Report on the findings from C-SAP (Higher Education Academy Subject
Centre for Sociology, Anthropology and Politics) survey focusing on
patterns of use of online resources in social sciences
C-SAP teaching resources: Teaching race and ethnicity theoretical overviewCSAPSubjectCentre
This resource was produced as part of C-SAP's project "Teaching Race and Ethnicity" http://www.teachingrace.bham.ac.uk/ by Dr Stephen Spencer from Sheffield Hallam University.
California Community College Student Library & Technology Engagement Survey: ...char booth
If you have questions about this study or its open access questionnaire template (tinyurl.com/ltes-oatemplate), please visit www.cclccc.org/contact.html or email charbooth@gmail.com.
This report is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. To cite this work:
Booth, C. (2011). California Community College Student Library & Technology Engagement Survey: 2011 Pilot, Final Report. Sacramento, CA: Council of Chief Librarians of California Community Colleges, available from http://www.cclccc.org/.
SCI 100 Question Development WorksheetJeimy JimenezAnswer .docxbagotjesusa
SCI 100 Question Development Worksheet
Jeimy Jimenez
Answer the following questions. Your instructor will use these answers to evaluate the critical elements for Project 2.
1. Why did you select your news story? I selected the news story because I thought it was interesting
2. What about the story makes it interesting to you both personally and scientifically? Personally, I thought it was interesting to read on how big Tobacco owners have tried to manipulate information for consumers. Scientifically I thought it was interesting to learn on what the effects of smoking and second hand smoking have on people
3. What did you already know about the topic before selecting the news story? What opinions or assumptions had you made about it? I already know that smoking was bad for you and that second-hand smoking is just as bad. I also knew that tobacco owners have tried ways to manipulate the public to keep their interests with Tabaco products
4. Which concepts covered in the course relate to your news story? I don’t any concepts relate to my news story except for research my story has to do with space and the ninth planet
5. What question do you have about the topic in the news story? How many hours of second hand smoke would a person need to experience in a lifetime before contracting some kind of cardiovascular disease
6. Why would this question be important to a natural scientist? It would be the study humans
SCI 100 Project 3 Guidelines and Rubric
Overview
There are three projects for this course. In Project 1, you began your exploration of a natural science topic by selecting a news story and completing a topic
exploration graphic organizer. In Project 2, you continued your analysis of the news story and the natural science topic and ultimately developed a question that,
as a natural scientist, you would like to study. In Project 3, you will develop a presentation that discusses why your question is important and the value of
studying the natural sciences.
Project 3 will assess the following course outcomes, which you will focus on throughout Themes 3 and 4:
Investigate major developments in the natural sciences for informing critical questions that drive scientific inquiry
Articulate the value of the natural sciences for their impact on contemporary issues
Prompt
Using the question that you posed in Project 2, explain why the answer is important for understanding yourself, other people, and the world around you. In
addition, you will discuss how the natural sciences have developed to help us answer these important questions. Your presentation should include speaker notes
so that your instructor knows what you would be saying if you were actually giving the presentation. The critical elements of this project will be evaluated by the
information in your presentation. Be sure your actual question is apparent in the presentation.
Specifically, the following critical elements must b.
Presentation LMU Munich: The power of learning analytics to unpack learning a...Bart Rienties
The power of learning analytics to unpack learning and teaching: a critical perspective
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Fakultät für Psychologie und Pädagogik
Slides from a presentation given by Kathleen Gray and Jenny Waycott for a Medical Education Unit seminar series at the University of Melbourne in June 2010.
From the ALTC-funded project "Web 2.0 Authoring Tools in Higher Education: New Directions for Assessment and Academic Integrity".
Sociology and anthropology briefings (C-SAP collections project)CSAPSubjectCentre
This literature review was written as part of the C-SAP (Higher Education Academy's Centre for Sociology, Anthropology and Politics) project "Discovering Collections of Social Science Open Educational Resources". The project ran from August 2010 - August 2011 as part of Phase 2 of the HEFCE-funded Open Educational Resources (OER) programme. The programme focused in particular on issues related to the discovery and use of OER by academics and was managed jointly by the Higher Education Academy [HEA] and Joint Information Systems Committee [JISC].
