Search results

The purpose of this paper is to look at measures of e‐mail use and e‐mail management among academic faculty in relation to research productivity. The aim is to report only on e‐mail use and management.

For this quantitative study, productivity data were gathered from information management systems of Bar‐Ilan University in Israel and a survey questionnaire was distributed in order to measure e‐mail use. The scholarly community of Bar‐Ilan University was surveyed via a web‐form – of the 781 survey copies disseminated, 412 (52.8 per cent of the total) were received and the final usable number was 390 (49.9 per cent of the total).

With younger biological and/or professional age, there are correspondingly higher levels of e‐mail usage. It is clear that the younger a user is, the higher the perceived skill level and quantitative measures of e‐mail use, as well as a higher perception of one's capacity to use e‐mail. It would also seem that with older professional age, there is less perceived benefit to using e‐mail. With increased levels of perception as to the benefit of e‐mail to productivity, there is increased use of e‐mail.

This paper provides a depth of study (in its range of disciplines covered, in a single location, with a broad population) with a range of e‐mail measures not previously seen in this decade. While Israel is small in size, it accounts for 1 per cent of global scientific journal articles, emanating mainly from the universities and its achievements are such that the global community can indeed learn from the behaviour patterns of Israel's scholars, represented by the findings at one of the largest research universities.

To provide a thorough analysis of the role of the internet in survey research and to discuss the implications of online surveys becoming such a major force in research.

The paper is divided into four major sections: an analysis of the strengths and potential weaknesses of online surveys; a comparison of online surveys with other survey formats; a discussion on the best uses for online surveys and how their potential weaknesses may be moderated; and an overview of the online survey services being offered by the world's largest research firms.

If conducted properly, online surveys have significant advantages over other formats. However, it is imperative that the potential weaknesses of online surveys be mitigated and that online surveys only be used when appropriate. Outsourcing of online survey functions is growing in popularity.

The paper provides a very useful source of information and impartial advice for any professional who is considering the use of online surveys.

The paper synthesizes the vast literature related to online surveys, presents original material related to survey methodology, and offers a number of recommendations.

This paper considers threats to the internal validity of field studies that utilize survey data. Compared to laboratory experiments and field experiments, field surveys should be strong in realism, practical significance, and normative quality. However, there are substantial threats to internal validity that fall into the general categories of sampling and measurement. We consider these issues and how to deal with them. We pay special attention to the existence and impact of common method variance including strategies for avoiding it, methods for assessing it, and approaches to correcting for it. Our objective is to provide a road map for better use of survey methods.

This paper describes a comprehensive user survey carried out in an Irish higher education academic library (Waterford Institute of Technology library service) as part of a strategic initiative to engage with library users.

Two major user groups – full‐time undergraduate students and academic staff – were surveyed. The survey instrument was a hardcopy questionnaire. The paper outlines the relative merits of different survey types and the reasoning behind the final choice of survey instrument.

The main results of the survey are synopsised. The paper also includes selected free‐text comments made by survey respondents and the library's response to the results in terms of how issues highlighted will be addressed.

The survey focused on two specific user groups, which leaves scope for future research by this institution into how the library is used by other types of users, such as distance learners.

The survey was a good way of communicating with users. This was the first time such a project has been undertaken at WIT and WIT library service will continue to survey users on a regular basis and to use the results to inform service delivery.

As the first comprehensive survey to be undertaken in the Institute of Technology sector in Ireland, the paper is of potential value to library practitioners in this, or indeed in other sectors, who are considering doing a survey of their users.

The purpose of this paper is to explain how an academic library’s Student Experience Survey was revised and improved based on available research on survey design methodology and piloting efforts. Thus, it aims to contribute existing literature on library assessment and survey methodology by addressing issues of planning and coordinating assessment. The paper also provides a guideline on the survey revision process for existing instruments.

The library assessment coordinator collaborated with Assessment Coordinator Advisory Committee (AC2) to revise and improve the survey. The revision process started with adding suggested items and constructing new items based on library assessment planning survey administered to library faculty previously. Regular monthly meetings were held with the committee to facilitate the revision process. Multiple facets of the survey implementation were revised including wording, content, order and format of the items, response scales and survey distribution. Each facet was addressed based on available research on survey methodology and cross-checked with the committee members.

The revised 2018 University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Libraries Student Experience Survey consists of a total of nine items with response matrices, single choice response format and open-ended response format to measure students’ satisfaction, need and their use of the various library resources and services. The changes made to the survey are grouped into three categories: wording and content, response categories and scaling and design, font and layout. The revision process of the UIC Libraries Student Experience Survey can serve as an example for academic or other types of libraries that wish to track and report their impact regularly.

The UIC Libraries Student Experience Survey provides evidence that careful revision and piloting as well as obtaining relevant stakeholder buy-in to the process lead to build effective survey tools.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on academic library leadership in the digital age. Primarily, the goals are to identify: first, the top five major challenges facing academic library leadership; second, the top five most important leadership skills required for effective academic library leadership; and finally, the top five best ways to develop these academic library leadership skills.

A survey was conducted to elicit responses from individuals who hold senior library leadership positions in American academic libraries throughout the USA. The participants were identified through several means: the web sites of the ALA and its divisions; the web sites of American universities; referrals; and the author’s professional contacts. To simplify the survey research process, e-mails including the survey research questions were sent to potential participants. In all, 38 invitations (n=38) were sent out to large and medium-size academic libraries throughout the USA. Over 36.8 percent (n=14) of the participants returned the survey. The participants represent a wide spectrum of libraries.

