E-Journal Usage and Impact in Scholarly Research: A Review of the Literature

Abstract

This article reviews the literature dealing with scholarly information behavior around the use of e-journals. Its aims are to examine the use and impact the availability of e-journals has had on the community of scholars, mainly from the UK, but looking also at literature from other countries. Results demonstrated the huge rise in availability and take-up of e-journals, although there are mixed findings regarding the fate of the print format. Access to e-literature is dominated by keyword searching, with subject-specific (e.g., chemical abstracts); or general academic (Web of Knowledge) gateways and search engines (typically Google) all used above publishers platforms, alerts, and other ways to find literature. The value of e-journals has been shown to be high, both in terms of in gaining new insights and helping with teaching, and in measure of “Contingent valuation”: the time or cost incurred by not having provision. Barriers to e-journal use included non-purchase of titles by the library and years or volumes not available electronically. Although many disciplinary differences exist, due to their differing natures and means of scholarly communication, nevertheless, the review concludes that it is now unthinkable for researchers to work without the convenience and comprehensiveness that e-journals provide them.

Notes

A major limitation of this study is that the use statistics are very difficult to interpret: they pre-date COUNTER compliance standards and the author admits that the interpretation of publisher-supplied usage data is exceedingly difficult.

This is a broadly similar argument to that employed when VHS technologies were introduced: rather than “killing” cinema, home viewing created a new experience and expanded size and scope of the overall film distribution market.

H-Net is an arts and humanities portal; Intuit, a gateway to web resources organised by subject and reviewed and evaluated by expert subject specialists and Scirus a free web search engine developed especially for scientists, researchers, and students by Elsevier.