Survey on conservation information literacy

The following is posted for someone who is not on the DistList.
Please reply directly to redwass [at] austincc__edu

    Survey for AIC Talk on Improving Research

    At AIC this June I will be giving a luncheon talk called
    "Incorporating Information Literacy into Conservation: Searching
    beyond Google."  The goal is to help conservators do better
    research, both by understanding the variety of places to search
    and by knowing efficient search techniques. While I am not in
    the conservation field (other than being married to a
    conservator), I do have 20 years experience as a librarian
    focused on information literacy, and I've learned it's best to
    find out what people actually want and need.

    I have done in-depth interviews with several conservators, and I
    have been boggled by the variety of research needs in your
    field.  I ask that you help further that.

    Please copy the following 5-question survey into a new email
    message and send to me directly. I am not on the DistList so
    won't see responses sent to it.

    Address the email to:   redwass [at] austincc__edu

    1.  What is your speciality?

    2.  Rank the following ways you regularly do research for
        conservation questions.

        Always = 1
        Usually = 2
        Sometimes = 3
        Rarely = 4
        Never = 5

        Go to a library and use print resources.
        Use World Wide Web by going to sites you already know of.
        Use World Wide Web by using search engines.
        Use specialized online subscription databases.
        Communicating with colleagues (talking, email, listservs,
        etc.).

    Other (please specify):

    3.  How familiar are you with the following search techniques
        when using online resources?

        very familiar = 1
        somewhat familiar =2
        not familiar = 3
        don't know what this means = 4

        Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT)
        Phrase searching
        Using Advanced Search features of search engines

    4.  Rank the following areas as more problematic.

        always difficult = 1
        usually difficult = 2
        sometimes difficult = 3
        rarely difficult = 4

        physical / chemical information about an object or substance
        information about proprietary substances
        finding experts on an object or treatment
        finding general history relating to an item (e.g., did a
            certain group use a particular material)
        Other (please specify):

    5.  Are there other research-related issues you consistently
        have problems with?


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 17:57
                  Distributed: Tuesday, March 2, 2004
                       Message Id: cdl-17-57-024
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