survey results: e-social science awareness, support and practice
DESCRIPTION
Briefing for the Management Board of the UK National Centre for Research Methods by William Dutton and Eric T. Meyer of the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford.TRANSCRIPT
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e-Social Science:Awareness, Support and Practice
William Dutton and Eric MeyerOxford e-Social Science Node
of UK National Centre for e-Social Science
Briefing for the Management Board of the National Centre for Research Methods, St Catherine’s College, Oxford, 30 June 2008.
Perspectives on e-Social Science
• Politics of Methodological Camps
• Research Generations
• Certainty Trough
Certainty Trough
Sample
Source N Sent N Responded Response Rate
% of sample
NCeSS List 615 141 22.9% 26.8%OII List 1761 180 10.2% 34.2%Open mailings n/a 205 n/a 39.0%Total 526 100.0%
Sample Characteristics
Disciplines (%)
54.9
5.5 4.2 3.0
15.611.6
5.1
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
SocialSciences
Arts &Humanities
Natural andMedical
Sciences
Law ComputerSciences andEngineering
Other Don't Know /Don't Answer
% o
f res
pond
ents
How would you describe your interest in e-Social Science initiatives? (%)
29.726.8
30.4
6.8 6.3
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Very interested Interested Somewhatinterested
Not interested at all Don't Know / Don'tAnswer
% o
f res
pond
ents
Year of Degree (%)
9.3 10.312.7
24.9
42.8
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Before 1970 Between 1971 and1980
Between 1981 and1990
Between 1991 and2000
After 2001
% o
f res
pond
ents
Country (%)
46.8
14.117.7
4.61.9
15.0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
United Kingdom North America Europe Australia andNew Zealand
East Asia Global South
% o
f res
pond
ents
Bias of the Sample
Type of Research
Type of Research (%)
14.8%
42.4%
29.8%
12.9%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Quantitative Some mix of both Qualitative Other/None
% o
f res
pond
ents
Researcher Clusters
Lone e-Researcher Team Player Quals Quants
User of research methods 0.47 0.34 0.74 0.18Both a user and developer 0.45 0.66 0.22 0.55Methodologist, developing or studying methods 0.08 0.00 0.03 0.27Quantitative 0.19 0.07 0.09 0.57Some mix of Quantitative and Qualitative 0.66 0.86 0.18 0.04Qualitative 0.15 0.07 0.72 0.39Never or Rarely Code or Design applications by myself 0.00 0.83 1.00 0.05Often or Always Code or Design applications by myself 1.00 0.17 0.00 0.95Sole investigator on all or most my projects 0.45 0.06 0.53 0.00Sole investigator on about half 0.42 0.07 0.23 0.00One of a team on most or all my projects 0.13 0.87 0.23 1.00
Cluster
Cluster Centers
Types of Researchers
Clusters (%)
23.026.2
29.1
12.0 9.7
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Lone e-Researcher Team Player Quals Quants Don't Know / Don'tAnswer
% o
f res
pond
ents
Perspective (%)
7.6
43.2
33.3
9.96.1
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Opponents Spectators Promoters Disengaged Don't Know / Don'tAnswer
% o
f res
pond
ents
Attitudes towards e-Research (I)
Attitudes towards e-Research - Funding
51.8%
38.2% 37.3%
20.6%
51.9% 52.4%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
e-Research is adequately funded More funds should be targeted todeveloping e-Research
infrastructure
More funds should be targeted tosupporting e-Research project
proposals
% o
f res
pond
ents
Don't know No opinion Strongly Agree / Agree
Attitudes towards e-Research (II)
Attitudes towards e-Research - Quality and new tools
27.8%
36.8%41.1%
28.1%
8.2%
44.8% 43.2%
58.7%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
e-Research underminesthe quality of socialscience research
e-Research enhances mypersonal productivity
e-Research enhances myteam's productivity
Many new scientificquestions will require theuse of e-Research tools
% o
f res
pond
ents
Don't know No opinion Strongly Agree / Agree
Attitudes towards e-Research (III)
Attitudes towards e-Research - Usability
31.9%
21.3%
35.1%
17.4%
43.2%
59.9%
69.9%
20.8%
76.7%
19.5%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
e-Research tools arealready useful
e-Research toolsraise new ethical
issues
e-Social Science ismore hype than
reality
More training isneeded in e-
Research
Most e-Researchtools are easy to use
% o
f res
pond
ents
Don't know No opinion Strongly Agree / Agree
New questions and e-Research (II)
Many new scientific questions will require the use of e-Research tools
59.8%64.9%
48.6%
65.0%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Lone e-Researcher
Team Player Quals Quants
Cluster (*)
% o
f res
pond
ents
Agree or Strongly Agree
Attitudes towards e-Research being more hype than reality (I)
e-Social Science is more hype than reality
22.3% 24.6%
13.1%
30.0%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Lone e-Researcher
Team Player Quals Quants
Cluster (*)
% o
f res
pond
ents
Agree or Strongly Agree
Attitudes towards e-Research enhancing team’s productivity (II)
e-Research enhances my team's productivity
45.5%38.5%
20.0%26.7%
51.9%
