What was the most important reason for using e-textbook in this course?" Out of seven students that participated in the interviews, three students or 43% of the students stated that they used e-textbook because it was less cost compared to the paper copy of the same book. While, four students out of seven or 57% reported that the most important reason for using the e-textbook was their ability to share the same e-book as well as its price which led to a significant low in the price of the book.

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Question 7
5

4 Number of Students

0 Students

1 to 5 2

6 to 10 1

10 - more 4

Figure 7: Hours Spent Figure 7 shows the results of seventh question of the interviews with the selected students that already used e-books in their courses. The question was asked, "Please estimate the number of hours you spent in the reading/ using the e-textbook every week?" Out of seven students, two students or 29% of the students responded that they spent between one to five hours for studying of the e-textbook. One student out of seven or 14% estimated that she spent between six to ten hours in the e-textbook for studying the chapter(s) required each week and preparing to discussion questions in the class. Four students out of seven or 57% reported that they spent more than ten hours studying the chapter(s) and doing the case studies required each week.

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Analysis of Data Student Survey The survey was given to all students that attended EDL 551 Personnel Administration course and used the same e-textbook during the course. The survey (see Appendix B) consisted of a series of 14 question in which the student was given 12 question in the form of multiple choices to choose from and two questions where the students were able to construct their own answers. The survey was a useful source in measuring the students attitudes toward e-books as well as their previous experiences of using e-books. The choices that the students made are tabulated in the charts that follow with a brief explanation of what each question asked and the responses given from each of the 16 students who filled out the survey at the beginning of the course.
Question 1: Which age group do you belong to?
10 9 8 Number of Students 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Students 20- 30 years 9 31- 40 years 4 41- 50 years 3 > 50 years 0

Figure 8: Age Group Figure 8 shows the results of the first question in the survey that was given to all students at the beginning of the course. The students were asked, "Which age group do you belong to?" Out of 16 students that participated in the survey, nine students or 56% were their age group between 20 to 30 and four students or 25% were their age group between 31 to 40.

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While, three students out of 16 or 19% were their age group between 41 to 50 and there was no student or 0% was greater than the age of 50.
Question 2: Are you? Male, Female.
10 9 8 Number of students 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Students Male 7 Female 9

Figure 9: Gender Figure 9 shows the results of the second question in the survey that was given to all students at the beginning of the course about their use of the e-textbook. The students were asked, "Are you male or female?" Out of 16 students that participated in the survey and used the same e-textbook, nine students or 56% were females and seven students or 44% were males.

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Question 3: Have you used e-books?

18 16 14 Number of Students 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Students Yes 16 No 0

Figure 10: The Usage of E-books Figure 10 shows the results of the third question in the survey that was distributed to all students at the beginning of the course about their use of the e-textbook. The question was, "Have you used e-books?" Out of 16 students that participated in the survey, all students or 100% used e-books for different reasons and purposes. There were no students that responded with a no saying they have not used an e-textbook.

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Question 4: Overall, how satisfied are you with e-books?

16 14 Number of students 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Very Satisfied Students 2 Somewhat satisfied 15

Unsatisfied 0

Very unsatisfied 0

Figure 11: The Level of Satisfaction Figure 11 shows the results from the fourth question on the survey that was given to all students at the beginning of the course about their use of the e-textbook. The students were asked, "Overall, how satisfied are you with e-books? " Two students out of 16 or 13% responded stating they were very satisfied with e-books. Fourteen students out of 16 or 88% stated that they were somewhat satisfied on the using of e-books. Whereas, there was no student or 0% who was unsatisfied or very unsatisfied on the using of e-books.

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Question 5: What purpose do you use/ read e-book?

10 9 8 Numer of Students 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Students Academic 9 Leisure 0 Both 7 Other 0

Figure 12: The Purpose for Using E-books Figure 12 shows the results of the fifth question on the survey that was given to all students at the beginning of the course about their use of the e-textbook. The question asked, "What purpose do you use/ read e-book? " Nine students out of 16 or 56% responded that they used e-books for academic purpose. Seven students out of 16 or 44% said that they used e-books for both academic and leisure purposes. While, there was no student or 0% who used e-books for leisure purpose only or other purposes.

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Question 6: How do you usually obtain e-books?

12 10 Number of Students 8 6 4 2 0 Purchase Students 10 Borrow 3

Obtaining free titles 3

Other 0

Figure 13: Obtaining E-books Figure 13 shows the results from the sixth question on the survey that was distributed to all students at the beginning of the course about their use of the e-textbook. Students were asked, "How do you usually obtain e-books?" Out of the students that participated in the survey, ten students out of 16 or 63% mentioned that they purchased e-books to use them. Three of the students out of 16 or 19% stated that they obtained e-books by borrow them from the library or from a friend, and three students out of 16 or 19% said they preferred obtaining free titles of e-books. While, there was no student or 0% who obtained e-books by other ways.

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Question 7: What is the top feature influencing your opinion about e-books?
7 Number of Students 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Mobility Students 6 Ability to print or save whole chapters 3

Search of full text 4

Share with colleagues 2

Note taking Ease of use capability 0 1

Figure 14: Features of E-books Figure 14 shows the results from the seventh question on the survey that was given to all students at the beginning of the course about their use of the e-textbook. The students were asked, "What is the top feature influencing your opinion about e-books?" When answering the question, six students out of 16 or 38% answered that they used e-books mainly for mobility feature that all e-books have. There were three students out of 16 or 19% that wanted to use e-book due to its ability to print or save whole chapters from e-book. Four students out of 16 or 25% responded that they were using e-books because their ability to search from full text. Two students out of 16 or 13% said that they wanted to use e-books because they could share e-book with colleagues. There was only one student out of 16 or 6% that stated that he used e-books due to their ease of use. Whereas, there was no student who found that the ability to take notes influenced his/ her opinion towards e-books.

