Students’ perception of academic databases as recognition of learning and research during the COVID-19 pandemic

Consistent with their goal of becoming a centre for educational excellence in teaching, learning and research, the authorities of Chinese higher education introduced their academic database system as one of their e-library services. However, the existing literature exhibits inadequate empirical measurements of academic databases in all aspects of higher education throughout the world during the COVID-19 pandemic. To address this gap, this study aims to validate the technology satisfaction model (TSM) for measuring students’ satisfaction in using academic databases for their learning and research purposes. This study also analysed local and international academic databases to explore whether these databases could play a moderating role in shaping learners’ satisfaction. The data were collected through a survey of 500 respondents studying at a research university in Shanghai. The results, which were analysed by structural equation modelling and the Rasch model, showed that students’ satisfaction is determined by three valid predictors: computer self-efficacy, perceived usefulness and ease of use, and causal direct and indirect relationships among these variables in the use of local and international academic databases. Our new findings on the moderating effect of local (i.e. Chinese) and international (e.g. English) academic databases highlighted that the TSM has successfully estimated dual databases and produced insignificant, dissimilar results. This study could aid local and international educators, researchers, information science professionals and others in measuring the perception of academic databases for learning and research. This research could also serve as a guideline for researchers and psychometricians in measuring innovative learning technologies using structural equation modelling and the Rasch model. This is the unique contribution of this study, which concludes that local and international academic databases are almost equally important for postgraduate students at a research university in China. Moreover, these students are satisfied in using these academic databases to learn and do research.