The top five major challenges are how to: demonstrate the library values to the university community, operate the library under fiscal uncertainty, retrofit outdated library facilities to accommodate new services, strike a balance between digital and print materials, and keep the library staff trained and current. The top five essential academic library leadership attributes are: vision, integrity, management skills, collaboration skills, and communication skills. The top five best ways to acquire these skills include the need to have mentors, to attend leadership development programs, to gain practical library leadership experience, to seek leadership roles, and to know oneself.

Research in this area is rather limited. As a result, this study will contribute to the academic library leadership literature and help current and aspiring academic library leaders worldwide with insightful leadership lessons needed to lead academic libraries successfully in this transformational era.

The purpose of this study is to explore an optimal research design for research on women entrepreneurs involved in negotiating term sheets for private equity capital. This research explores new ways for researchers to connect with such current “invisibles” through the use of a mixed method and mixed mode research design to expand sampling options and secure respondent participation. The authors discuss existing data sets that have been used as secondary sources for data on financing of companies and consider their inadequacy for research questions about process issues in negotiation. The authors present process-related findings regarding the efficacy of the research design.

This paper reviews research on research methodology, incorporating a discussion of practices outside of the entrepreneurship discipline to discover effective practices for identifying respondents and data not currently captured in entrepreneurship data sources. The respondents were found through social media sites, angel networks, University networks and via identification through a proprietary financial intelligence database.

An optimal research design to identify women business owners of growth-oriented firms who have negotiated private equity should consider mixed methods designs and mixed modes, including the use of digital networks that signal to potential respondents that research is being done.

Although the authors developed the multi-method, mixed mode (MMMM) research design, the sample size is still relatively small. This raises concerns about generalizability to the larger population and limits statistical analysis more suitable with larger data sets. However, the MMMM research design has enabled the authors to reach a difficult target sample. It has proven effective, although a longer time frame would have been helpful.

All of the large scale databases in entrepreneurship have limitations in providing optimal sampling frames for process-related research. The present research study was able to use conventional networks, social media sites and angel networks to connect with women business owners who have raised private equity, but who lack visibility in current data sets. The study shows that through the use of multiple methods, women entrepreneurs can be researched and some will share their experiences about process issues. The sample size was small and the quantitative data cannot be generalized. However, the methodology works and allows researchers to explore experiences that are not captured in existing data sets.

Entrepreneurship researchers can connect with “invisibles” by becoming more “social” and using social media sites that are used by women entrepreneurs. Researchers may not have immediate access to women entrepreneurs through these means, but rather they need to develop interpersonal contacts, build a social presence and trust to recruit respondents to complete online questionnaire studies about substantive topics such as negotiating term sheets for equity investments in their companies.

This paper summarizes the “research on research methodologies” in entrepreneurship, reviews secondary data sources and discusses their limitations for specific types of research questions. A review of the value of MMMM research designs and best practices in online survey research outside of entrepreneurship provides insights into the incorporation of digital tools in other disciplines.

The purpose of this paper is to improve the understanding of outsourcing new product development (NPD), and specifically of factors affecting the outsourcing decisions, by exploring the practices of the most innovative firms.

The paper draws on an internet‐based survey sent in winter 2008 to 494 medium‐sized firms in four industries which achieved a 77.3 percent response rate. The sample is split into the best firms and the rest, and a best practice analysis is performed with correlation analysis.

The best firms focus on knowledge issues to a higher extent, while cost and geographical proximity are more important for the rest firms. The best firms prioritize knowledge integration and development of knowledge about the outsourcing process higher.

The sample is taken from medium‐sized Swedish manufacturing firms. Future samples need to be expanded to further generalize the conclusions. Results show that further research combining resource and cost perspectives is needed.

Managers are recommended to not only find access to needed knowledge, but also give time to integration on a personal level, as this protects knowledge and lowers costs in the long‐run.

Studies of outsourcing NPD are few and, to the authors’ knowledge, no quantitative studies on the topic have been made.

The aim of this study is to investigate whether there are differences between users and non‐users of ILDS and whether users of ILDS perceive certain factors as contributing to satisfactory ILDS outcomes.

The study employed survey research in the form of a specially‐compiled web questionnaire which was distributed by e‐mail to a sample of faculty and doctoral students at two Israeli research institutions.

One of the main findings was that an ILDS user is a senior, productive, humanities, faculty member – someone who frequently uses the library's services and resources, has a deep style of information‐seeking. An additional finding was that many non‐users of ILDS believed that all their research needs were met by the internet. The other main finding was that ILDS users who perceived the consulting of secondary information sources and receiving reference assistance prior to requesting ILDS as being beneficial, achieved satisfactory ILDS outcomes which exceeded their expectations and which were ultimately integrated into their research.

The findings contribute to librarians' understanding of users and non‐users of ILDS and may enable them to identify and encourage potential ILDS users and find ways to promote satisfactory ILDS outcomes. Future research could study whether users of ILDS actually produce better quality research than non‐users.

The research shows that ILDS users have a deep style of information‐seeking and uncovers the reasons for non‐use of ILDS. In addition, it confirms Stone's (1983) finding that secondary information sources promote patron satisfaction with ILDS outcomes.