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Question 8: What is the MOST important reason for using ebooks?

12 Number of Students 10 8 6 4 2 0 Available at your desk 24/7 Students 10 Often multiple users can use an e-book (unlike printed books) 3

Low price 3

Other 0

Figure 15: Reasons for Using E-books Figure 15 shows the results of the eighth question on the survey that was given to all students at the beginning of the course about their use of the e-textbook. The question was, "What is the most important reason for using e-books?" Of the students that took the survey, ten students out of 16 or 63% answered that they used e-books mainly for their availability reason at their desk 24/7. Three students out of 16 or 19% responded that the key reason that motivated them to use e-books was e-book could be used by multiple users. There were three students out of 16 or 19% that wanted to use e-books because they were less cost compared to printed books. While students did not mention any other reasons than those listed above encouraged them to use e-books.

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Question 9: What hinders you MOST in the use of e-books?

6 5 Number of Students 4 3 2 1 0 Difficult to find Students 2 Difficult to read on screen 3 Difficult to annotate 2 Prefer printed books 5

Lack of training to find ebookd 1

Other 3

Figure 16: Obstacles of the use of E-books Figure 16 shows the results of the ninth question on the survey that was distributed to all students at the beginning of the course about their use of the e-textbook. The question was, "What hinders you most in the use of e-books?" In the survey, two students out of 16 or 13% answered that they found difficulty to find e-books. Three students out of 16 or 19% responded that difficulty to read on screen was the main reason that hindered them in the use of e-books. There were two students out of 16 or 13% that found difficult to annotate in ebook. Five students out of 16 or 31% preferred printed books while reading more than electronic books. There was only one student out of 16 or 6% mentioned that lack of training to find e-books was the key reason that obstructed him most in the use of e-books. Three students out of 16 or 19% stated other reasons hindered them in the use of e-books not listed above, such as lack of lots of titles available of e-books and some companies or websites only give a three-month rental for e-book.

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Question 10: In what format do you prefer e-books?

8 7 Number of Students 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Students PDF 7 HTML 1 Mobile device 2 E-book reader 6

Figure 17: E-books Format Figure 17 shows the results from the tenth question on the survey that was distributed to all students at the beginning of the course about their use of the e-textbook. Students were asked, "In what format do you prefer e-books?" Out of the students that participated in the survey, seven students out of 16 or 44% mentioned that they preferred PDF format during reading/ using e-books. One student out of 16 or 6% stated that she preferred to read/ use ebooks with HTML format, and two students out of 16 or 13% said they preferred using mobile device to read/ use e-books. There were six students out of 16 or 38% that preferred to use e-book reader during reading/ using e-books.

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Question 11: Would you recommend e-books to others?

7 6 Numer of Students 5 4 3 2 1 0 Definitly Students 4 Probably 6 Might or might not 4 Probably not 1 Definitly not 0 Do not know 1

Figure 18: Recommendations for Using E-books Figure 18 shows the results of the eleventh question on the survey that was given to all students at the beginning of the course about their use of the e-textbook. The question asked, "Would you recommend e-books to others?" Of the students who took the survey, four students out of 16 or 25% responded that they definitely would recommend e-books to others. There were six students out of 16 or 38% that said that they probably would recommend ebooks to others. Four students out of 16 or 25% stated that they might or might not would recommend e-books to others. There was only one student out of 16 or 6% responded that he probably would not recommend using e-books to others as well as there was another student out of 16 or 6% said that she did not know if she would recommend using e-books to others. There was no student or 0% stated that he/ she definitely would not recommend using ebooks to others.

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Question 12: Would you like to use more e-books in your courses in the future?
14 12 Number of Students 10 8 6 4 2 0 Students Yes 12 No 4

Figure 19: Use of More E-books in the Future Figure 12 shows the results of the twelfth question on the survey that was given to all students at the beginning of the course about their use of the e-textbook. The students were asked the question, "Would you like to use more e-books in your courses in the future?" In the survey, 12 students out of 16 or 75% reported that they would be more likely to use more e-books in their classes in the future. While, there were four students out of 16 or 25% of the students stated they would not like to use more e-books in their courses in the future.

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In thirteenth question, students were asked, "In your opinion, what is the future of ebooks?" There were lots of valuable responses among students who participated in the survey. Almost all students responses emphasized that e-books will be the future. The responses of this question included: "I can find information easily on it"; "I think there will still be a need for traditional books, however, the e-books definitely have a future with the greater emphasis on technology"; "I think that the e-books will have a great future because of the many advantages that e-book has compared to the printed book"; "I think it will be good future, I see a lot of schools started to ask their students to use e-book, and most of the students prefer to use it also so I think it will be more popular"; "With the rapid advances in technology, I would venture to guess that e-books will become increasingly popular. I could see them replacing printed books altogether"; "I think it will be more famous in the future because a lot of people use smart equipment"; "E-books are the future. I see dead trees (paper books) becoming obsolete"; "Eventually all text books will be in e-book format"; "I believe that e-books will be used by more university students because of the lower prices"; and "I believe all high school and college students will have a tablet to read all course material from within the next 15 years." In question 14, the students were asked, "What recommendations would you offer for improving e-books?" There were great recommendations between students who participated in the survey. The students responses were as following: "I think having a colors changing option and voice option"; "I recommend that e-book be cheaper than usual because still there are some of them so expensive"; "I would like to control line reading for make it big or small"; "Make it more accessible for students in K-12 grades"; "I would like to see more titles offered in e-books format, especially in textbooks"; "Make it easier to see two pages like a regular book instead of left page and then right page"; "Finding chapters and page numbers was difficult in our e-textbook for this course. I would like to see this improved so that it is

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easier to move to different pages throughout the e-textbook"; and "Sharing, light source outside, and sell back the book after a course for partial credit to the next semesters text."