32.8%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
SocialSciences
Arts &Humanities
Natural andMedical
Sciences
Law ComputerSciences
andEngineering
Other
Discipline (*)
% o
f res
pond
ents
Agree or Strongly Agree
Indicators
Proximity (additive index): NCeSS Mailing List (Yes = 1); Access Grid (Use = +1, Organized = +2), e-Social Science (Followed eSS = +1, Involved = +2)
Uncertainty (additive index): Number of ‘Don’t Know’ responses to questions about e-Research, categorized high, medium, low
Support for e-Research (additive index): Number of positive responses to statements about e-Research (exluding ‘adequacy of funding’; and ‘new ethical issues’), categorized high, medium, low
Uncertainty by Proximity
Distant Marginal ProximateCertain 23.1 48.3 66.2 37.8Marginal 28.2 32.9 23.5 29.0Uncertain 48.7 18.8 10.3 33.2
100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Uncertainty by Proximity (**)
Total
Total
Uncertainty
Proximity
Support by Proximity
Distant Marginal ProximateLow support 47.5 19.2 23.5 34.6Moderate Support 29.4 36.4 32.4 32.2High Support 23.1 44.4 44.1 33.3
100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Support by Proximity (**)
Total
Support
Proximity
Total
Proximity by Perspective
Opponents Spectators Promoters DisengagedDistant 59.0 60.9 32.0 88.5 53.4Marginal 23.1 31.1 42.9 7.7 32.2Proximate 17.9 8.0 25.1 3.8 14.5
100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0Total
Proximity by Perspective (**)
Proximity
ESS PerspetiveTotal
e-Social Science and Practice
• Matching Development with Use
• Fragmentation or Diversity of Methods
Methodological Approaches
Which methodological approaches do you use in your research? (%)
60 60 59 58
35
2622 20 19 17 15 12
3
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Qualitativeinterview ing
Desk(screen)research
Case Study Surveyresearch
ParticipantObservation
Ethnography Historicalmethods
Simulation,computermodelling
Experiments Formal,mathematical
Webmetrics Other Clinicalmethods
% o
f res
pond
ents
Use of Tools
Use of Tools
99 96 96 94
62
3532
22
14 13 13 12 116
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
The Internetand Web
Email Wordprocessing
Internetsearchengines
Spreadsheets Online new ssources
Audiorecording andtranscription
Audioconferencingto collaborate
Audioconferencingto collect data
Conceptualtools
Videoconferencingto collaborate
Videorecording
Projectmanagement
softw are
Videoconferencingto collect data
% o
f res
pond
ents
% Often or regularly
Use of Data Sets
Use of Data Sets
56
45
2217
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Data set(s) that you havepersonally developed or
created
Data set(s) that you havedeveloped or created as part
of a team
Data set(s) acquired from adata archive
Data set(s) acquired directlyfrom a colleague
% o
f res
pond
ents
% Often or regularly
Use of Analysis Software
Use of Analysis Software
4439
2218 16 16 14 14
106
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Quantitativestatistical
Databasesoftware
Qualitative Software tointegrate two
or morequantitativedata sets
Quantitativecontentanalysissoftware
Visualizationsoftware
Modellingand
simulationsoftware
Geographicsoftware
Webmetricssoftware
Software foranalysis of
video content
% o
f res
pond
ents
% Current Use
Use of Audio Conference Devices
Use of Audio Conference Devices (%)
74
56
27
8
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Telephone / speakerphone Personal computer Dedicated audio-conferencingdevice (e.g., Polycom)
Other
% o
f res
pond
ents
Use of Video Conference Devices
Use of Video Conference Devices (%)
62
45
26
11 10
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Desktopvideoconferencing (e.g.,
Skype video)
Video-conferencingstudio
Access Grid node /room
Other Access Grid on desktop
% o
f res
pond
ents
Coding and Designing Applications
Coding and Designing Applications
45
3128
10
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Code or Design applicationsyourself
Ask for IT staff support fromwithin your unit or department
Obtain IT staff support fromyour institution or organization
Contract the work out, suchas to a private consultant
% o
f res
pond
ents
% Often or Always
Collaboration with other Researchers
Collaboration with other researchers (%)
85 84
70 69
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Researchers from anotheruniversity or institution
Researchers in yourdepartment or unit
Researchers from anothercountry
Researchers outside yourunit, but at your university
or larger institution
% o
f res
pond
ents
Collaboration Tools
Collaboration Tools
93
27
18
9 9 84 3 3
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
E-mail Projectwebsites
E-maillistservs
Wikis Collaborationsoftware
Messageforums
Weblogs VirtualResearch
Environments(VRE)
SocialNetworking
Sites
% o
f res
pond
ents
% Essential
Open Access
Do you post your research articles in.. (%)
59
46 4338
18
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
A project Web site An institutionalarchive
Your personal Website
A working paperarchive
A public archive(such as SSRN,arXiv.org, etc.)
