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EENet’s User Surveys

Maria Ristkok Estonian Educational and Research Network (EENet) TERENA TF-PR meeting 17-18 March, 2005. EENet’s User Surveys. Overview. Why user surveys? Benefits for NRENs and their users User surveys since 2000. Aims, expectations, target group, methodology

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EENet’s User Surveys

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  1. Maria Ristkok Estonian Educational and Research Network (EENet) TERENA TF-PR meeting 17-18 March, 2005 EENet’s User Surveys

  2. Overview • Why user surveys? Benefits for NRENs and their users • User surveys since 2000. Aims, expectations, target group, methodology • How last surveys were carried out • Summary of the outcomes • What has been done with the results • Some tips

  3. User Surveys – what for? • Identifying and keeping track on the needs of users • Informing about the new services • Users’ opinion matters (changes, additional services) • Fields of usage of Internet connectivity

  4. User Surveys 2000-2002 • 2000: 411 questionnaires sent out on paper (11 q-s; 65% resp), contentment 58%, 9240 comp-s with Int.connection, 66035 people using EENet’s network, 7 users per computer • 2001: 555 questionnaires (16 +5 quest-s, 65% resp), contentment 53%, 170 000 people, 9 users/computer • 2002: 535 q-s (18 q-s, 59% resp), cont.53%, 208 000 people, 10 users/computer

  5. User Surveys 2003-2005 • 2003: 455 q-s (19 q-s, 53% resp), cont 59%, 202 000 people, 9 users/computer • 2004: 781 q-s (17 q-s, 58% resp), cont 52%, 210 000 people, 7.6 users/computer (6.9 using EENet’s network) • 2005: 874 q-s (72% responded!), 95% respondents used web-based interface for filling the questionnaire

  6. Aims • Find out the number of computers & their users in the academic network (since 2000: only permanent connection, since 2004 also users of commercial permanent connection) • Examine the contentment with different services, find out needed changes • Get information about how well the users know the existence of different services (thereby also promoting the services which are less known)

  7. Aims • For what purposes Internet connection is used • Level of internal networks, how many org-s have system administrators; do employees of the org-s need any Internet training • Wishes for speed of the connection (for prognosis of the network) by types of org-s • Knowledge about the ISP of the connection, contentment (commercial market research) • Additional needs, proposals

  8. Target Group. Methodology • Targeted population: institutions (research, educational, cultural) using one or several services in the Estonian academic network • Used methodology: quantitative method, surveys with closed and open questions for collecting the cross-sectional data. Tradition of annual user surveys since 2000 (5 years) – gives the possibility to make also a survey of longitudinal data

  9. Last UserSurveys • 781 (2004) and 874 (2005) questionnaires posted. • Time to respond: 10 days • Possibility to respond electronically by a unique web-based address or send the filled questionnaire by ordinary mail or fax (last web update counted) • Answers collected in 30 days. Responding activity 58% in 2004, 72%(!) in 2005 (answers submitted a month later were not counted)

  10. Last UserSurveys • Questions were made by department of services + heads of dep-s • A paper with contact data was added every questionnaire for checking the database of customers (3% of the contact e-mails were not working, database was updated). The same person was expected to fill in the form. • 4 people were involved in the process of US: programmer, secretary for typing the faxed answers to the relevant web-based addresses, 1 for checking contact data (contractor), 1 for analyzing the data (head of the customer services department)

  11. Last UserSurveys • Time spent for organizing – all in all a full month of an employee • Money spent on User Survey: ~ 250 EUR or less (paper, envelopes, stamping), salary not included. • First input takes some time, later the summary (analysis of the outcome) is made by following the summary of previous years. • Summaries of all the User Surveys are available at EENet’s website

  12. Some results Permanent connections • About 210 000 end-users using EENet's permanent connectivity in 2003 • 65% (2004) satisfied with their present Internet connectivity via academic network (6% more than in US 2003). The main reason for discontentment is slow connection. • 433 users per org. using permanent connectivity in academic network (2004)

  13. Satisfaction with Current Permanent Connection

  14. Usage of Internet connectivity • e-mail correspondence • getting information needed for studies and work • using bank services • reading the news • compiling teaching and training material • publishing information about the institution itself and other

  15. Additional services/changes asked for: • More bandwidth • Guaranteed bandwidth during the videoconference • Grid • Information about all connectivity breaks(incl. very short ones) • Central server for archive of video lectures • Backup services via backbone

  16. WiFi services in academic network • VoIP • LANtoLAN • support for making a homepage of smaller institutions • possibility to administer e-mailboxes in EENet's server (create, delete) • courses (for system administrators on security, data communication etc)

  17. More HOWTO-s in Estonian • Consultations about security, warnings about security holes etc • Different databases (e.g. About art schools, music schools, software for teachers etc) • Etc...

  18. What has been done with the results • Full report on the Internet • Translation into English is prepared and published later • All the organizations which asked specific information or complained about specific technical problems were contacted, informed, helped out • Mailing list of security incidents • Different server for teachers for their teaching materials (popular environment of a commercial ISP was not satisfying the needs)

  19. Tips for Getting High Response Rate * deadline: 10 days * send a reminder after a week by e-mail * send letter (on paper) to those who have not reacted 1st e-mail gave ¼ of responses, 2nd e-mail gave the other ¼ of responses, the rest were sent after receiving the letter on paper

  20. Tips for Technical Process * script made a unique hash for every customer * next script sent an e-mail to the contact persons * to those who submitted the form the script sent an additional e-mail to check the contact data * those who did not react on el.notices received the questionnaire, letter and paper with present contact data by ordinary mail * q-s were different (q.was compiled from different service moduls)

  21. Links • http://www.eenet.ee/englishEENet/usersurvey2003.html • http://www.eenet.ee/englishEENet/webstr.html

  22. Thank you! Maria Ristkok maria@eenet.ee

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