Presentation by John Whitmer, Michael Haskell (Cal Poly SLO), and Hillary Kaplowitz (CSU Northtridge) at US West Coast Moodle Moot 2012.
“Learner Analytics” has captured the attention of the media and is the topic of much debate in professional and academic circles. What lies behind the hype? In this presentation, we will discuss the state and limits to current in research in LMS Learner Analytics. We will then look at examples of Learner Analytics in Moodle, including tools for faculty and reports for reporting across the entire instance.
C-SAP teaching resources: Teaching race and ethnicity theoretical overviewCSAPSubjectCentre
This resource was produced as part of C-SAP's project "Teaching Race and Ethnicity" http://www.teachingrace.bham.ac.uk/ by Dr Stephen Spencer from Sheffield Hallam University.
California Community College Student Library & Technology Engagement Survey: ...char booth
If you have questions about this study or its open access questionnaire template (tinyurl.com/ltes-oatemplate), please visit www.cclccc.org/contact.html or email charbooth@gmail.com.
This report is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. To cite this work:
Booth, C. (2011). California Community College Student Library & Technology Engagement Survey: 2011 Pilot, Final Report. Sacramento, CA: Council of Chief Librarians of California Community Colleges, available from http://www.cclccc.org/.
SCI 100 Question Development WorksheetJeimy JimenezAnswer .docxbagotjesusa
SCI 100 Question Development Worksheet
Jeimy Jimenez
Answer the following questions. Your instructor will use these answers to evaluate the critical elements for Project 2.
1. Why did you select your news story? I selected the news story because I thought it was interesting
2. What about the story makes it interesting to you both personally and scientifically? Personally, I thought it was interesting to read on how big Tobacco owners have tried to manipulate information for consumers. Scientifically I thought it was interesting to learn on what the effects of smoking and second hand smoking have on people
3. What did you already know about the topic before selecting the news story? What opinions or assumptions had you made about it? I already know that smoking was bad for you and that second-hand smoking is just as bad. I also knew that tobacco owners have tried ways to manipulate the public to keep their interests with Tabaco products
4. Which concepts covered in the course relate to your news story? I don’t any concepts relate to my news story except for research my story has to do with space and the ninth planet
5. What question do you have about the topic in the news story? How many hours of second hand smoke would a person need to experience in a lifetime before contracting some kind of cardiovascular disease
6. Why would this question be important to a natural scientist? It would be the study humans
SCI 100 Project 3 Guidelines and Rubric
Overview
There are three projects for this course. In Project 1, you began your exploration of a natural science topic by selecting a news story and completing a topic
exploration graphic organizer. In Project 2, you continued your analysis of the news story and the natural science topic and ultimately developed a question that,
as a natural scientist, you would like to study. In Project 3, you will develop a presentation that discusses why your question is important and the value of
studying the natural sciences.
Project 3 will assess the following course outcomes, which you will focus on throughout Themes 3 and 4:
Investigate major developments in the natural sciences for informing critical questions that drive scientific inquiry
Articulate the value of the natural sciences for their impact on contemporary issues
Prompt
Using the question that you posed in Project 2, explain why the answer is important for understanding yourself, other people, and the world around you. In
addition, you will discuss how the natural sciences have developed to help us answer these important questions. Your presentation should include speaker notes
so that your instructor knows what you would be saying if you were actually giving the presentation. The critical elements of this project will be evaluated by the
information in your presentation. Be sure your actual question is apparent in the presentation.
Specifically, the following critical elements must b.
Presentation LMU Munich: The power of learning analytics to unpack learning a...Bart Rienties
The power of learning analytics to unpack learning and teaching: a critical perspective
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Fakultät für Psychologie und Pädagogik
Slides from a presentation given by Kathleen Gray and Jenny Waycott for a Medical Education Unit seminar series at the University of Melbourne in June 2010.
