Introduction
In present moments, the world has experienced a heated debate on the topic about the usefulness of e-books. Many people perceive that the introduction of e-books would make the academic mission to be a success. They argue that e-books are efficient and effective in terms of time management and cost implications respectively. Generally, an e-book encompasses a broad range of digitalized text materials that have a definite scope. E-book refers to a text that is similar to a physical book. However, it has been digitalized such that it can be displayed in any electronic media like a computer, an improvised reader, or a personal digital assistant (Wilson & Landoni, 2003) . The contents of an e-book can be but not limited to texts, animations, and graphics. The e-book is a novel platform used to access digital information. It capitalizes on the merits that electronic reading machines offer.
Advantages of e-books
Compared to printed books (p-books), e-books have some added benefits like making adjustments on a script to fit particular purposes. They are also easy to search, and they are readily available once an individual has an electronic device that permits the user to access such materials (Richardson & Mahmood, 2011) . It is easy and more efficient to access particular content when using an e-book as opposed to p-books. For instance, e-books are characterized by relatively short texts that can be shown on many screens (Richardson & Mahmood, 2011) . In that regards, users in an e-library can read the information on a computer monitor.
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E-books are time-saving because individuals can access information and ascertain whether the content of the book is appropriate or not without making tiresome trips to the library (Richardson & Mahmood, 2011) . Besides, many users of e-books state that they fancy the portability of the e-book devices in addition to the ability to navigate quickly when using the device (Wilson & Landoni, 2003) . The merits that e-books offer are enabling this technology to take over p-books. Presently, most libraries have embraced this system of accessing information to establish e-libraries where scholars can access e-books. Nevertheless, in spite of the merits that e-books offer, it is apparent that a lot still needs to be done to ascertain the usability of this robust technology (Aaltonen et al., 2011).
Aim of the Interview
The issue of e-books is double sided among users. Some argue that it is exciting while others feel otherwise, making it controversial topic. Broadly speaking, the controversies arise due to two factors notably the intrinsic complexity of the device or the typeface and appearance. These two issues bring about an increase in an individual’s mental load. This is because the user will need to concentrate maximally on grasping fully how the device operates (Richardson & Mahmood, 2011) . Most studies report that information sources from electronic readers are more prone to errors. Some studies also show that reading information from e-books is slower compared to reading p-books (Richardson & Mahmood, 2011) . Despite the fact that e-books have been popularized in modern literature, there is little information exploring the appeal that these devices have on people under the age of 18. Therefore, this work thus aims at ascertaining whether e-readers would be appealing to people under the age of 18.
Methodology
To examine the appeal of e-books among teens, the interviewer administered an online questionnaire. The survey took three weeks. A few semi-structured questions –both open-ended and closed- were included in the questionnaire. The questions were specific to individuals aged 18 and below. The following approach was used during the interview. First, the questionnaire was availed to teens online. Within few days, the online response was remarkable. The interview results from the online questionnaires were then collected and interpreted.
Questionnaire | ||
E-readers developers are conducting an interview to ascertain how appealing e-books are to persons below the age of 18. The results from this interview would help them in creating devices that are more users friendly. The survey would not last for more than 10 minutes. Please note that we will treat your response(s) with utmost confidentiality. | ||
| Question | Response | |
Section A (Yes/No answers) | ||
| Have you used an e-reader before? | ||
| Do you find reading a book on the e-reader comfortable? | ||
| Do you know how to turn the page in an e-book? | ||
| Would you like to read a book using an e-reader? | ||
| In your opinion, is the e-reader easy to handle? | ||
Section B (Explanation is needed) | ||
| In what way(s) does the e-reader affect your ability to become engrossed in the story you are reading? | ||
| What do you like most about the e-reader, Why? | ||
| What do you like least about the e-reader, Why? | ||
Please share with us your details if you wish to get an $10 gift voucher. Your response(s) will be treated with utmost confidentiality. Surname:____________________________ Phone No:______________________________ Thank you for participating in the interview | ||
Survey Report
The findings from this study indicated that most teens in one way or another had used e-books in their education. As expected, the use of e-books has not been fully embraced by most teens owing to a couple of factors that which are associated to usability. From the interview, the respondents can be categorized into three main groups namely the opponents, proponents and the intermediates. The intermediate refers to those respondents who perceived that the use of e-books was easy just like the use of p-books. The proponents entail the respondents who believed that the use of e-books was far much better than the use of p-books, owing to its simplicity and efficiency. Finally, the opponents refer to those interview participants who claimed that e-books were difficult to use and needed to be scraped off. In that respect, the discussions herein shall focus on the last category of respondents. That is because their views would be integral in establishing ways that would make this technology serve all persons equally.
In spite of the merits that e-books offer, it was apparent that this mode of reading was still a hotly debated subject (Richardson & Mahmood, 2011) . The topic on e-books is two-way from the users’ point of view. Some find it to be exciting while others find it to be controversial. Many opponents stated that using e-books was complicated and straining (Richardson & Mahmood, 2011) . Notably, many respondents on the opposing side were encountering difficulties in navigating through the e-books. The main reason why most of the interviewees said that they were not willing to use e-books again was because of the difficulty they encountered while navigating within the e-book. According to this category of teens, moving from one page to another was troublesome and tedious. Besides, locating certain chapters and words within a text was a big problem for them. Apparently, such difficulty has created a negative perception among teens regarding the suitability of e-books in their research (Richardson & Mahmood, 2011) .
