1996 Survey of User Information Needs and Search Methods Results

3 Survey Results

A total of 723 questionnaires were completed. The responses were edited and 13 ineligible questionnaires excluded. The remaining 710 were coded and entered onto an Access Database from which the Survey results were derived.

3.2 Profile of Respondents

This section examines the breakdown of respondents by role, subject and country, and within each, an analysis by response mechanism. The profile of respondents also includes an analysis of the experience of respondents in the use of computers and the Internet.

3.2.1a) Breakdown of all Respondents by Role/Function

Respondents were asked to identify their main role or function.

The category labelled `Other' includes cases where a respondent selected more than one role/function, or where the respondent did not fall within one of the other categories.

Those categories where the number of responses was greater than 100, represent a reasonable sample of that subgroup within the potential ADAM User community. In the `Students' and `Museum Curators' categories, the number of responses was lower than 100 and therefore any conclusions drawn about these subgroups should be treated with a degree of caution. However, Museum Curators represent 7% of the total number of responses, which appears to be a fair representation of the sub-group within the population as a whole. The proportion of Student responses is low and suggests that future surveys and trials should seek to ensure that the significance of the Student population within the total community is taken into account.

3.2.1b) Analysis of Role/Function by Method of Response

The preferred method of response within all categories was paper. Students and Librarians represent the highest proportion of responses to the World Wide Web questionnaire, whilst Museum Curators had the lowest Web response. The number of Email responses was very low for all groups. It is important to note that the Paper questionnaire was targeted at a cross-section of the user community, whereas the access to E-mail and Web versions was less rigidly controlled.