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V. CONCLUSION Introduction The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of using electronic books (ebooks) as an alternative to printed books on students' attitudes at a university. The researcher chose in this study EDL 551 Personnel Administration course based on the fact that all students who attended this course used the same e-textbook throughout the course duration. In this section, the researcher will draw conclusions about the data and results derived from the students usage of e-books in their course. Conclusions were made from each data source regarding the students' use of e-books in their classes to improve their attitude toward ebooks. In the study, the researcher used journal observations, students attitudinal surveys, and students and faculty interviews to gather information. The researcher will also offer set of recommendations based on the study to enhance the future use of e-books at the university. Summary of Data This study used four instruments to collect data. The instruments that were used included a journal of observations with notes kept on each student, students surveys, faculty interviews, and students' interviews. Journal In analyzing the journal entries kept by the researcher (see Appendix C), it was apparent that students had very different attitudes and experiences toward the e-books usage. Students that had an extensive knowledge with e-books became more positively towards e-books. They used e-books frequently whether in their daily life or in their studying, so their attitudes toward e-books improved noticeably. On the other hand, there were a small number of students who used the e-book for the first time, so their experience with e-books generally was very few. Upon the completion of this study, some of them had a good feeling about e-

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books and their attitudes improved positively while still there was very few who need more time to enhance their attitudes toward e-books. Journal observations also showed large differences in the skill level of students in using e-books. There seemed to be two main groups. Group one had previous background in the ebooks usage and they had high level of skill during browsing between pages and using the features included in the e-book, such as copying, selection, adding annotation, putting notes, using the table of contents, and using the search feature for certain topics or pages. These students moved easily between the pages of e-book and used all the advantages possessed by this electronic version. The second group had no background in the e-books usage, therefor they had low skill level in the using of e-book. These students, unfortunately, only wanted to cover the material in any manner without go deeper and take advantage of all the features offered by the e-book. Students' participation in the class using the e-book was also very different. Some students wanted to understand what is happening in the class and knowing all the topics that are discussing during the class period. These students were fully prepared to bring their laptops or e-readers in order to engage effectively in the participations and discussions that occur in the class each week. These students also seemed to be very successful in going into the weekly discussions and participate in activities and exercises. Other students had simple motivation about e-books. These students wanted to engage into class discussions through printing copies of the e-book without the need to bring any electronic device for reading/ using the e-book. These students, unfortunately, were forgetting sometimes their copies or did not bring all the copies of all the topics to be discussed during the discussion period, so their participation in the discussions and activities were often limited or ineffective.

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Faculty Interviews At the beginning of the study, two professors at Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU) were interviewed to know their experiences with the e-books as well as their expectations for e-books future. The researcher was able to draw conclusions about the faculty prior knowledge with e-books and their opinion on the use of e-books. The first interview question was, "How familiar, if at all, are you with e-books?" Both professors stated that they are very familiar with the e-books usage whether in their daily life or with their students. The second interview question was, "Have you used them in your classes? If so, what did you think of them?" Both professors stated that they used e-books with their students a lot in recent years whether in the form of e-textbooks or in the form of separate chapters cover the material. They believe that e-books are great means in education and they see more and more e-books each semester. The third interview question was, "How often do you use them?" Both professors mentioned that the e-books usage in their classes depends on the fact if the textbook available in electronic format or not. One professor stated that she provides e-textbook for her students beside to hard copy and then students have the freedom to choose among electronic or printed book. The student's choice depends on her/ his preference. The other professor stated that she used only separate chapters of different e-books in most of her classes. The fourth interview question was, "What was student input about them?" Both professors stated that students' inputs about e-books depend really on their level of knowledge with e-books. One professor stated that students' inputs about e-books will improve when their experiences and attitudes toward e-books become more positive. The fifth interview question was, "How would you find out if a book is available as an ebook?" Both professors stated that they go online first to look up if a textbook is available as

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an e-textbook. One professor mentioned that she downloaded most of e-textbooks that she used recently for free from the Internet for her students. Other professor stated that she always goes to CourseSmart website first to search about the availability of the e-book. If it is not available in CourseSmart, she goes to Amazon.com. The sixth interview question was, "Do you see any advantages to using e-books with your students rather than printed books? If so, what are the advantages?" Both professors found lots of advantages for using e-books. They agreed that most of e-books less expensive compared to the paper books. They found that e-books can be the great solution for the problem of high prices and the weight of the books that suffered by lots of university students. The seventh interview question was, "In your opinion, what is the future of e-books?" Both professors predict that e-books will have a very wide space in the future. They expect that most university students (if not the all) will use e-textbooks in their classes due to the availability of more and more e-textbooks titles in the future. Students Interviews At the beginning of the EDL 551 course, a random group of seven students was asked a series of seven questions in an informal interview setting. The researcher was able to draw conclusions about the students usage of e-books and their attitudes toward e-books. Question one (see Figure 1) was, "Which would you prefer: the usage of e-books or the usage of printed books and Why?" There were five students out of seven or 71%of the students responded that they would prefer both the usage of e-books and paper books because they were very familiar with both kinds of books. Only one student out of seven or 14% of the students preferred the usage of printed books and another one student out of seven or 14% of the students preferred the usage of e-books. This data concludes that the majority of students would prefer the use of both electronic and paper books.

