A study of the use and value of information to engineers
 

The MAGiC team is undertaking an investigation into the use and value of information to engineers. Specifically, the study will look at the factors affecting the retrieval, use and communication of technical reports amongst engineers and scientists from government, industry and academia.

Your opinions are valuable to us, and we would be grateful if you would take the time to fill in this questionnaire. Most questions are multiple choice and require only a tick to answer. The whole questionnaire should take less than fifteen minutes to complete.

Section A - Your profile

1. Which one of the following characterises your area of work/research?
Please select one option.
Aerospace and defence engineering 

Bioengineering 
Chemical engineering
Civil engineering
Electrical, Electronic and Computer engineering
General engineering 
Design engineering
Environmental engineering
Manufacturing engineering
Mechanical engineering
Mining and mineral processing
Nanotechnology
Occupational safety and health
Petroleum and offshore engineering
Other (please specify)
2. Which one of the following choices predominantly characterises your job?
Please select one option.
Engineer -government
Engineer -industry
Scientist -government
Scientist -industry 
  Academic staff  
  Research officer  
  Graduate student  
  Student – other  
Other (please specify)
3. How many years of professional work experience/researching, teaching or studying in engineering do you have?
Please select one option.
0 – 5 years
6 – 10 years
11 – 20 years
21 – 40 years
41 or more years
4. Which one of the following best describes the activities in which you are involved?
Please select one option.
Basic research/concept formulation
Applied research
Teaching
Validation and demonstration
Final process or product development
Production
Operational and maintenance
Other (please specify)
 

Section B - Questions about general engineering information 
5. In your current role, how important is it for you to have access to scientific and technical engineering information?
Please select one option.
Very important  Important  Neither important nor unimportant  Of little importance  Of no importance
6. Please estimate what percentage of your work time is spent using scientific and technical information when conducting engineering research. This may include activities such as searching for information, analyzing information, communicating research findings to others (either verbally or in writing), teaching, and using information to accomplish a specific task.
Please select one option.
0 – 10%
11 – 20%
21 – 40%
41 – 60%
61 – 80%
81 – 100%
7. Do you have access to the Internet at work/within your institution?
Yes  No 
If yes, from which of the following do you get access to the Internet?
Please select one option.
Your desktop computer
Another computer elsewhere in your organisation
8. Does your company/institution have a library or technical information centre?
Yes  No  Don’t know
   
If no, did it ever have a library or information centre?
Yes  No 
9. How frequently do you use the following information sources when searching for scientific and technical engineering information?
Please select one option for each source.
Very frequently Frequently Infrequently Never
Personal store of technical information
Informal discussion with work colleagues
Discussion with experts at your institution
Discussion with experts outside your institution
Institution’s library
Other library
Books
Journal articles
Engineering trade/promotional literature
Externally produced technical reports
Internally produced technical reports
Conference papers
Abstracts
Standards
Dissertations/theses
Patents
Electronic databases
Internet - general
Internet - search engine
(e.g. Google, AltaVista)
Internet - subject gateway
(e.g. AERADE, EEVL, PsiGate)
Institution’s intranet
Discussion forums
Email discussion groups/mailing lists
Other (please specify)
10. Please rank the following sources in terms of how important they are to your current work on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 representing no importance and 5 representing very important.
Please select one option for each source.
 
   1       2       3       4       5   
Books
Journal articles
Conference papers
Internal technical report
External technical report
Standards
Patents
Theses
Internet - general
Internet - search engine
(e.g. Google, AltaVista)
Internet - subject gateway
(e.g. AERADE, EEVL, PsiGate)
11. When searching for information, do you:
Please select one option.
  Do most searches yourself
  Do half yourself and half through an intermediary (i.e. librarian or information officer)
  Do most searches through an intermediary
  Not applicable
12. Please think back to the last occasion that you searched for scientific and technical engineering information (or in general if you cannot recall the last occasion).
  a. How easy was it for you to identify the source of relevant information, e.g. an individual report, journal, database, etc.?
  Please select one option.
 
Very
difficult 		Difficult Neither difficult nor easy Easy Very easy
   
  b. How easy was it for you to obtain that information?
  Please select one option.
 
Very
difficult 		Difficult Neither difficult nor easy Easy Very easy
   
  c. How well did the supplied information meet your need?
  Please select one option.
 
Extremely well Well Neither well nor of limited use Limited use No use
   
  d. How confident were you that you did not miss significant information?
  Please select one option.
 
Very confident Confident Neither confident nor unconfident  Not confident Not at all confident
13. Do you have any comments you would like to make about using engineering information in general?
 
       

Section C - Questions about engineering technical reports
14. Can you recall the last (or a recent) occasion you used a technical report?
 
Yes  No 
If yes, please answer the questions in this section with that report in mind, otherwise please go to Section D.
15. How did you find out about the report? Was it:
Please select one option.
  recommended by a member of staff  
  recommended by someone else (please specify)  
  referred to in an article or book  
  found in the library catalogue  
  found in a subject database  
  found on the Internet  
  Other (please specify)  
   
16. Why did you decide to borrow the report? Was it:
Please select all options that apply.
  relevant to current research  
  relevant to coursework  
  relevant to a design project  
  for the methodology it contained  
  for the data it contained  
  for the references at the end  
  as an introduction to the subject  
  because no other information could be found on the subject  
  to investigate a new research area  
  because it was available immediately  
  Other (please specify)  
   
17a. Did you read the report:
Please select one option.
 
fully partially not at all
 
17b. If you read the report partially, can you remember which parts you read?
Please select all options that apply.
  Abstract
  Introduction
  Methodology
  Results
  Conclusions
  References
       
17c. If you didn't read the report at all, why didn't you read it?
   
18. Did the contents of the report meet your need or expectation:
 
Fully Partially Not at all Might in the future
19. How did the report help you? Did it:
Please select all options that apply.
  give new knowledge  
  refresh your memory of details or facts  
  substantiate a hypothesis  
  save time  
  help solve a problem  
  other (please specify)  
   
20a. Was the subject matter of the report relevant to your work (research, project, assignment)?
 
Yes No
       
20b. Was the report useful to you?
 
Yes to my current work Yes to my future work No
21. Did you have to pay for the report?
 
Yes  No 
 
If yes, how much did you pay?
Please select one option.
less than £5
£5 - £20
£21 - £50
£51 - £100
more than £100
 
If no, how much would you be prepared to pay?
Please select one option.
less than £5
£5 - £20
£21 - £50
£51 - £100
more than £100
       

Section D - Form submission
Do you have any comments you would like to make specifically about technical reports?
   
       
  Please enter your e-mail address:  
     
  Should you wish to receive MAGiC e-mail newsletters and/or take part in topic discussions then please tick this box:
   
  Please return your completed questionnaire by clicking on the 'Submit' button.