Sms Tracking System

Goh, T.-T. (2011). Exploring Gender Differences in SMS-Based Mobile Library Search System Adoption. Educational

Technology & Society, 14 (4), 192–206.

Exploring Gender Differences in SMS-Based Mobile Library Search System

Adoption

Tiong-Thye Goh

School of Information Management, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand // tiong.goh@vuw.ac.nz

ABSTRACT

This paper investigates differences in how male and female students perceived a short message service (SMS)

library catalog search service when adopting it. Based on a sample of 90 students, the results suggest that there

are significant differences in perceived usefulness and intention to use but no significant differences in selfefficacy and perceived ease of use between genders. The findings reveal that SMS efficiency has a significant

influence on self-efficacy for males but not for females. Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) experience has a

stronger but less significant influence on self-efficacy for females but very little influence for males. Perceived

usefulness is still the driving force behind intention to use for both genders. The findings suggest that factors

influencing self-efficacy and its impact on Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) constructs are different for

each gender. The implications of these findings are discussed for both researchers and practitioners.

Keywords

Short message service, Technology adoption, Mobile search, Self-efficacy, Gender differences

Introduction

According to the Australian and New Zealand Institute for Information Literacy (ANZIIL) framework (Bundy,

2004), one of the core competencies for the information literate person is the ability to find needed information

effectively and efficiently. Competency in information literacy through the learning of fundamental library skills

such as information seeking is critical for academic success and survival (Macpherson, 2004). In addition, to be a

lifelong learner one needs to demonstrate and acquire...