Electronic Resources as a Main Tool for Improvement of Research Output of Academic Staff: A Case Study of Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the use of electronic resources as a main tool for improving the research output of academic staff and to investigate the impact on and the different challenges that are faced by researchers who use the online database in Princess Nourah University (PNU). For conducting the research, a survey method was implemented and data from 274 respondents were collected and analysed. The obtained data were expressed in simple frequency counts and percentages. Findings revealed the great dependence of the academic staff on the e-resources and online databases for achieving and improving their teaching and research outputs. The study recommends that the PNU libraries subscribe to different eresources and databases to cover all programmes (medicine, science/engineering, and social sciences) that are run by the university, establish regular training programs and ensure off-campus retrieval of these resources.