[nabs-l] Library Research Survey

[Haben Girma]

Survey sent by Lisa O'Shaughnessy:

We are three students currently enrolled in a masters program in Library 
Science at Pratt Institute in NYC. This semester, we are taking a class 
that focuses on the study of how people search for the different types 
of information they need (academic assignments, work info, personal 
info). For our final project, we are interested in discovering how 
visually impaired college students search for the information they need 
to satisfy their school assignments (papers, quizzes, etc.).

We are posting to the California Association of Blind Students Facebook 
group in the hope to connect with some visually impaired college 
students. We need several volunteers to help us out by completing a 
short 15-question survey. The survey will take no more then half an hour 
to complete and will ask you questions about: how you search for 
information for school, what types of information sources your prefer 
(google vs. library), and what problems you may have encountered while 
searching.

RAFFLE: As our way of saying thank you for participating in our project, 
we will be entering everyone who completes a survey into a raffle for a 
$20 gift certificate to either Amazon.com or the ITunes store.

HOW TO RETURN THE QUESTIONNAIRE: Listed below please find the 
questionnaire we would like you to complete. Option one: After 
completing this survey, copy and paste the survey questions and your 
answers into a Facebook e-mail and send it to Lisa O’Shaughnessy, Julia 
Martin, and Polina Mitenko by April 20, 2009. Option two: Send the 
completed survey to LisaOShaughnessy at aol.com, JuliaWMartin at gmail.com, 
and pmitenko at pratt.edu by April 20, 2009 with the subject: HOW DO YOU 
SEARCH FOR INFORMATION TO SATISFY YOUR SCHOOL ASSIGNMENTS?

Participation in this survey is completely voluntary. By filling out the 
survey you will be agreeing to participate within our project. All 
results and names of participants will be kept completely confidential 
and only viewed by the three of us conducting the survey. If at any time 
after completing the questionnaire you wish to withdraw your answers 
from our project please feel free to do so by sending one of us an 
e-mail via our Facebook accounts.

Questionnaire:

1. Age: _________
Degree Pursued: choose one
(_)Associates (_)Bachelors (_)Masters
(_)Vocational (_)Certificate (_)Other:________________
Anticipated date of completion: _______

2. How would you define your level of computer technology skills?

__ Beginner (E-Mail and basic internet searching)
__ Intermediate (Working knowledge of MS Office, in-depth Internet 
Searching, Facebook/Myspace user)
__ Advanced (Working knowledge of MS Office, in-depth online searching, 
able to create HTML documents and publish them on the web)
__ Professional (I work as an IT professional/computer programmer or 
other advanced technology position)


3. How often do you utilize the services provided by the Office of 
Disability Services at your school? (Please mark one of the following)
__ Three or more times a semester
__ Once or twice a semester
__ Not as much as I'd like to
__ Never
__ I didn't know we had one
__ I don't find them to be helpful


4. When searching for information for a school assignment do you find it:

__ Easy (I can do it on my own)
__ Manageable (I am able to do it on my own with a little extra effort)
__ Difficult (I need help from another person or a lot of extra effort)
__ Impossibly frustrating (It takes so much effort and so much time that 
it doesn't seem worth doing)

5. Where do you start searching when you are given a school assignment? 
(Please mark one following)
__ Search Engine
__ Wikipedia
__ Online Database
__ Library
__ Library Catalog
__ It depends on the subject

6. Typically, which resource provides you with the best information?
__ Search Engine
__ Wikipedia
__ Online Database
__ Library
__ Library Catalog
__ It depends on the subject


7. Do you do research in your school’s library building?
__Yes
__ No

8. How often do you ask a librarian/staff member for help in finding 
materials?
__ Every time
__ Only after I can’t find something
__ Only for in-depth research question
__ I don’t find librarian/staff helpful


9. Are there any services you would like your library to offer?


10. What search engine do you commonly use while searching the Internet 
for information?
__ Google
__ Yahoo
__ Ask.com
__ Other please list


11. Do you encounter any issues when interacting with the your school's 
library catalog?
__ Yes
__ No

If yes, please mark one or more of the following:
__ Not easy to navigate
__ Does not interact well with my assistive technology device
__ Not easy to locate the information I need
__ Other please explain


12. Do you use any technological aids when doing research for school?
__ Yes
__ No

13. If yes, what do you use: (Please mark one or more of the following)
__ Screen Magnifier Program
__ Screen Reader Program
__ Refreshable Braille Display
__ Closed Circuit TV
__ Other please list


14. Do you ever encounter any problems when your assistive technology 
interacts with another resource? If yes, please explain:




15. Is there anything you'd like to tell us that we haven't asked, or if 
you would like to expand on any of your answers, please do so below.