From the ALTC-funded project "Web 2.0 Authoring Tools in Higher Education: New Directions for Assessment and Academic Integrity".
Sociology and anthropology briefings (C-SAP collections project)CSAPSubjectCentre
This literature review was written as part of the C-SAP (Higher Education Academy's Centre for Sociology, Anthropology and Politics) project "Discovering Collections of Social Science Open Educational Resources". The project ran from August 2010 - August 2011 as part of Phase 2 of the HEFCE-funded Open Educational Resources (OER) programme. The programme focused in particular on issues related to the discovery and use of OER by academics and was managed jointly by the Higher Education Academy [HEA] and Joint Information Systems Committee [JISC].
Presentation by John Whitmer, Michael Haskell (Cal Poly SLO), and Hillary Kaplowitz (CSU Northtridge) at US West Coast Moodle Moot 2012.
“Learner Analytics” has captured the attention of the media and is the topic of much debate in professional and academic circles. What lies behind the hype? In this presentation, we will discuss the state and limits to current in research in LMS Learner Analytics. We will then look at examples of Learner Analytics in Moodle, including tools for faculty and reports for reporting across the entire instance.
This document outlines outputs and findings of the C-SAP "Cascading Social Science Open Educational Resources" project undertaken as part of second phase of UK OER programme.
User testing and focus group report at Manchester University (C-SAP collectio...CSAPSubjectCentre
Focus group and user testing of the front-end website http://methods.hud.ac.uk/ at the University of Manchester on 27th July 2011. Part of the OER Phase 2 C-SAP Collections Project
Expert workshop report, Birmingham, February 2011 (C-SAP collections project)CSAPSubjectCentre
An expert workshop and user testing of OER repositories held in Birmingham on 24th February 2011 to investigate the discovery and use of digital and OERs in research methods’ teaching. The workshop was attended by Alan Bryman, Dave Harris, Sean Moley, Kate Orton-Johnson, Sara Ryan and Antje Lindenmeyer
Social research methods and open educational resources: a literature review (...CSAPSubjectCentre
A literature review written by Kate Orton-Johnson and Ian Fairweather as part of the C-SAP (Higher Education Academy's Centre for Sociology, Anthropology and Politics) project "Discovering Collections of Social Science Open Educational Resources".
Focus group with staff at Teesside University (C-SAP cascade project)CSAPSubjectCentre
The focus group was undertaken in the context of the C-SAP (Higher Education Academy Subject Centre for Sociology, Anthropology and Politics) project “Cascading Social Science Open Educational Resources”.
The focus group was conducted by Michael Teague and John Craig from Teesside University who were involved in the project as academic partners. More information about the project can be found at http://cascadeoer2.pbworks.com
Normal Labour/ Stages of Labour/ Mechanism of LabourWasim Ak
Normal labor is also termed spontaneous labor, defined as the natural physiological process through which the fetus, placenta, and membranes are expelled from the uterus through the birth canal at term (37 to 42 weeks
The French Revolution, which began in 1789, was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France. It marked the decline of absolute monarchies, the rise of secular and democratic republics, and the eventual rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. This revolutionary period is crucial in understanding the transition from feudalism to modernity in Europe.
For more information, visit-www.vavaclasses.com
Model Attribute Check Company Auto PropertyCeline George
In Odoo, the multi-company feature allows you to manage multiple companies within a single Odoo database instance. Each company can have its own configurations while still sharing common resources such as products, customers, and suppliers.
A Strategic Approach: GenAI in EducationPeter Windle
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies such as Generative AI, Image Generators and Large Language Models have had a dramatic impact on teaching, learning and assessment over the past 18 months. The most immediate threat AI posed was to Academic Integrity with Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) focusing their efforts on combating the use of GenAI in assessment. Guidelines were developed for staff and students, policies put in place too. Innovative educators have forged paths in the use of Generative AI for teaching, learning and assessments leading to pockets of transformation springing up across HEIs, often with little or no top-down guidance, support or direction.
