Prioritizing the usability components in journal management systems at Iranian medical universities

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to evaluate and to rank the usability components in OJS, Sinweb, Yektaweb and Neoscriber3 journal management systems, as well as to observe each component measure on each system separately. The survey population consists of users of 4 most used systems such as Sinaweb, Yektaweb, and Neoscriber among 13 OJS at Iranian medical sciences universities. Evaluation of each interface was based on 4 layers of editors, reviewers, authors, and regular users. Four layers were selected for each system and 5 users for each layer in each system. In total, 80 users completed the research questionnaires. Data were analyzed by SPSS software using descriptive and inferential statistical tests. The results show that the consistency component in Sinaweb system was lower tha Yektaweb, OJS and Neoscriber 3 systems, while it was not significantly different in the oth three systems. The flexibility average of the systems interface was below middle, the us guidance average of the systems was in the middle and other areas were above averag However, averages showed that consistency of Yektaweb is more than neoscriber 3 and the Neoscriber 3 is more than OJS. Also, there were no significant differences between the fo systems in other components including compatibility, flexibility, learnability, minimal actio minimal memory load and perceptual limitation. From the users’ point of view, it seems that the most attention is in the components compatibility and consistency, and the least attention is in the components of flexibility an user guidance among the journal management systems studied. Also, the most importa weaknesses include direct manipulation and apply settings in the system, lack of use shortcuts and replacements keys, etc. and the strengths, including the use of consistent icon on different pages, familiarizing users with concepts and terms used in the system, etc. Thes strengths and weaknesses make it easier to select the appropriate systems for other scientifi organizations and centers. Weaknesses can also be developed by system administrato and technical teams to gain desirable usability and find ways to attract the attention of oth countries’ journals as well as internationalization. Moreover in this study, a new tool (not use in Iran) was introduced to be used in similar studies by librarians and system managers t select various kinds of information systems based on the applicability criteria. © 2021 Iranian Research Institute for Scientific Information and Documentation. All rights reserved.