While the potential benefits of participating in online learning communities are documented, so too are inequities in terms of how different populations access and use them. We present the online learning support roles (OLSR) framework, an approach using both automated analytics and qualitative interpretation to identify and explore online…

Reports results of survey of United States online database producers designed to determine number of personnel employed in intellectual production of databases and provide basis for generation of people employed in frequently recurring staff categories. Implications for education based on needs suggested by staffing patterns are examined.…

Describes the partnership between the public and private sectors in developing and marketing the ERIC database in CD-ROM format. Particular emphasis is given to the marketing research and protocols of partnership that were developed. (Author/CLB)

This manual was produced to familiarize data users with the procedures followed in data collection and processing of the fifth follow-up survey of the National Longitudinal Survey of the High School Class of 1972 (NLS-72) and to provide documentation for use of the file. The data file is a computerized data base, which is available on magnetic…

Discusses the impact of online technologies on secondary analysis of survey research performance. Reviews current online public opinion sources and presents a model for interactive online analysis of survey data. Argues that survey data should be more easily available to all potential users. (Author/AEF)

Tips for designing user-friendly online surveys that can collect valuable data via the World Wide Web include the following: edit the questions, pretest, title the survey, provide an introduction, develop screening questions, determine length, offer promotional tie-ins, include the "other" option, make "no response" the default, provide a "clear…

These three users' manuals are for specific files of the High School and Beyond Study, a national longitudinal study of high school sophomores and seniors in 1980. The three files are computerized databases that are available on magnetic tape. As one component of base year data collection, information identifying twins, triplets, and some non-twin…

Describes an evaluator's experiences constructing a World Wide Web site to collect evaluation data and discusses the technical and design challenges presented by data collection via the Web. Discusses eight lessons of Web-based data collection and outlines the advantages of the approach. (SLD)

The 10 papers in this collection discuss the database industry in Australia and New Zealand, networking activities in the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region, intellectual property protection of databases, the development of land information systems in Australia, the development of expert systems, the use of optical data disks,…

Recent developments in system use statistics, statistical analysis and research studies by library networks for library decision makers are discussed, as well as issues confronting library networks working toward the improvement of management information services for their member libraries. (Author/MBR)

In late 2006, the National Library of Australia (NLA) implemented a trial Instant Messaging (IM) service that ran in parallel with the AskNow chat reference service for a six month period. The trial was a resounding success, proving both a demand for an IM service and the suitability of the medium for reference service provision in a collaborative…

In addition to reviewing the characteristics of document processing systems, this paper pays considerable attention to the description of a system via a feature list approach. The purpose of this report is to present features of the systems in parallel fashion to facilitate comparison so that a potential user may have a basis for evaluation in…

This Digest summarizes the results of a survey administered to the American Educational Research Associations Survey Research Special Interest Group regarding the use of electronic surveys and discusses their responses in the context of the existing literature base. Topics include the conditions under which use of e-mail or Web-based surveys would…

A survey of 20 British electronic information vendors found that 95% considered marketing important and suggested that it is likely to become more intensive and aggressive as competition increases in the information industry. Analyzed advertisements from professional journals and direct mail literature for readability, structure, and information…

This paper discusses some basic assumptions and issues concerning web-based surveys. Discussion includes: assumptions regarding cost and ease of use; disadvantages of web-based surveys, concerning the inability to compensate for four common errors of survey research: coverage error, sampling error, measurement error and nonresponse error; and…