Another problem that was found to be hampering the opponents from using e-books was interface difficulties. Notably, the respondents of this interview noted that the system had poor legibility. As a result of that effect, many of those who tried using e-books have experienced eye fatigue pursuant to overtraining. Fatigue will reduce concentration and e-book users may end up with poor grades in their studies. Nevertheless, some of the respondents stated that e-books are vital study tools. They indicated that they found e-book to be easy to read. This category of individuals reported that the font size and font type were readable and that the screen resolution was clear. The proponents thus perceived that for them moving pages to gather information was not troublesome. According to this category, the device was easy to use and convenient. The study also showed that many respondents were pleased with e-books as learning tools.
Merits of Conducting an Online Questionnaire
Many organizations employ online survey to determine how they are performing on certain aspects of business processes. This is because online polls have many benefits to offer. First, they provide an easy way to gather information (Wright, 2005) . Notably, the internet is a diverse virtual world that links individuals from all walks of the world. In that respect, interviews that require more than one hundred respondents can be carried out efficiently through the internet. Thus, an online questionnaire can be rapidly be employed by respondents particularly when an incentive is attached after participation.
Secondly, the cost incurred when conducting an interview online is minimal (Wright, 2005) . Usually, the standard way in which surveys are conducted need sumptuous amounts of money to achieve the desired results. Studies have shown that doing an online questionnaire attracts low costs, and the rate at which information is collected from the target population is very fast. In a nutshell, emailing questionnaires plus other forms of online surveys are not only affordable; rather they are effective compared to a face-to-face interview method.
Thirdly, conducting an online survey makes it possible to automate the process of data input and handling. Such types of surveys permit the respondent a chance to key in their answers once they are connected online. The information they provide is then stored pronto in a database meant for the survey. That would lead to proper handling of the data hence instance of data errors would be minimal. Online administration of questionnaires is also associated with increased number of responses (Wright, 2005) . An online interview gives the most elevated level of convenience, particularly for the respondents. That is true because they can respond to the questionnaire at their pace, time and preference.
Finally, an online survey is meritorious because it offers flexibility. Notably, online surveys can be useful when conducting complex inquiries. The questionnaire can be designed such that it consists of a variety of responses so that the respondent would not be discouraged should he/her fail to answer some questions.
Demerits of Conducting an Online Questionnaire
Online administration of questionnaires is also disadvantageous. First, lack of the presence of the interviewer implies that other responses from open-ended questions given to the respondent would not be explored during the interview. This method is also biased since respondents who may not be privileged to have the internet will be deprived a chance to have their say (Wright, 2005) . That is true particularly for respondents who dwell in remote areas plus the elderly. The the other main drawback of conducting an online questionnaire is fraud (Wright, 2005) . This is one of the serious hurdles that face online survey. Notably, there are those individuals who will complete the questionnaire to get an incentive once they are through with the survey. In most case, such people are not interested in sharing information that would lead to the advancement of the matter under study.
Reliability of the Collected Data
The data collected is credible since after conducting the analysis, various scholarly articles were reviewed to ascertain whether there was some semblance of information regarding the challenges that users face while using e-books. In addition, some respondents were willing to be interrogated further on certain aspects of their responses. Besides, the data collected exhibited consistency to qualify its reliability.
Methods of Data Validation
Many methods can be used to validate qualitative data namely triangulation, saturation, member checking, self-disclosure. The method used in this case was triangulation and saturation. The triangulation method is close to the reliability process under the quantitative research. This method entails using vast sources of data to create a deeper understanding of the matter at hand (Fusch & Ness, 2015) . According to this approach, the findings from different data sources ought to be checked for consistency. Comments from the participants in an interview can thus be used to justify how robust and credible survey observations are. On the other hand, the saturation describes a point in which no new information arises from the data and that all the concepts from the data are well backed up (Fusch & Ness, 2015) .
Challenges of Using an Online Questionnaire
The primary problem that this survey faced was establishing the age of the respondents. It is hard to establish how old the respondents were. However, one assumption that this report carries is that most teens use the internet regularly for their academic research thus; they formed the bulk of the respondents. Other challenges experienced are based on the disadvantages of using online questionnaires such as fraud and missing links.
In conclusion, e-books are indispensable study tools that ought to be improved. The modifications need to ensure that the navigation process is made to be easy so that users from any age brackets can enjoy using the device. E-books offer myriad merits to scholars owing to their portability and time consciousness. Therefore, more research needs to be done on how the interphase can be improved to mate the materials more legible to satisfy the users.
References
Aaltonen, M., Mannonen, P., Nieminen, S., & Nieminen, M. (2011). Usability and Compatibility of e-book Readers in an Academic Environment: A Collaborative Study. IFLA journal , 37 (1), 16-27. Retrieved from http://ifl.sagepub.com/content/37/1/16.short.
Fusch, P. I. & Ness, L. R. (2015). Are We There Yet? Data Saturation in Qualitative Research. The Qualitative Report , 20 (9), 1408. Retrieved from http://tqr.nova.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/fusch1.pdf.
Richardson, J. V., & Mahmood, K. (2011). eBook Readers: User Satisfaction and Usability Issues. LHT journal 30(1), 170-185. Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/1453792/eBook_readers_User_satisfaction_and_usability_issues.
Wilson, R. & Landoni, M. (2003). Evaluating the Usability of Portable Electronic Books. In Proceedings of the 2003 ACM symposium on Applied computing (pp. 564-568), ACM . Retrieved from http://www.cis.strath.ac.uk/cis/research/publications/papers/strath_cis_publication_32.pdf.
Wright, K. B. (2005). Researching Internet ‐ based Populations: Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Survey Research, Online Questionnaire Authoring Software Packages, and Web Survey Services. Journal of Computer ‐ Mediated Communication , 10 (3), 00-00. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2005.tb00259.x/full.
