ETDs in SA questionnaire

Communication and information aspects of electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs): a South African study.

General Survey (1)

I hereby request some of your time to complete my online questionnaire. In answering this questionnaire, please provide your honest opinion to the questions asked. Please ensure that you answer ALL the required questions in the questionnaire. Your participation in this research project will enable me to obtain a realistic view of electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) in South Africa.
If you have any queries, don't hesitate to contact me.
Kind regards
Neil Evans

Demographic Information

Gender:

Race:

Age:

Nationality:	South African
	Other, please specify:

Home language:

Questionnaire

1. Where do you work/study?

Other:

2. In what capacity are you responding to this questionnaire?

(Check all that apply)

	Faculty (Lecturers/instructors)
	Researcher
	Post Grad Student
	Librarian
	IT Specialist
	Other:

3. Do you have a post-graduate degree?	Yes	Please state degree:
	No
	In progress	Please state degree:

4. Have you published any additional research ?		Yes
		No
		In progress

5. What software applications have you used in recording your post-grad work and or research?

(Check all that apply)

	Word processor (e.g. MS Word)
	Spreadsheet application (e.g. MS Excel)
	Presentation application (e.g. MS PowerPoint)
	Database application (e.g. SPSS, MS Access)
	Adobe Acrobat reader (PDF)
	Web Authoring application (e.g. MS FrontPage)
	Other:

6. What software applications have you used in the analysis, of your post-grad work and or research?

(Check all that apply)

	Word processor (e.g. MS Word)
	Spreadsheet application (e.g. MS Excel)
	MS Access
	SPSS
	Other:

7. What software applications have you used in the presentation of your post-grad work and or research?

(Check all that apply)

	Word processor (e.g. MS Word)
	Spreadsheet application (e.g. MS Excel)
	Presentation application (e.g. MS PowerPoint)
	Database application (e.g. SPSS, MS Access)
	Adobe Acrobat reader (PDF)
	Web Authoring application (e.g. MS FrontPage)
	Web browser (e.g. Internet Explorer, Netscape)
	Other:

8. Have you used online databases to obtain research material?		Yes
		No

9. If you have, what did you access/download?

(Check all that apply)

	Have not used online databases
	Abstracts
	Full articles/papers
	ETDs
	Multi-media
	Other:

10. If you have used online databases how easy was it to find relevant material using the databases search functions?

11. Do you find online databases more efficient to obtain research literature than paperbound journals?		Yes
		No
		Don't know

12. Are you familiar with electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs)?		Yes
		No


13. Have you browsed any digital libraries or online databases that host ETDs?		Yes
		No


14. Have you browsed any South African digital libraries or online databases that host ETDs?		Yes
		No

If Yes, please elaborate.

15. Does your institution accept electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs)?

	Yes
	No
	Don't know

16. If your institution does not accept ETDs, do you think it should?		Yes
		No
		No opinion

17. Are you familiar with Adobe Acrobat Reader?		Yes
		No

18. Have you ever created a PDF file using Adobe?		Yes
		No

19. Have you created a web page using web authoring programs (e.g. FrontPage, Dreamweaver )?		Yes
		No

20. Have you ever published any of your work on the Internet?		Yes
		No

21. Have you used internet searches to find research /reference material?		Yes
		No

22. Do you find this method of searching for material efficient?		Yes
		No
		Don't use it

23. How often do you find relevant material on the Internet?

24. From your experiences, please comment on the following sources of reference/ research material i.e. indicate how useful you found these reservoirs of data.

Libraries (Paperbound material)
Digital Libraries (Include ETDs)
Journals (Paperbound material)
Journals (Online material)
Online databases
Other comments on any of above:

25. Do you think by adding multi-media content (graphics, video, sound etc.) to theses and dissertations it will improve the expression of Graduate Education?		Yes
		No
		In some cases
		No opinion

26. Do you think by adding theses and dissertations to an online database it would improve the accessibility and use of this research?		Yes
		No
		In some cases
		No opinion

Elaborate if you wish.

27. Would you as an author have any reservations on adding your thesis or dissertation to an online database which everybody can access?		Yes
		No
		In some cases
		No opinion

28. Please indicate your concerns (if any) about publishing your thesis or dissertation (TD) on the Internet for everybody to access.

(Check all that apply)

	No concerns
	Patent pending
	Plagiarism
	Publishing in journals that disallow prior publication

29. Do you think that there would be cost benefits in publishing and storing electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) compared to paper bound theses and dissertations (TDs)?		Yes
		No
		In some cases
		No opinion

Elaborate if you wish.


30. Do you think ETDs will minimise duplication of research?		Yes
		No
		In some cases
		No opinion

Elaborate if you wish.

31. Do you prefer to print downloaded literature to read?

Yes

In some cases

Additional comments * (optional):

Personal Information * (optional)

Name:

Email Address:

Can I quote you by name in my thesis?

Yes

Would you like to be notified once the results are available?		Yes
		No