Survey

There is a general perception that the social science community lacks a sufficient level of awareness of e-social science, and that this had a braking effect on the take-up of advances in ICTs as tools for social research. Many e-Social Science initiatives have been launched around the world, but little is known about their visibility and take-up across the disciplines.

Are social scientists aware of e-research initiatives? What are the characteristics of early adopters of e-social science practices and technologies?

About the survey

In order to explore these questions, we fielded a Web-based survey instrument in early 2008. It sought to describe the ways in which social scientists use software tools to enable research, and to measure attitudes and awareness of developments in e-Research. The questions focused on:

1. Perceived impacts on the quality of research
2. The use and usability of e-research tools
3. Funding

Survey respondents reflected those interested in e-social science, providing some evidence of where early adoption is likely to occur, and the factors relating to support for these initiatives. Early adoption and interest in e-research practices represent a wide range of methodological traditions, but we found that those most interested in e-research tend to be among a cohort of more recent graduates of doctoral programs.

Results and methodology

• William H. Dutton and Eric T. Meyer (2008) Experience with New Tools and Infrastructures of Research: Distance From, and Attitudes Toward, e-Research.
• Eric T. Meyer and William H. Dutton (2008) Top-Down e-Infrastructure Meets Bottom-Up Research Innovation: Fitting e-Social Science Visions to the Realities.
• Survey Questions and Variable Names File (Excel, 330kb)
• Survey Data File (Excel, 330kb)

Key conclusions

While this exploratory project is based on a self-selected set of web-survey respondents (rather than a random probability sample), nevertheless, the findings are indicative of characteristics that define interest in e-research among the social science and related research communities.

• Interest in e-social science seems to be greatest among more recent graduates, suggesting that the younger cohorts of researchers are the most likely to be open to new technologies and practices.
• The findings suggest that methodological practices may be over-estimated, since researchers from a wide range of disciplinary and methodological perspectives were interested in e-social science.
• These findings could help shape initiatives aimed at supporting the diffusion of e-social sciences, such as training programmes, demonstrator projects, and more accessible information about e-social science, particularly targeted to post-graduates and young researchers.
• More systematic research should be conducted to confirm the findings of this exploratory project, for example drawing on a systematic sample of social scientists within particular national contexts.

Contact

We would like to thank everyone who took part in this survey. Any questions about the survey should be directed to: survey@oii.ox.ac.uk

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