Questionnaire Review and Development Process

A questionnaire will be designed to collect participant data. The questionnaire will be divided into two sections. The first part will consist of questions related to demographics, the second section will include questions relating to the five SERVQUAL service dimensions, i.e. reliability, assurance, tangibility, empathy and responsiveness; plus, additional dimensions of learning content, course website, and the output variable (i.e. quality perception) (as defined in Uppal et al, 2017). Demographic questions related to capturing of gender, type of schooling (private/public), current degree program, and current household income.

According to the literature, quality is an important factor for adoption of a service. Increasingly, since higher education is being seen as a service for which prospective customers (students) have to be satisfied, the significance of the understanding of quality and its delivery has become imperative. However, to achieve successful e-service delivery, further research is required in the field of e-services to explore and assess variables that influence e-service quality in the educational domain (Rowley, 2006).

There are a number of quality models which have been reported, however, Asubeonteng et al. (1996) reasoned that "until a superior and as straightforward model rises, SERVQUAL will prevail as a leading service quality instrument". SERVQUAL has an advantage over other quality models, that it has been used as a meaning tool in a range of domains, especially in the service industries like healthcare, financial services, banking and information systems service quality (Jiang, Klein, & Crampton, 2000; Kang & Bradley, 2002; Kettinger & Lee, 2005). Its unique methodology which can be used for identifying and plugging gaps in the service have been found to be very practical

E-learning primarily is a software system, which is a delivered using technology, information system models and technology acceptance models also play an important role in its development and implementation. From the review of Technology acceptance models, it is evident that consideration of quality, as a factor is missing in these models. Quality is an important factor, not only in service but also for system and information use. Delone and McLean (2002) also highlighted that consideration of service, information, and system quality

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constructs were essential for user satisfaction while using the system. This form the basis for a need for a holistic quality model (ELQ) with due consideration for information and system dimensions, which is elaborated in chapter 4.

These constructs and relevant questions were formed on the basis of the knowledge gained through the extensive literature review. The different constructs used when designing the questionnaire are briefly discussed below:

Reliability: This construct investigated how important reliability was to the perception of quality of the e-learning system. So, for example with delivery modes, how important it is for students to receive the learning material in different formats and does it affect their perception of quality if the material was presented in text format verses the audio or audio/video format. Similarly, for language experiment, the questions in this construct will relate to how students perceive the quality of learning experience; for example, the material was presented in their local language versus the international language, i.e. English. For the interactivity experiment, questions were asked about how students would perceive the quality of e-learning if there were different levels of interactivity. These questionnaires for each experiment are attached in Appendix B.

Assurance: This construct which also is the part of the service dimension, included questions related to how assured students felt about the quality of the e-learning if it was delivered in different modes, i.e. text, audio and audio/video modes. Similarly, for the language experiment, how the delivery of e-learning in different language affected participant’s perception of quality. In the experiment related to interactivity, this construct included questions related to how students felt about the quality of e-learning with different levels of interactivity.

Tangibility: This construct which also is the part of the service dimension, included questions related to how students perceive the quality of e-learning if the service was tangible of higher quality. In delivering, the e-learning in the text, audio, and audio/video formats, is one mode perceived to be of better quality than the other? Similarly, how would students perceive the quality or e-learning if it was presented in the local language versus English? Similarly, if e- learning content is more interactive, would it appear to be of higher quality?

Empathy: This construct, which is also part of the service dimension, included questions related to if students perceive empathy to be better if the language was local or English?

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Similarly, this will include questions related to delivery modes of text, audio, and audio/video, and if these modes have any effect on how empathy is perceived by students. For the interactivity experiment, it would include questions relating to how empathy is perceived if the interactivity was increased. Would more interactivity with the service provider improve the perception of quality?

Responsiveness: This construct also part of the service dimension and will include questions related to how the responsiveness construct is effected if the e-learning is delivered in text, audio, and audio/video formats. Similarly, how responsiveness will be effected if the language was local or English. And, how will the responsiveness change in the minds of students if a different level of interactivity is provided.

Learning Content: This construct, which related to the information dimension, included questions about the perception of quality if the material was presented in different delivery formats. Similarly, for the language experiment, it will include questions about the local and English language, and how students perceive quality when learning content is delivered in different languages. And, for the interactivity experiment, this construct will include questions concerning how students would perceive quality if the learning material was more interactive.

Course Website: This construct, which related to the system dimension, will include questions about the student perception of quality if the website content was in different formats. Similarly, for the language experiment, how would they perceive the quality if the language of the system (website) was in local versus English language? In addition, for the interactivity experiment, it will include questions that ask students about their perception of quality, if the website was more interactive.

E-Learning Quality: This was the primary outcome variable in the questionnaire. This construct will include questions about what constitutes quality. For delivery modes experiment, how the student would perceive the quality. Similarly, for language and interactivity experiments, which elements would give a perception of quality to the learner?

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