International Journal of Research Studies in Education
2020 Volume 9 Number 6, 63-76
© The Author(s) / Attribution CC BY
The effect of gender, age and career orientation on digital
dictionary use strategies
Gavriilidou, Zoe
Democritus University of Thrace, Greece (zoegab@otenet.gr)
Mavrommatidou, Stavroula
Democritus University of Thrace, Greece (stavrmav@hotmail.com)
Markos, Angelos
Democritus University of Thrace, Greece (amarkos@gmail.com)
Received: 18 July 2020 Revised: 7 August 2020 Accepted: 18 September 2020
Available Online: 28 September 2020 DOI: 10.5861/ijrse.2020.5046
ISSN: 2243-7703
Online ISSN: 2243-7711
OPEN ACCESS
Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the profile of digital dictionary users as
well as the effects of age, gender and career orientation on the use of digital dictionaries. A
total of 1,141 individuals, aged 15-64 years old, participated in a large-scale empirical study.
Data were collected through the online self-report questionnaire Strategy Inventory for
Electronic Dictionary Use (SIEDU) which can be used to assess strategic use of electronic
dictionaries and contains the following subscales: 1) familiarity with different types of
electronic dictionaries and the conditions of their use; 2) strategies for lemmatization and
acquaintance with dictionary conventions; 3) navigation skills; and 4) look-up strategies in
new electronic environments. Results indicated significant main effects of gender and age on
digital dictionary use, but a non-significant effect of career orientation. These results suggest
that instruction for strategic dictionary use should be introduced in classroom so that
appropriate dictionaries are used in all courses regardless of the field of study.
Keywords: dictionary use strategies; digital dictionary use; SIEDU; users’ profile; career
orientation