AN ASSESSMENT OF THE RELIABILITY, VALIDITY AND DIMENSIONALITY OF WEB BASED LIBRARY SERVICE QUALITY SCALE IN A DEVELOPING COUNTRY

Abstract

This study focusses on assessing the reliability, validity and dimensionality of a Web based
Library service quality scale. It also investigates the perception of the library users towards
the Web based services provided by the private university library. This research used the
survey method for collecting data from users of the library. The Web based library service
quality was measured by using a scale developed by Kiran and Diljit in 2012, originally with
25 items. A total of 600 questionnaires were distributed and 447 completed questionnaires
were used in the final analysis. Cronbach’s Alpha values of each construct confirmed that a
good reliability existed with the data. Principle component analysis was employed to
determine the important factors of the scale. Out of the 25 items, only 21 were found to
satisfy requirements for testing reliability and validity. As a result, a modified scale was
adopted for further analysis. Four Web based library service quality components were
identified through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The four included: access
quality, delivery quality, functional quality and responsiveness quality. A structural equation
model was developed showing the relationships between the four components and web based
library service quality and all the four were significant.
Keywords: Web-based Library Service Quality; Scale Validation; Developing Country;