Predictors Influencing University Academics' Scholarly E-Journals Use Behavior

Purpose The study aimed to investigate the influence of demographic characteristics, research productivity, Internet use, and digital literacy skills on academics' e-journals use behavior. Design The design of the study was quantitative, and a survey method was used to achieve the objectives of the study. The University of the Punjab was chosen as a setting of the study because of its high ranking in academic and research output among public sector universities of Pakistan. The targeted population of the study was academics working on contractual and regular basis in Lahore based campuses of University of the Punjab. The questionnaire was distributed to 949 academics, out of which 108 academics were on leave and 457 questionnaires were returned back with a response rate of 54 %. Findings The findings of the study indicated that demographic characteristics, research productivity, and digital literacy skills significantly affect academics e-journals use behavior. Originality Previous researchers mostly focused on investigating academic scientists' scholarly information seeking behavior and their relationship with demographic variables. This is a unique study and fills the gap in literature by examining influence of demographic factors, Internet use, research productivity and digital literacy skills on academics' e -journals use behavior. Implications The findings might be helpful for University of the Punjab departmental librarians to make strategies to improve academics digital literacy skills in relation to the use of advanced searching techniques and evaluation of the quality of e-journals. The results could also be beneficial for public universities with similar population, disciplines and academic programs of University of the Punjab.