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Disseminating Survey Information in the Networked World: A UK Resource

Disseminating Survey Information in the Networked World: A UK Resource. Julie Lamb Department of Sociology University of Surrey http://qb.soc.surrey.ac.uk. Aims of the presentation. Thinking about Internet Dissemination The Question Bank: an introduction Brief history The Qb site

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Disseminating Survey Information in the Networked World: A UK Resource

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  1. Disseminating Survey Information in the Networked World: A UK Resource Julie Lamb Department of Sociology University of Surrey http://qb.soc.surrey.ac.uk

  2. Aims of the presentation • Thinking about Internet Dissemination • The Question Bank: an introduction • Brief history • The Qb site • Surveys • Topics • Resources • Maintaining the resource

  3. Knowledge Dissemination via the WWW • “Internet use is a staple of college students’ educational experience” (Pew Internet and American Life Project 2002) • Internet is: • Free • Not time restricted • Great learning resource • Qb receives around 15,000 hits per month, around 60% UK, 20% USA

  4. What is the Qb? • A source of questionnaire materials for social researchers • Established in 1996 when there were few online survey resources and questionnaires were often hard to find • There to help: • Researchers developing new surveys • Secondary data analysts • Teachers and students of research methods

  5. Qb Key Aims • Bridge the gap of understanding between survey professionals and academic researchers; • Provide standardised quantitative measures of key variables; • Display key survey instruments; and • Be freely available online: http://qb.soc.surrey.ac.uk

  6. What material do we hold? • Questionnaires from important social surveys • Related methodological material • Commentary on topics and concepts • Bibliographies and links to other resources • NO DATA! • Three main areas of the site; • Surveys • Topics • Resources

  7. Surveys Overviews Resource Map Main Menu Original source Introduction and history Methods Further Info (including a link to the data) Information held about the survey on the Qb Topics associated Web Links Alphabetical List Type and Coverage Questionnaire years held Data source QUESTIONNAIRES!

  8. Questionnaires • In PDF files to preserve original formats • Chunked to reduce download times • Bookmarked for easy navigation • Related material, e.g. diaries, advance letters, leaflets for respondents • Methodological information, e.g. dates of fieldwork, sampling procedures

  9. Topics • Oppenheim 1992: “The questionnaire has a job to do: it’s function is measurement” • 21 Key social science topic areas • Being linked to important surveys • Commentary on social measurement in those areas (not complete yet) • Key Variables chapters

  10. Resources • Bibliographies related to topic areas • Links to related resources • All about the QB! (User Guide) • CAPI explained • Harmonisation Booklets • Survey Link Scheme

  11. Searching the QB • 40,000 pages,57 Surveys, 21 Topics = A lot of material !! • Three strategies to find a question • Surveys menu (going directly to a relevant file) • Topics menu (to learn which surveys may be relevant) • The Search Engine (using key words)

  12. The Search Engine • Searches PDF and HTML • Highlights keywords in results • Advanced search functions

  13. Maintaining the resource • The team • Technical versus sociological knowledge • Redesign issues • Database issues • The future

  14. Summary • Readily accessible bank of questions • Flat structure to make comparisons easier • Additional material to help clarify concepts • Advanced search function • Highly intensive to maintain • Working closely with the UK Data Archive

  15. Contacts Martin Bulmer – Qb Director Julie Lamb - Qb Manager Laura Hyman – Qb Researcher Graham Hughes – Qb Content Manager Zoe Tenger - Qb Administrator Jenny Rains – Qb Assistant qb@surrey.ac.uk +44 (0) 1483 683762

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