This Gasta posits a strategic approach to integrating AI into HEIs to prepare staff, students and the curriculum for an evolving world and workplace. We will highlight the advantages of working with these technologies beyond the realm of teaching, learning and assessment by considering prompt engineering skills, industry impact, curriculum changes, and the need for staff upskilling. In contrast, not engaging strategically with Generative AI poses risks, including falling behind peers, missed opportunities and failing to ensure our graduates remain employable. The rapid evolution of AI technologies necessitates a proactive and strategic approach if we are to remain relevant.
Embracing GenAI - A Strategic ImperativePeter Windle
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies such as Generative AI, Image Generators and Large Language Models have had a dramatic impact on teaching, learning and assessment over the past 18 months. The most immediate threat AI posed was to Academic Integrity with Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) focusing their efforts on combating the use of GenAI in assessment. Guidelines were developed for staff and students, policies put in place too. Innovative educators have forged paths in the use of Generative AI for teaching, learning and assessments leading to pockets of transformation springing up across HEIs, often with little or no top-down guidance, support or direction.
This Gasta posits a strategic approach to integrating AI into HEIs to prepare staff, students and the curriculum for an evolving world and workplace. We will highlight the advantages of working with these technologies beyond the realm of teaching, learning and assessment by considering prompt engineering skills, industry impact, curriculum changes, and the need for staff upskilling. In contrast, not engaging strategically with Generative AI poses risks, including falling behind peers, missed opportunities and failing to ensure our graduates remain employable. The rapid evolution of AI technologies necessitates a proactive and strategic approach if we are to remain relevant.
June 3, 2024 Anti-Semitism Letter Sent to MIT President Kornbluth and MIT Cor...Levi Shapiro
Letter from the Congress of the United States regarding Anti-Semitism sent June 3rd to MIT President Sally Kornbluth, MIT Corp Chair, Mark Gorenberg
Dear Dr. Kornbluth and Mr. Gorenberg,
The US House of Representatives is deeply concerned by ongoing and pervasive acts of antisemitic
harassment and intimidation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Failing to act decisively to ensure a safe learning environment for all students would be a grave dereliction of your responsibilities as President of MIT and Chair of the MIT Corporation.
This Congress will not stand idly by and allow an environment hostile to Jewish students to persist. The House believes that your institution is in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, and the inability or
unwillingness to rectify this violation through action requires accountability.
Postsecondary education is a unique opportunity for students to learn and have their ideas and beliefs challenged. However, universities receiving hundreds of millions of federal funds annually have denied
students that opportunity and have been hijacked to become venues for the promotion of terrorism, antisemitic harassment and intimidation, unlawful encampments, and in some cases, assaults and riots.
The House of Representatives will not countenance the use of federal funds to indoctrinate students into hateful, antisemitic, anti-American supporters of terrorism. Investigations into campus antisemitism by the Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Committee on Ways and Means have been expanded into a Congress-wide probe across all relevant jurisdictions to address this national crisis. The undersigned Committees will conduct oversight into the use of federal funds at MIT and its learning environment under authorities granted to each Committee.
• The Committee on Education and the Workforce has been investigating your institution since December 7, 2023. The Committee has broad jurisdiction over postsecondary education, including its compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, campus safety concerns over disruptions to the learning environment, and the awarding of federal student aid under the Higher Education Act.
• The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is investigating the sources of funding and other support flowing to groups espousing pro-Hamas propaganda and engaged in antisemitic harassment and intimidation of students. The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is the principal oversight committee of the US House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate “any matter” at “any time” under House Rule X.
• The Committee on Ways and Means has been investigating several universities since November 15, 2023, when the Committee held a hearing entitled From Ivory Towers to Dark Corners: Investigating the Nexus Between Antisemitism, Tax-Exempt Universities, and Terror Financing. The Committee followed the hearing with letters to those institutions on January 10, 202
How to Make a Field invisible in Odoo 17Celine George
It is possible to hide or invisible some fields in odoo. Commonly using “invisible” attribute in the field definition to invisible the fields. This slide will show how to make a field invisible in odoo 17.