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Question two (see Figure 2) was, "If given a chance to use another e-textbook in another class, would you like to use it or not?" In answering this question, six students out of seven or 86% responded positively; they would like to use another e-textbook in another class. There were no students that responded with a no saying they would not use an e-textbook. There were one student out of seven or 14% of the students that stated he may use another etextbook again and elaborated that it would depend on the subject matter and the type of class. This data concludes that almost all of the students would use e-books again in another classes. Question three (see Figure 3) was, "If you are asked by another student about e-books, would you recommend their use or not?" There were six students out of seven or 86% of the students replied positively that they would recommend the usage of e-textbooks as a great mean in learning and studying. There were only one student out of seven or 14% replied that there would be no recommendation given for the use of e-books. This data concludes that there is a large percent that would recommend the use of e-books to other students. Question four (see Figure 4) was, "What was your purpose for using the e-textbook in this course?" There were five students out of seven or 71% of the students responded that they wanted to use e-textbook for academic purpose. They saw that e-textbook could cover the content of the course well and they were happy during the use of e-textbook in their studying. There were two of the students out of seven or 29% of the students responded they were using the e-textbook for both academic and self purposes. Overall, this data shows a large majority of students wanted to use e-books for academic purposes. Question five (see Figure 5) was, "What was the way that you used for obtaining the ebooks?" In answering this question, three students out of seven or 43% of the students reported that they obtained the e-textbook by individual purchase. There were four students out of seven or 57% of the students reported that they obtained the e-textbook by creating one

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account in CourseSmart website and shared the same e-textbook among themselves. This data shows that almost more than half of the students stated that they obtained the e-book used in the course through shared purchase from CourseSmart website. Question six (see Figure 6) was, "What was the most important reason for using etextbook in this course?" Out of seven students that participated in the interviews, three students or 43% of the students stated that they used e-textbook because it was less expensive compared to the paper copy of the same book. There were four students out of seven or 57% of the students said that the most important reason for using the e-textbook was their ability to share not only the e-book but also its price which led to a significant low in the book price. This data concludes that a large number of students wanted to use e-book for two main reasons which included lower prices as well as the ability to share the e-book among colleagues. Question seven (see Figure 7) was, "Please estimate the number of hours you spent in the reading/ using the e-textbook every week?" Out of seven students, two students or 29% of the students responded that they spent between one to five hours for studying of the e-textbook. There were one student out of seven or 14% of students estimated that she spent between six to ten hours in the e-textbook for studying the chapter(s) required each week. There were four students out of seven or 57% of the students reported that they spent more than ten hours studying the chapter(s) and doing the case studies required each week. This data concludes that most students spent greater than ten hours for studying of the e-textbook. Students Attitudinal Surveys The students were given an attitudinal survey at the beginning of the course. The researcher was able to draw conclusions about the students' prior e-book background as well as their attitudes toward the use of e-books.

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Question one (see Figure 8) was, "Which age group do you belong to?" Out of 16 surveys, nine students out of 16 or 56% of the students were their age group between 20 to 30 and four students out of 16 or 25% were between 31 to 40. There were three students out of 16 or 19% of the students in which their age group between 41 to 50 and there was no student was greater than the age of 50. This data shows the disparity in age groups in the class and the majority of the students were their ages between 20 to 30. Question two (see Figure 9) was, "Are you male or female?" Out of 16 students that participated in the survey, nine students or 56% of the students were females and seven students or 44% of the students were males. Overall, the data concludes that more than half of students were females in the class. Question three (see Figure 10) was, "Have you used e-books?" In answering this question, all students or 100% used e-books for different reasons and purposes. There were no students that responded with a no saying they have not used an e-textbook. This data concludes that all students in the class used the e-books even if there were some students who used the e-book for the first time. Question four (see Figure 11) was, "Overall, how satisfied are you with e-books?" Out of 16 students that took the survey, there were two students or 13% of the students responded stating they were very satisfied with e-books. There were fourteen students or 88% of the students stated that they were somewhat satisfied on the using of e-books. There were no students who responded with a no saying they were unsatisfied or very unsatisfied on the using of e-books. This data concludes that most students in the class were somewhat satisfied on the using of e-books. Question five (see Figure 12) was, "What purpose do you use/ read e-book? Out of 16 students that participated in the survey, nine students or 56% of the students responded that they used e-books for academic purpose. There were seven students or 44% of the students