% o
f res
pond
ents
Methods by Interest in e-Social Science
N % N % N % N %Qualitative Interviews 301 57.2% 178 59.1% 100 33.2% 23 7.6%Desk research 297 56.5% 171 57.6% 100 33.7% 26 8.8%Case study 292 55.5% 181 62.0% 90 30.8% 21 7.2%Surveys 288 54.8% 170 59.0% 92 31.9% 26 9.0%Participant Observation 176 33.5% 113 64.2% 52 29.5% 11 6.3%Ethnography 131 24.9% 81 61.8% 43 32.8% 7 5.3%Historical 110 20.9% 68 61.8% 35 31.8% 7 6.4%Simulation 98 18.6% 59 60.2% 30 30.6% 9 9.2%Experiments 97 18.4% 58 59.8% 30 30.9% 9 9.3%Formal modelling 86 16.3% 48 55.8% 24 27.9% 14 16.3%Webmetrics 73 13.9% 53 72.6% 13 17.8% 7 9.6%Clinical 17 3.2% 9 52.9% 6 35.3% 2 11.8%Other 61 11.6% 38 62.3% 17 27.9% 6 9.8%Average 29.6% 60.7% 30.3% 9.0%
Interest in e-Social Science InitiativesInterested or Very Somewhat Not interestedTotal
Mean 3.9s.d. 2.3Mode 4Range 0-12
Number of methods indicated
Use of Software (I)
N %Any quantitative 205 39.0%SPSS 168 82.0%Inhouse software 35 17.1%Stata 34 16.6%SAS 32 15.6%R 32 15.6%
Use of Quantitative software
N %Any content analysis 59 11.2%Inhouse software 22 37.3%Wordstat 8 13.6%Concordance 6 10.2%TextAnalyst 6 10.2%
Use of Content Analysis Software
N %Any qualitative software 96 18.3%Atlas.ti 42 43.8%Nvivo 40 41.7%Nudist 15 15.6%Inhouse software 15 15.6%
Use of Qualitative Software
N %Any video analysis 22 4.2%Transana 11 50.0%The Observer 4 18.2%Inhouse software 4 18.2%Ethovision 3 13.6%Memetic 3 13.6%
Use of Video Analysis Software
N %Any visualizing 69 13.1%General purpose (Excel, Sigmaplo 35 50.7%UCINet 18 26.1%Pajek 16 23.2%Inhouse software 16 23.2%Gnuplot 12 17.4%
Use of Visualizing Software
N %Any webmetrics 44 8.4%Commercial (Google, Yahoo, Live 26 59.1%Webtrends 17 38.6%Inhouse software 14 31.8%Commercial traffic (Alexa) 10 22.7%Microsoft Site Analyst 6 13.6%Issue crawler 5 11.4%VOSON 5 11.4%
Use of Webmetrics
Use of Software (II)
N %Any simulation / modeling 59 11.2%Inhouse software 29 49.2%NetLogo 14 23.7%Repast 10 16.9%
Use of Simulation / Modelling Software
N %Any geographic 62 11.8%Google Maps 40 64.5%Google Earth 34 54.8%ESRI 31 50.0%MapInfo 13 21.0%Common GIS 12 19.4%Microsoft Virtual Earth 10 16.1%Inhouse software 9 14.5%Google Map Creator 8 12.9%
Use of Geographic Software
N %Any database 179 34.0%Excel 119 66.5%Access 87 48.6%MySQL 65 36.3%Inhouse software 27 15.1%SQL Server 23 12.8%Oracle 18 10.1%
Use of Database Software
N %Any integrating 68 12.9%Inhouse software 38 55.9%
Use of Integrating Software
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e-Social Science:Awareness, Support and Practice
William Dutton and Eric MeyerOxford e-Social Science Node
of UK National Centre for e-Social Science
Briefing for the Management Board of the National Centre for Research Methods, St Catherine’s College, Oxford, 30 June 2008.