To assess the context in which information is presented to readers and to know what demands information being presented makes of an audience, IBM designed three procedures to help gather such material. First, customer sites are visited to interview representatives from the intended audience and see the environments in which the information will be…

Extension leadership articulated several broad goals for the use of microcomputers within cooperative extension. These included providing information, service to clients, office automation, and enhancement of the educational process. A questionnaire was administered regarding microcomputer use within Washington State University County Cooperative…

To determine the elements that most influence newspaper subscribership, 400 adults were polled in a stratified proportional sample to assess their levels of news media use in childhood and the strength of certain sociopsychological needs, and to record life style and demographic characteristics. Factor analysis of needs questions suggested the…

A summary and four papers from a symposium, held at the 1974 American Library Association Conference, dealing with the feasibility and desirability of measuring reference service. (PF)

This study is a result of a survey taken at 24 randomly selected middle and junior high schools in Indiana for the purpose of examining user perceptions of media staff and school media centers. Media staff members were surveyed, as well as students and teachers, and responses were compared between groups and within groups. Demographic data were…

Most of the research on motivations and media use has assumed that there is some general motivation that directs habitual media behavior. Recent work on motivations, however, suggests that it may be valuable to distinguish between general needs and more specific needs, both of which may direct media behavior. For example, regular media use might…

The study was a descriptive field survey conducted to evaluate the services provided by the Division of Research Evaluation and Data Processing (REDP). An analysis was made to determine whether the information was used by the consumer for the same purposes for which the producers intended. An investigation was conducted to determine if a service…

Developed to assist librarians in the measurement and evaluation of the library's ability to provide services, this guide suggests a number of evaluation techniques that may be used once the reasons for a study have been clearly determined and locally peculiar conditions have been taken into account. The first section explains methods for…

The proposed strategy, which is designed to maximize the effectiveness and minimize the costs of marketing the Information Analysis Products (IAPs) produced by the 16 ERIC Clearinghouses, is based on a study of the concept of centralized versus decentralized ordering of selected ERIC products. The experiment measured four variables--postage,…

A study examined the use of cable television in the context of general patterns of media use and habits of media users. Data came from telephone interviews with approximately 600 household heads, a third of whom did not subscribe to cable television. Information gathered included respondents' use of newspapers, television, and radio. Cable…

This report describes a study undertaken to identify the types of telephoned reference questions received by the Languages Centre of the Metropolitan Toronto Library. In April 1980 two samples of one-week's duration were taken from reference staff records indicating the number of telephone calls in or about a particular language and the day on…

Based on data gathered in a larger study of audience response to the debates held during the 1976 campaign for the presidency of the United States, a study examined the validity of uses and gratifications measures and explored how these measures were affected by differing levels of audience media activity. The data was drawn from telephone…

The results of personal interviews with 18 of the more experienced online searchers in Washington State are presented. A profile of respondents determines the experience of each in searching in years, number of searches per month, vendors used, and most used data bases. This information is used to analyze the answers given to questions about the…

Part-time students at City of London Polytechnic were surveyed regarding their use of the library. This report explains the methodology, presents survey results, and summarizes conclusions of the study. Analysis is based on a response rate of approximately 26 percent of the questionnaires which were distributed to a sample of students. In addition…