Electronic Mail Survey Research Articles

The practice of clinical research in accredited marriage and family therapy programs.

This study aims to explore the prevalence of clinic-based research among accredited marriage and family therapy (MFT) programs and reveal rationales explaining why academic settings may or may not be conducting clinical research. Findings of this project are the result of electronic-mail surveys completed by 26 accredited MFT programs. Approximately one-half of the respondents reported currently conducting clinic-based research. Open-ended responses reveal factors that lead to research success and failure, as well as reasons research was not being conducted at training programs.

Adults Learning to Use the Internet: A Longitudinal Study of Attitudes and Other Factors Associated with Intended Internet Use

This longitudinal study, carried out between November 1993 and 1998, investigated the reasons that adult learners in Iceland gave for wanting to learn about the Internet, and their attitudes to it. Data were collected through a short open-ended electronic mail survey delivered to participants in Internet training courses held in Iceland over a three-year period. The authors describe the three stages in the research: identification of elements of an analytical framework; testing of a behavioral intention model of Internet use based on the theory of planned behavior; and use of the model to identify attitudes to the Internet, social influences on Internet use, perceived control of Internet use, and changes in these factors as the Internet became more widely known. They observed that learners' intended uses of the Internet became more specific between 1994 and 1996. While the influence of the media and the general community increased in this period, attitudes remained relatively stable. Participants found the Internet interesting and useful, with positive advantages over other media. They were positively disposed toward it as a source of information. For some, use was constrained by perceptions that they needed to have more knowledge or understanding in order to use the Internet better.

Getting a Foot in the Electronic Door: The Process of Reading or Deleting Electronic Mail

For researchers, a key issue in developing electronic mail as a survey method is to understand what factors are at play as a potential respondent chooses to open or delete a mail message. This research investigated the process by which individuals make decisions about opening and reading versus deleting electronic mail and also assessed attitudes toward electronic mail surveys. The sample received an electronic mail message followed by a telephone interview. Results indicated that individuals delete mail when the subject line does not interest them or when they do not recognize the name of the individual sending the e-mail. Those interviewed reacted favorably to e-mail surveys for scientific research despite issues of anonymity. However, respondents overwhelmingly described a dislike for commercially based electronic mail surveys.

Active Participation and Quiet Observation of Adforum Subscribers

This paper investigates the factors underlying the active participation and quiet observation of subscribers of adforum, an electronic discussion group for advertising educators. Results of an electronic mail survey of the subscribers and a content analysis of the messages posted by the subscribers show that, even though the respondents have a quite positive evaluation of the group, many refrained from contributing messages. Advertising on the internet and ethical issues were the most frequently discussed topics during the study period.

Factors associated with amount of use and benefits obtained by users of a statewide educational telecomputing network

This study was designed to identify factors that best predicted the amount and perceived benefits of network use. A 70-item electronic mail survey measured five categories of variables: personal attributes, environmental characteristics, perceived media characteristics, usage, and outcomes. It was returned by 66% of a random sample of 300 network users. Respondents were active network users with high levels of teaching tenure, schooling, and computer experience, and convenient access to equipment needed to use the Internet. Outcomes reported for network use mainly centered around professional development activities, whereas personal and instructional outcomes were less frequently reported. Multiple regression equations predicted 28% of amount of use, 46% of variety of uses, 45% of professional benefits, 16% of personal gratifications, and 25% of instructional outcomes. Socially oriented factors appeared repeatedly in these equations. Social integration with a community of users entered all but one of the equations, social presence contributed to the prediction of each type of outcome, and number of contacts regularly reached via the network was associated with both amount and variety of use. These findings suggested that network facilitators should implement strategies to increase interactions among potential and current network users and to enhance perceptions of the systems' social presence.

Twenty Years of Undergraduate Libraries:

Undergraduate libraries as part of university library systems have existed since 1949. Supplementing undergraduate library statistics available since 1971 with responses to an electronic mail survey, the authors offer a descriptive picture of how such libraries have responded to change and the changing needs of an undergraduate population.

Using Electronic Mail (E-mail) Surveys for Geographic Research: Lessons from a Survey of Russian Environmentalists∗

The expansion of the Internet and e-mail access around the globe, especially into less-developed areas, raises the question of how geographers might use this technology for research purposes and the development of appropriate methodologies. This paper identifies three ways in which the use of e-mail surveys for geographic research differs from traditional mail surveys. First, there are substantial differences in selecting an appropriate sample population. Second, electronic medium considerations such as alphabet character translation, survey format, and receiving end conditions pose unique data collection challenges. Third, ascertaining that e-mail addresses to be included in a survey are operative is discussed as a useful means of maximizing the potential of an e-mail survey. Examples from an e-mail survey of environmentalists in Russia illustrate these points.

Comparing Response Rates and Response Content in Mail versus Electronic Mail Surveys

Comparing Response Rates and Response Content in Mail versus Electronic Mail Surveys

Using Electronic Mail Surveys and Computer-Monitored Data for Studying Computer-Mediated Communication Systems

The methodology used in this study demonstrated an effective and relatively cost- and time-efficient means of studying a public telecomputing system using computer-mon itored data and a lengthy electronic mail survey. The 72-item questionnaire was sent to a random sample of 600 drawn from a relatively heterogeneous population of users. The response rate was 68%. Respondents tended to be experienced computer users who used the system more and perceived it as more accessible than did nonrespondents. Keywords: data collection methods, survey research, communication research, elec tronic mail, computer-mediated communication, computer networks.