Synthetic Fiber Construction in lab .pptxPavel ( NSTU)
Synthetic fiber production is a fascinating and complex field that blends chemistry, engineering, and environmental science. By understanding these aspects, students can gain a comprehensive view of synthetic fiber production, its impact on society and the environment, and the potential for future innovations. Synthetic fibers play a crucial role in modern society, impacting various aspects of daily life, industry, and the environment. ynthetic fibers are integral to modern life, offering a range of benefits from cost-effectiveness and versatility to innovative applications and performance characteristics. While they pose environmental challenges, ongoing research and development aim to create more sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives. Understanding the importance of synthetic fibers helps in appreciating their role in the economy, industry, and daily life, while also emphasizing the need for sustainable practices and innovation.
Pride Month Slides 2024 David Douglas School District
C-SAP OER2 collections project survey report
1. Report on the findings from C-SAP (Higher Education Academy Subject
Centre for Sociology, Anthropology and Politics) survey focusing on
patterns of use of online resources in social sciences
Anna Gruszczynska
C-SAP, August 2011
This content is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 UK:
England & Wales http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/
1
2. Contents
Contents ..................................................................................................................................................2
Introduction............................................................................................................................................. 3
Information about the survey .................................................................................................................3
Summary of the findings .........................................................................................................................4
Question 1. Main role..........................................................................................................................4
Question 2. Discipline area..................................................................................................................5
Question 3. Current teaching in terms of a research methods component .......................................6
Question 4. Approach to searching for learning resources online .....................................................6
Question 5. Most often used search sites ...........................................................................................7
Question 6. Any other websites used to look for learning resources .................................................8
Question 7. Initial approach to searching for resources ...................................................................10
Question 8. The relevance of information about creator of teaching resources .............................10
Question 9. Influence of disciplinary context in which the resource was originally developed .......11
Question 10. Usual strategies for using resources in teaching .........................................................12
Question 10a. Preference for downloading resources .................................................................13
Question 11. Preferences regarding the format of the resource .....................................................13
Question 12. Comments and ratings features ..................................................................................14
Question 13: Approaches towards copyright....................................................................................15
Question 14. Important features when searching for online resources ...........................................16
Question 15. Desired features of the methods collection website ..................................................16
Conclusions............................................................................................................................................18
References ............................................................................................................................................. 20
This content is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 UK:
England & Wales http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/
2
3. Introduction
This report discusses the findings of the survey undertaken within the C-SAP (Higher
Education Academy's Centre for Sociology, Anthropology and Politics) project "Discovering
Collections of Social Science Open Educational Resources". The project ran from August
2010 - August 2011 as part of Phase 2 of the HEFCE-funded Open Educational Resources
(OER) programme. The programme focused in particular on issues related to the discovery
and use of OER by academics and was managed jointly by the Higher Education Academy
[HEA] and Joint Information Systems Committee [JISC].
The C-SAP collections project sought to make available open collections of social sciences
research methods by embracing Web 2.0 technology and OER-related, sustainable
solutions. The rationale for the project stemmed from the recognition that there is now a
wide range of OER materials available to support social research methods. However, despite
advances across the sector, academics and students often have problems locating and
accessing good quality, peer-reviewed resources appropriate for their particular needs. Thus
the project strove to examine which of the Web 2.0 technologies are best suited to
support dissemination of research methods OERs. The overall aim of the project was to
explore how staff (and students to some extent) discover, use, and potentially re-adapt
online/digital materials in their research methods teaching.
Information about the survey
The purpose of the survey was to inform the project and gather information on ways in
which academic staff working within the social sciences search for and evaluate online
learning resources. The C-SAP survey was adapted from a survey conducted in the context
of Organising Open Educational Resources (OOER) project in the pilot phase of UK OER
programme (Davies, 2010) with kind permission of David Davies from University of Warwick
Medical School.
