It is now a known fact that media users prefer electronic news sites over traditional mass media, mainly because they provide wider range of capabilities and yet they do not perform the same limitations that time and location enforce on mass media users. As the number of electronic news sites increases so does their users, however, there has not been any development in designing a model that can be used to evaluate the efficiency of such sites. It seems therefore plausible to set the purpose of this study on designing a model that can be used to evaluate the service quality of such electronic news sites. We claim this model can contribute to improvement of such sites through evaluating their strengths and weaknesses by such model. The paper will also seek grounds of applying this model to evaluation of electronic news sites in Iran, with a focus on what the main priorities of Iranian users are. For this purpose, we first launched a literature review on web-qual and also interviewed selected experts to see what their opinions are. This led to identifying 51 dimensions and indicators as tools of measuring quality of such sites. We then used such dimensions and indicators in the form of questions that were inserted in a questionnaire. We then selected a number of users of electronic news sites to find out whether they also consider such dimensions and indicators as proper tools for evaluating strengths and weaknesses of electronic news sites. The data were then collected and analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis. The results helped us to design a model in which modes of improving sites were identified. Such model functions based on considering two elements: 1- the first element focuses on common aspects of all electronic sites such as attraction and accessibility; and, 2- the second element focuses on specific aspects of the site such as how news is delivered.
Mirghafoori, S. H., Hatami Manesh, M., & Banifateme, S. A. M. (2013). Designing a Model for Evaluating Services Quality of Electronic News Sites (E-News-Qual) by Factor Analysis. Global Media Journal-Persian Edition, 8(2), -.
MLA
Seyed Habibollah Mirghafoori; Mehdi Hatami Manesh; Seyed Ali Mohammad Banifateme. "Designing a Model for Evaluating Services Quality of Electronic News Sites (E-News-Qual) by Factor Analysis", Global Media Journal-Persian Edition, 8, 2, 2013, -.
HARVARD
Mirghafoori, S. H., Hatami Manesh, M., Banifateme, S. A. M. (2013). 'Designing a Model for Evaluating Services Quality of Electronic News Sites (E-News-Qual) by Factor Analysis', Global Media Journal-Persian Edition, 8(2), pp. -.
VANCOUVER
Mirghafoori, S. H., Hatami Manesh, M., Banifateme, S. A. M. Designing a Model for Evaluating Services Quality of Electronic News Sites (E-News-Qual) by Factor Analysis. Global Media Journal-Persian Edition, 2013; 8(2): -.
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