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said that they used e-books for both academic and leisure purposes. There were no students who used e-books for leisure purpose only or another purposes. Overall the data concludes that most students used e-books for academic purposes. Question six (see Figure 13) was, "How do you usually obtain e-books?" Out of the students that participated in the survey, ten students out of 16 or 63% mentioned that they purchased e-books to use them. There were three of the students out of 16 or 19% stated that they obtained e-books by borrow them from the library or from a friend. There were also three students out of 16 or 19% of the students said they preferred obtaining free titles of ebooks from the Internet. This data shows that the majority of the students were obtaining the e-books through the purchasing. Question seven (see Figure 14) was, "What is the top feature influencing your opinion about e-books?" When answering this question, six students out of 16 or 38% answered that they used e-books mainly for mobility feature that all e-books have. There were three students out of 16 or 19% of the students wanted to use e-book due to its ability to print or save whole chapters from e-book. There were four students out of 16 or 25% responded that they were using e-books because their ability to search from full text. There were two students out of 16 or 13% said they wanted to use e-books because they could share e-book with colleagues. There were only one student out of 16 or 6% of the students stated that he used e-books due to their ease of use. This data concludes that many students used e-books for mobility feature that e-books have. Question eight (see Figure 15) was, "What is the most important reason for using ebooks?" Out of 16 students that took the survey, ten students or 63% answered that they used e-books mainly for their availability reason. There were three students or 19% responded that the key reason that motivated them to use e-books was the ability to use e-book by multiple users. There were also three students or 19% wanted to use e-books because they were less

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cost compared to printed books. This data shows a large majority of students wanted to use ebooks due to the availability reason that almost all e-books have. Question nine (see Figure 16) was, "What hinders you most in the use of e-books?" In the survey, two students out of 16 or 13% answered that they found difficulty to find e-books. There were three students out of 16 or 19% responded that they found difficulty to read on screen during reading e-book. There were two students out of 16 or 13% found difficulty to annotate in e-book. There were five students out of 16 or 31% preferred printed books while reading more than e-books. There was one student out of 16 or 6% mentioned that lack of training to find e-books was the key reason that obstructed him most in the use of e-books. There were three students out of 16 or 19% stated other reasons hindered them in the use of e-books not listed above, such as lack of lots of titles available of e-books and some companies or websites only give a three month rental for e-book. This data shows a lot of varying percentages of the reasons that prevented students often from e-books usage, including paper books preferences, difficulty to read from the screen, difficulty to find ebooks, difficulty to annotate, respectively. Question ten (see Figure 17) was, "In what format do you prefer e-books?" Out of 16 students that participated in the survey, seven students or 44% mentioned that they preferred PDF format during reading/ using e-books. There was one student or 6% stated that she preferred to read/ use e-books with HTML format. There were two students or 13% said they preferred using mobile device to read/ use e-books. There were six students or 38% preferred to use e-book reader during reading/ using e-books. This data concludes that there is a large percent of students who prefer reading e-books in PDF format. Question 11 (see Figure 18) was, "Would you recommend e-books to others?" Of the students who took the survey, four students out of 16 or 25% responded that they definitely would recommend e-books to others. There were six students out of 16 or 38% said that they

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probably would recommend e-books to others. There were four students out of 16 or 25% stated that they might or might not would recommend e-books to others. There was only one student out of 16 or 6% responded that he probably would not recommend using e-books to others as well as there was another student out of 16 or 6% said that she did not know if she would recommend using e-books to others. This data shows that many students would probably recommend the use of e-books to others. Question 12 (see Figure 19) was, "Would you like to use more e-books in your courses in the future?" In the survey, 12 students out of 16 or 75% reported that they would be more likely to use more e-books in their classes in the future. While, there were four students out of 16 or 25% stated they would not like to use more e-books in their courses in the future. Overall, this data concludes that there is a very large percent of students would like to use more e-books in their classes in the future. Question 13 was, "In your opinion, what is the future of e-books?" Almost all students responses emphasized that e-books will have a large space in the future. Of the responses on this question: "I think that the e-books will have a great future because of the many advantages that e-book has compared to the printed book"; "I think it will be good future, I see a lot of schools started to ask their students to use e-book, and most of the students prefer to use it also, so I think it will be more popular"; and "With the rapid advances in technology, I would venture to guess that e-books will become increasingly popular. I could see them replacing printed books altogether". Question 14 was, "What recommendations would you offer for improving e-books?" There were great recommendations among students who participated in the survey. Some students responses were as following: "I think having a colors changing option and voice option"; "I recommend that e-book be cheaper than usual because still there are some of them so expensive"; "I would like to control line reading for make it big or small"; "Make it more

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accessible for students in K-12 grades"; "I would like to see more titles offered in e-books format, especially in textbooks"; and "Make it easier to see two pages like a regular book, instead of left page and then right page". Triangulation Triangulation was achieved in the study using four data collection techniques. The instruments used that represented this study's triangulation were: a journal observation, faculty and students' interviews, and students survey. All four instruments demonstrated that the use of e-books helped students to improve their reading well as well as improve their attitudes toward e-books positively. Experiencing The observation journal helped to achieve triangulation in this study by allowing the researcher to experience and observe different behaviors of students in the class. The researcher discovered that students completed the course using the e-book with different motivation, attitudes, and skill level. Those with high motivation and high skill in the e-books usage were able to complete their course successfully and participate in the class discussion effectively. While, the ones that had some motivation with some skill in the use of e-books were able to improve their attitudes toward e-books and complete the course successfully too. It was also observed by the researcher that the student's prior knowledge with e-books played a big role in the student's ability to feel comfortable during using the e-book and then enhanced student's learning experiences. Sun and Flores (2012) found that the use of e-books positively influenced on the students learning experiences. This study also found that when e-textbook was perceived as helpful means in the class, students were likely to spend more time on reading materials, searching for relevant topics, doing exercises, as well as discussing with others. Similar to Sun and Flores (2012), the researcher felt that students experience