The survey was created using the Bristol Online Surveys platform and consisted of 17
questions. It launched in December 2010 and closed at the end of March 2011, with 99
respondents altogether. Information about the survey was publicised via C-SAP networks
and included in C-SAP newsletter and e-bulletin, relevant mailing lists (such as
MEDSOCNews, SOCIAL-POLICY, OPENED and e-Learning Research among others) as well as
Twitter. In order to boost a number of responses to the survey, we also published a blog
post on the project blog, communicating early results of the survey (Gruszczynska, 2011),
with a more extensive report published on project Slideshare account. As an additional
incentive, respondents had a chance to enter a draw to win Amazon vouchers. The next part
This content is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 UK:
England & Wales http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/
3
4. of this report provides an overview of the main findings, broken down by individual
questions.
Summary of the findings
Question 1. Main role
Question 1 was aimed at gaining basic information about respondents’ role and overall, we
managed to attract a wide variety of respondents at different stages of their academic
careers; the survey also includes the views of respondents who are in non-academic
positions such as learning technologists or administrators.
1. How would you describe your main role?
Professor 13.1% 13
Reader 3.0% 3
Senior Lecturer 25.3% 25
Lecturer 23.2% 23
Sessional Lecturer 3.0% 3
Research Fellow 10.1% 10
Learning technologist 2.0% 2
Administrator 1.0% 1
Other* 19.2% 19
Total 99
*The responses included the following roles: research student, associate dean, e-learning
developer, course leader, Head of Department
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4
5. Question 2. Discipline area
2. What discipline area do you work in? If you work in more than one area, please indicate
the area in which you spend the most time.
Sociology: 26.3% 26
Anthropology: 8.1% 8
Politics: 12.1% 12
Criminology: 10.1% 10
Other* 43.4% 43
Total 99
*The responses in that category included the following disciplines: education,
environmental science, health sciences, nursing and allied healthcare, business studies,
social policy, public policy, social work, Social psychology
Over half of the respondents aligned themselves with the social sciences disciplines directly
within the remit of C-SAP (i.e. sociology, anthropology, politics and criminology). While at
the first glance this might suggest that the categories picked for the survey were not
comprehensive enough, at the same time, at the same time responses included in the
category “other” suggest that the respondents cover a vast range of disciplines both within
and beyond social sciences and so it would have been difficult to anticipate the full range of
those responses. Furthermore, the fact that a number of respondents identify themselves as
aligned with a discipline outside of immediate remit of social sciences yet chose to
participate in a survey looking at the use of social sciences online resources reflects the
cross-disciplinary nature of social sciences research methodology. This finding also has
broad implications for the collections project, for instance when it comes to issues around
description and discoverability of the resources.
This content is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 UK:
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5
6. Question 3. Current teaching in terms of a research methods component
3. Which of the following best describes your current teaching in terms of a research
methods component?
I am not in a teaching-active role at the moment 21.2% 21
I am currently in a teaching active role but not
18.2% 18
involved in teaching research methods at all
I currently teach on qualitative research methods
19.2% 19
courses only
I currently teach on quantitative research methods
8.1% 8
courses only
I currently teach on both qualitative and
28.3% 28
quantitative methods modules
Other 5.1% 5
Total 99
This question focused on respondents’ involvement in teaching research methods. It has to
be noted that we were interested in patterns of use of online resources in general and so
we did not specifically target lecturers teaching in this area. At the same time, over half of
survey respondents are involved in some form of research methods teaching (qualitative,
quantitative or both) and so we believe this has been helpful in terms of gaining useful
feedback to shape the development of a successful research methods collection.
Question 4. Approach to searching for learning resources online
4. Which of the following statements best describes your approach to searching for learning
resources online?
