| The availability and utilization of the Internet as a powerful tool for research has made huge databases and archived information accessible to researchers worldwide. In particular, the increased availability of Internet access has enabled faculty members in Saudi Arabia expanded opportunities for research in order to realize goals and to engage in activities they could not do previously. However, the extent to which Saudi female faculty members in institutions of higher education use the Internet is not known. The focus of this study was to discover the patterns and extent of Internet use by Saudi female faculty members in higher educational institutions.; Using the qualitative approach and grounded theory of analysis, this investigator interviewed twenty-four (24) female faculty members at four higher educational institutions in Saudi Arabia in three (3) academic disciplines (science, humanities and religion) to discover the faculty members' effective utilization of the Internet; their perceptions toward Internet use for research; and, the factors influencing their utilization of the Internet for research. The study revealed five (5) elements affecting the level of Internet use by Saudi female faculty members but that these levels of use also affect some of the elements.; This study lays the groundwork for an exploration of the relationships of the nodes and their levels or values as regards a rich body of knowledge specific to Internet access. It also reveals the factors that would enable increased Internet utilization by the Saudi female faculty members. |