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towards e-books improved positively as a result to their use of e-textbook in their course, participating in class discussions, and acquire the benefit during reading. Enquiring The informal interviews with faculty at the beginning of the study helped the researcher to achieve triangulation by gathering basic information about faculty opinion on the use of ebooks with their students as well as their perceptions for e-books future. The researcher was able to use the information gained through the interviews for examining faculty opinions about using e-books in relation to their prior experiences. The students' interviews helped also the researcher to achieve triangulation by allowing a random group of seven students to respond on how they felt about the e-textbook they used in the course. The information gathered during the interviews was useful in determining students attitudes toward e-books and if they would be interested in using more e-books in their classes in the future. The researcher found that the use of e-textbook in the class had a significant impact on students attitudes toward reading and using e-books positively. The study by Wu and Chen (2011) examined graduate students usage of and their attitudes toward e-books at National Taiwan University in Taipei, Taiwan. Wu and Chen (2011) also found that students attitudes toward e-books became more positive in recent years as a result of frequent use of e-textbooks in the study among students in the universities.

gninaxaxE
The attitudinal surveys given to the students at the beginning of the course helped achieve triangulation by gathering any prior experience the students may have regarding the use of e-books. Through the survey, the researcher could see that the majority of the students began the course with a positive attitude towards e-book used in the course. The researcher was able to use information gained through the survey to determine students' opinions and attitudes toward e-books.

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Conclusion The study showed the effectiveness of using e-books on students' attitudes at a university was successful. It concluded that the students usage of e-books helped them in enhancing their learning and reading as well as their attitudes toward e-books. The researcher found that students attitudes toward e-books became more positive and their experience in the use of e-books increased significantly as a result to their use of e-books in their courses. Recommendations The researcher makes the following recommendations for the future use of e-books at a university: 1- Allow for students at the beginning of each course to find out the availability of textbook in the form of e-textbook, and this is one of professor responsibilities to offer both choices. 2- Provide a wide range of mobile technologies in the university's library as a means of access to library- licensed e-books. 3- Develop promotional strategies by librarians for e-books (including e-textbooks) as well as focusing on more advertising regarding the use of e-books via the university's website and library. 4- Promote the use of e-books (including e-textbooks) for the students through greater focus on e-books in training which will address not only the awareness but also the means of access. 5- Intensify efforts to address the demand of students and faculty members to provide a significantly broader array of e-books' titles through the university's library in order to develop a critical mass within each subject field.

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VI. REFERENCES Abdullah, N., & Gibb, F. (2008). Students' attitudes towards e-books in a scottish higher education institute: Part 1. Library Review, 57(8), 593-605. Anuradha, K. T., & Usha, H. S. (2006). Use of e-books in an academic and research environment. Program, 40(1), 48-62. Berg, A. S., Hoffmann, K., & Dawson, D. (2010). Not on the same page: Undergraduates' information retrieval in electronic and print books. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 36(6), 518525. Chu, H. (2003). Electronic books: Viewpoints from users and potential users. Library Hi Tech, 21(3), 340-346. Gwo-Dong Chen, Fu-Hsiang Wei, Chin-Yeh Wang, & Jih-Hsien Lee. (2007). Extending e-book with contextual knowledge recommender for reading support on a web-based learning system. International Journal on ELearning, 6(4), 605-622. Hernon, P., Hopper, R., Leach, M. R., Saunders, L. L., & Zhang, J. (2007). E-book use by students: Undergraduates in economics, literature, and nursing. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 33(1), 313. Langston, M. (2003). The California state university e-book pilot project: Implications for cooperative collection development. Library Collections, Acquisitions, and Technical Services, 27(1), 1932. Letchumanan, M., & Tarmizi, R. A. (2010). Utilization of e-book among university mathematics students. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 8(1), 580587. Letchumanan, M., & Tarmizi, R. (2011). Assessing the intention to use e-book among engineering undergraduates in university putra Malaysia, Malaysia. Library Hi Tech, 29(3), 512-528. Levine-Clark, M. (2006). Electronic book usage: A survey at the university of denver.

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Portal: Libraries and the Academy, 6(3), 285-299. Liu, Z. (2006). Print vs. electronic resources: A study of user perceptions, preferences, and use. Information Processing and Management, 42(2), 583592. Luik, P. & Mikk, J. (2008). What is important in electronic textbooks for students of different achievement levels?. Computers & Education, 50(4), 14831494. McFall, R. (2005). Electronic textbooks that transform how textbooks are used. The Electronic Library, 23(1), 72-81. Parkes, D. (2007). E-books from ebrary at staffordshire university: A case study. Program: Electronic Library and Information Systems, 41(3), 253-261. Persky, A. M., & Pollack, G. M. (2010). Transforming a large-class lecture course to a smaller-group interactive course. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 74(9), 1-170. Reynolds, R. (2011). Trends influencing the growth of digital textbooks in US higher education. Publishing Research Quarterly, 27(2), 178-187. Rickman, J. T., Holzen, R. V., Kluie, P., & Tobin, T. (2008). A campus-wide e-textbook initiative. EDUCAUSE quarterly, 32(2), 1-11. Rothman, D. (2006). E-books: Why they matter for distance educationAnd how they could get much better. Innovate, 2(6), 1-8. Robert, J. M., & Hawkins, N. (2006). Perspectives on the use and development of a broad range of e-books in higher education and their use in supporting virtual learning environments. The Electronic Library, 24(1), 68-82. Rowhani, S., & Sedig, K. (2005). E-books plus: Role of interactive visuals in exploration of mathematical information and e-learning. The Journal of Computers in Mathematics and Science Teaching, 24(3), 273-298.

