PIM @ academia: how e‐mail is used by scholars
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14684520910944373 |
| Pages | 22-42 |
| Published date | 20 February 2009 |
| Date | 20 February 2009 |
| Author | Eric Zimmerman,Judit Bar‐Ilan |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
PIM @ academia: how e-mail is
used by scholars
Eric Zimmerman
Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya (IDC), Herzliya, Israel, and
Judit Bar-Ilan
Department of Information Science, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to look at measures of e-mail use and e-mail management
among academic faculty in relation to research productivity. The aim is to report only on e-mail use
and management.
Design/methodology/approach – For this quantitative study, productivity data were gathered
from information management systems of Bar-Ilan University in Israel and a survey questionnaire
was distributed in order to measure e-mail use. The scholarly community of Bar-Ilan University was
surveyed via a web-form – of the 781 survey copies disseminated, 412 (52.8 per cent of the total) were
received and the final usable number was 390 (49.9 per cent of the total).
Findings – With younger biological and/or professional age, there are correspondingly higher levels
of e-mail usage. It is clear that the younger a user is, the higher the perceived skill level and
quantitative measures of e-mail use, as well as a higher perception of one’s capacity to use e-mail. It
would also seem that with older professional age, there is less perceived benefit to using e-mail. With
increased levels of perception as to the benefit of e-mail to productivity, there is increased use of e-mail.
Originality/value – This paper provides a depth of study (in its range of disciplines covered, in a
single location, with a broad population) with a range of e-mail measures not previously seen in this
decade. While Israel is small in size, it accounts for 1 per cent of global scientific journal articles,
emanating mainly from the universities and its achievements are such that the global community can
indeed learn from the behaviour patterns of Israel’s scholars, represented by the findings at one of the
largest research universities.
Keywords Statisticalanalysis, Communication technologies,Electronic mail, Informationmedia,
Students
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are increasingly important for
knowledge production, with computer-mediated communication (CMC) playing an
ever-increasingrole (Heimeriks et al., 2004). ICT has impacted on scientific productivity,
as it has on other areas of professional and private life. E-mail is the most used ICT
application in the university (Jankowska, 2004). Having expanded rapidly during the
1990s, the rate of increaseof e-mail use appears to have leveled off (McQueen and Fleck,
2004). Numerous studies have shown that the scientific community is technologically
literate and ready to adopt new processes (Jankowska, 2004).
Because the nature of science is so exacting, structured and precise, the impact of
ICT on scientific productivity can be profound (Wouters and Schroder, 2003). ICT
ordinarily refers to the set of tools that enable better management of mega volumes of
data-rich science (Wouters and Schroder, 2002), but we believe also that e-mail and
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/1468-4527.htm
OIR
33,1
22
Refereed article received
20 April 2008
Approved for publication
1 August 2008
Online Information Review
Vol. 33 No. 1, 2009
pp. 22-42
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
1468-4527
DOI 10.1108/14684520910944373
CMC are welcome additions to the ICT toolbox – computerisation has been associated
with higher productivity (Hacker et al., 1998). E-mail is a form of computer-mediated
communication (CMC), which may be defined as the use of computers for the purpose
of exchanging information (Cohen, 1995). CMC applications, notably e-mail, allow
scholars to bridge space and time (Sproull and Kiesler, 1991), asynchronously,
informally, with tremendous speed (Palme, 1995) and little effort. While it provides a
recorded history of communication (Whittaker and Sidner, 1996), essential when
discussing complex issues such as science, the asynchronous nature of e-mail allows
senders to think clearly and construct messages in a deliberate way (Wood and Smith,
2001). It is therefore a perfect communication medium for scholars, especially those
who work in teams, often geographically dispersed. The proper management of e-mail
becomes critical for performance on an individual and organisational basis.
The purpose of this study
The purpose of the original study was two-fold:
(1) to explain the extent of the use of e-mail among the study population – not just
if it is used or how much so, but to what extent and for what research purposes;
and
(2) to examine the relationship between e-mail use and management (independent
variable) and scientific prod uctivity (dependent variable), as measured
primarily by publications (Cole and Cole, 1968), but also by competitive
research grants received by the population of this study – university scholars.
This study sought to show a link between the perceptions of the benefits to using
e-mail and its actual use. Furthermore, the study examined whether or not there is a
relationship between the productivity and e-mail variables and demographic variables,
such as gender and age. The study pursued several questions regarding demographics,
e-mail skills, productivity measures and perceptions. This paper reports the results
concerning the use and management of e-mail. The correlation between e-mail use and
scholarly productivity is to be published separately.
Related studies
Palme (1995)and Takkinen (2002) provide a concisehistory of the evolution of e-mailand
of the underlying technologies that allow it to operate, describing basic and advanced
e-mail functions.Since its beginnings, theuse of e-mail has been growing steadily. E-mail
has become the universal communications tool (Hendricksen, 2002), ever-present in the
university setting (Mitra et al., 1999), and has developed into a very important
communication vehicle for scholars, centralto their scientific work, impacting positively
on their productivity (Hesse et al., 1993; Bishop, 1994; White, 1995; Coh en, 1996; Ba
¨lter,
1998; Walsh and Roselle, 1999; Walsh et al., 2000; Barjak, 2005). E-mail, as a form of
asynchronous interpersonal communication, is ubiquitous (Whittaker et al., 2002).
In a well-cited early qualitative study, Mackay (1988) observed a small group of
e-mail users, interviewing 23 office workers of a major corporation. She examined how
e-mail was used to manage daily work. It was clear then that users use e-mail
differently – some are prioritisers and others are archivers – and that e-mail is used
for more than just communication, for task and time management too. Prioritisers
manage messages as they are received in the inbox, maintaining control of their inbox,
whereas archivers store information for later use.
PIM @ academia
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