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Shelburne, W. A. (2009). E-book usage in an academic library: User attitudes and behaviors. Library Collections, Acquisitions, & Technical Services, 33(2-3), 5972. Sun, J., & Flores, J. (2012). E-textbooks and students learning experiences. Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education, 10(1), 63-74. Vernon, R. F. (2006). Paper or pixels? An inquiry into how students adapt to online textbooks. Journal of Social Work Education, 42(2), 417-427. Wu, M., & Chen, S. (2011). Graduate students' usage of and attitudes towards e-books: Experiences from Taiwan. Program: Electronic Library and Information Systems, 45(3), 294-307. Zhang, Y. & Beckman, R. (2011). E-books usage among chemists, biochemists and biologists: Findings of a survey and interviews. Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship, 65(1), 1-15.

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VII. APPENDIX

Appendix A: Students' and Faculty Interviews

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Students' Interview Questions: 1. Which would you prefer: the usage of e-books or the usage of printed books and Why? ________________________________________________________________

2. If given a chance to use another e-textbook in another class, would you like to use it or not? _____________________________________________________________________

3. If you are asked by another student about e-books, would you recommend their use or not? _____________________________________________________________________

4. What was your purpose for using the e-textbook in this course? _________________________________________________________________

5. What was the way that you used for obtaining the e-books? _________________________________________________________________

6. What was the most important reason for using e-textbook in this course? _____________________________________________________________________

7. On average, how often did you use e-textbook? _____________________________________________________________________

8. Other Comments? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________

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Faculty Interview Questions: 1- How familiar, if at all, are you with e-books? ___________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ 2- Have you used them in your classes? If so, what did you think of them? ___________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ 3- How often do you use them? ___________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ 4- What was student input about them? ___________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ 5- How would you find out if a book is available as an e-book? ___________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ 6- Do you see any advantages to using e-books with your students rather than printed books? If so, what are the advantages? ___________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ 7- In your opinion, what is the future of e-books? ___________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________

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Appendix B: Students Attitude Surveys

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The effectiveness of using e-books as an alternative to printed books on student attitudes at a university 1- Which age group do you belong to: 1- 20- 30 years. 2- 31- 40 years. 3- 41- 50 years. 4- > 51 years. 2- Are you? 1- Male. 2- Female. 3- Have you used e-books? 1- Yes. 2- No. 4- Overall, how satisfied are you with e-books? 1- Very satisfied. 2- Somewhat satisfied. 3- Unsatisfied. 4- Very unsatisfied. 5- What purpose do you use/ read e-book? 1- Academic. 2- Leisure. 3- Both. 4- Other (Please specify). 6- How do you usually obtain e-books? 1- Purchase. 2- Borrow.

95 3- Obtaining free titles. 4- Other (Please specify). 7- What are the top three features influencing your opinion about e-books? 1- Mobility. 2- Ability to print or save whole chapters. 3- Search of full text. 4- Share with colleagues. 5- Note taking capability. 6- Ease of use. 8- What is the MOST important reason for using e-books? 1- Available at your desk 24/7. 2- Often multiple users can use an e-book (unlike printed books). 3- Low price. 4- Other (Please specify). 9-What hinders you MOST in the use of e-books? 1- Difficult to find. 2- Difficult to read on screen. 3- Difficult to annotate. 4- Prefer printed books. 5- Lack of training to find e-books. 6- Other (Please Specify). 10- In what format do you prefer e-books? 1- PDF. 2- HTML. 3- Mobile device. 4- E-book reader. 11-Would you recommend e-books to others? 1- Definitely.

96 2- Probably. 3- Might Or Might not. 4- Probably not. 5- Definitely not. 6- Do not know. 12-Would you like to use more e-books in your courses in the future? 1- Yes. 2- No. 13-In your opinion, what is the future of e-books?

14-What recommendations would you offer for improving e-books?

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Appendix C: Observational Journal

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Journal Observations Student 1 Student 1 was a very active student during the class discussions. He always brings his e-reader to the class to access the e-textbook. In most of the time, I observed that he was using both his e-reader and laptop to work on the class's activities. He has a wide experience in the using of technology and Internet, and this highly motivates him to use more e-books in his life. He told me that he finds that ebooks are very easy to use and he has a big desire to use more e-books in other classes in the future. Student 2 Student 2 is a principal in a middle school. She supports the idea of using e-textbooks for middle school students. She told me that middle school students need to prepare themselves to the technology era and using e-books in their classes will absolutely encourage them to touch technology closely. I noticed that she brings her iPad to the class each week to be able to read content of e-textbook required to read as well as participate in discussions and case studies effectively. She has an extensive knowledge in using the technology and e-books. She was an active student during the class discussions. Student 3 This student told me that he never use e-books before this course. He said that he appreciates the paper books and he will not change his mind to e-books definitely. At the beginning of this class, he told me that he spends a hard time to browsing, reading, and studying from the e-textbook. He found that the best way to continue the course correctly by printing each chapter of e-textbook for each week. He brings only the chapter required to discuss and left all other chapters at home. I observed his work in the class discussions improved progressively until the completion of the course Student 4

99 Student 4 was very familiar with e-books. In talking with him, I realized that he willing to use more e-books in his classes in the future. He doesn't have any objection to use e-textbooks in the rest of his classes. He already used two e-books with two other classes and he has a large background in the use of e-books in the learning and studying. He was very satisfied with the e-textbook used in the course. Most of the time, he brings his iPad to the class to engage in the class discussions and exercises. His participation in the class was more than wonderful. Student 5 This student is a math teacher in a middle school. He did not use e-books before this course. He told me he does not see any additional advantages of e-books compared with printed books. However, he said he has the enthusiasm to use the e-textbook in this class and complete the course gladly. I noticed him often brings paper copies of e-textbook to the class, but sometimes he was using his laptop to access/ read the e-textbook. He was not engage a lot in the class discussions, but he always was an active student in group work. Student 6 Student 6 was using e-books frequently in her life. In talking with her, she told me that most of the books that she reads more recently are in a digital form. She did download most of the e-books that she has for free from the Internet. Also, she said she believes that reading e-books never affect the person health if he/ she spends an appropriate amount of time on reading e-books. She was very excited about having and using the e-textbook in this course. She brings her e-reader to the class every week to read the e-textbook and her participation in the class activities and exercises was valuable. Student 7 This student used the e-textbook for the first time in her life. She is an international student and her experience with e-books was very limited. She told me that this semester is the first for her as a master's student in the Leadership. She said that she often reads a set of chapters from different ebooks in another class. But this class was the first for her in using the whole e-textbook. Upon the

100 near completion of this course, she told me that her experience towards e-books improved and her desire to use more e-books increased. She saw that e-textbook more flexible in using/ reading compared with paper book for international students. Student 8 This student in general does not like to read from any electronic device, such as iPhone, iPad, and laptop. She enjoys reading the originals like the hard copies. She told me that she gets a headache when reading from the screen for a long time. She used the e-textbook in this course for the first time. After talking with her, I realized that she wanted to cover the content of the course regardless of if the book is e-book or paper book. She chose to use e-textbook because it was cheaper than paper copy. I noticed that she always brings to the class copies for the summary of each chapter as well as copies for the case studies. Her participation in the class discussions was good somewhat. Student 9 Student 9 was familiar with electronic materials in general. He said he likes a lot to read the materials digitally, such as e-book, e-article and e-journal. He told me he much likes reading from the computer at leisure. He was very satisfied and glad with having e-textbook in this course. He was an effective student in the class and his participation in the activities was valuable. I observed he brings his iPad to the class weekly to access/ read e-textbook. Student 10 This student said to me in a day "I love e-books". She showed clear willingness to use the etextbook in this class. She said she obtained most of her e-books from Amazon.com. She told me she used previously more than five e-textbooks in other classes. She has e-reader for reading e-books. She brings her e-reader every week to access the e-textbook and her participation in the class's discussion is very effective. It is obvious to me that she takes her studying using e-books very seriously and has a very high comprehension level during reading from e-books. When she talking with me about ebooks, I can see how her experience and attitude toward e-books are very positive.

101 Student 11 Student 11 was an international student. She was a principal in a high school in Saudi Arabia. She said that she uses e-textbook for the second time. She told me she is familiar with electronic materials, such as electronic articles and novels more than e-books. She stated that it is more easier for her to read the materials electronically because she could translate any word or phrase she did not know to her mother language. She used the e-textbook effectively in the class through her iPad and her participation in the class discussions and group work was amazing. Student 12 This student is a K-6 history teacher in private school. He told me confidently that he prefers both electronic and paper books because he is very familiar with both kinds of books. He said that he used only printed books with his students and did not try to use e-books previously with his students. He does not prefer the idea of using e-books for elementary students because he thinks that they still need more awareness and encouragement for reading and this will not happen through electronic books. I noticed him often brings his laptop to access the e-textbook in the class. He was very quiet during doing the activities and participating in the discussions in the class. Student 13 Student 13 attended the class consistently and actively. I noticed her often brings her laptop to access/ read the e-textbook used in this course. But sometimes, she was using her iPhone to working on e-textbook. In talking with her, she told me she has high enthusiasm to use more and more of technological tools, such as e-books in her classes. She mentioned she has been able to download two e-textbooks for two classes last semester, which allowed her to read the texts without having to carry a bunch of books around. Her experience towards e-books improved accordingly. She always participates in the class discussions and activities enthusiastically. Student 14

102 Student 14 does not have any previous background towards e-books. At the beginning of this course, she told me she does not know how she can do to read that kind of version for books. She was so interested to know what she does to read one. During the class period, I observed her brings copies of chapters of e-textbook instead of using any device to read e-textbook. She used the e-textbook mostly at her home. She noted that she still likes print texts for their tactile quality and the ability to write notes in the margins, but also said that e-books are closing the gap, at least with the ability to highlight passages and make notes about them. Student 15 This student was very quiet during the class's discussions. She told me in a day that she does not like to read the books generally whether they are electronic or paper books. She usually likes to get information that she needs from articles, journals, or websites. She preferred to print the entire etextbook and arrange all the pages in one file. I noticed her brings her file at the middle of the course which may be because the lack of her satisfaction with the use of the e-textbook. Her reading habits are low which may be affecting her ability to comprehend the content of the course. Therefore, she participates rarely in the activities and exercises with her peers in the class. Student 16 This student likes the invention of e-books a lot. She already used them many times in her life. In talking with her, she told me that she travels and moves a lot from one place to another in vacations, so she always prefers to fill her time inside the plane or train by reading electronic books or novels. She said she reads e-books through various ways, including an e-reader, on her computer, or on her phone. She welcomed the idea of using the e-textbook in this class. I noticed that she brings her ereader to the class to access the e-textbook and her participation in the class's discussion, activities, and exercises was very effective. Also, I observed her very collaborator with other students, especially with the international students. She was providing assistance without hesitation and allowing to other students to share her e-reader in the class.

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