I'm often searching for learning resources online, 30.3% 30
whether or not I have a specific or immediate
need
I tend to only search when I have a specific need 60.6% 60
for learning resources
I seldom search online for learning resources 6.1% 6
Other 3.0% 3
Total 99
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6
7. The next set of question was related to our aim of exploring patterns of use and reuse of
online resources and by extension, OERs as well. Accordingly, question 4 enquired about
the respondents’ approach to searching for learning resources online. An overwhelming
majority of respondents (90.9%) did search for learning resources on a fairly regular basis
and the most widespread approach seemed to be purpose-driven. That is, twice as many
respondents (60.6%) who searched regularly for online resources chose to do so only when
they had a specific need as opposed to those (30.3%) who undertook searches regardless of
whether there was an immediate need. This finding stresses the relevance of the collections
project, which offers research methods resources with an emphasis on principles of quality
assurance and discoverability.
Question 5. Most often used search sites
As part of our inquiry into patters of use and reuse, we also wanted to find out about
respondents’ preferences regarding the most commonly used search sites. As the
respondents could choose more than one answer, the answers in the table below do not
sum up to 100%.
5. When searching for learning resources, which search sites do you use most often?
Google 82.8% 82
Google Scholar 76.7% 76
Yahoo 2% 2
Bing 5% 5
Amazon 21.2% 21
Wikipedia 32.3% 32
JorumOpen 8.1% 8
Intute 22.2% 22
iTunesU 2% 2
Flickr 4% 4
YouTube 40% 40
Other* 17.2% 17
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7
8. Other category included the following resources:
• Databases: SAGE, Springer, Wiley, Ingenta, etc.
• HEA subject networks resources
• Web 2.0 tools: Delicious.com, Diigo, links obtained via Twitter and Facebook
• Media resources: BBC News, Guardian, Times Education Supplement, New York Times
Perhaps not surprisingly, Google-based search engines – Google itself and Google Scholar
turned out to be the most popular, with 82.8% and 76.7% respondents respectively
choosing those two services. The preference for Google was quite pronounced given that
the third most popular site, YouTube, was chosen by merely 40% respondents; and even
more importantly, other dedicated search engines were chosen by far fewer respondents
(Yahoo – 2%; Bing – 5%). Similarly few respondents chose to search for resources via
dedicated educational repositories, with only 8.1% indicating their preference for
JorumOpen.
Some more unexpected research findings included respondents’ indication of Wikipedia
(32.3%) and Amazon (21.2%) as preferred sites. After all, the academic use of Wikipedia
continues to be a divisive issue among lecturers, especially when it comes to students
relying on articles from Wikipedia in their assignments (Eijkman, 2010). It is also interesting
that the users would find Amazon.com useful for finding teaching resources since this is a
commercial and not an educational website; the popularity of the platform might be related
to a well-developed rating and reviewing system. Finally, about one fifth of respondents
mentioned that they rely on Intute, a curated resource gateway. Overall, the responses to
that question indicate that users value first and foremost simplicity of design but also
appreciate having access to resources which are personalised (for instance through
ratings/reviews) or thematically organised (as is the case with Intute).
Question 6. Any other websites used to look for learning resources
The reliance on websites which provide thematically organised resources was also evident
when looking at responses provided in question 6 where respondents were invited to offer
details of any websites they find useful in their teaching. The long list of resources
(reproduced below) was slanted towards websites devoted to specific research projects or
pulling together resources on a concrete theme. Another significant finding was the reliance
of users on social networking tools such as Facebook or delicious to obtain
recommendations for teaching resources.
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8
9. 6. Please list any other websites you use often to look for learning resources (if relevant,
otherwise leave blank).
A level sociology sites for teaching ideas
BBC News Government statistical websites
BBC News, Guardian, Observer,
C-SAP, HEA and methods@manchester
Delicious.com, subscribe to RSS feeds from journals databases (SAGE, Springer, Wiley,
Ingenta, etc.), magazine RSS feeds,
Diigo
ESDS, NCRM and JORUM
Facebook links posted by my social network which contains a handful of quants methods
lecturers - i would also use this to ask if they know of resources, and i have posted resources
that i have found. I "like" a number of pages on Facebook that give me material and ideas,
e.g. the RSA etc. I also often follow links that have arrived in emails that I have received as a
result of being a member of jiscmail and other mailing lists, including a large number of
methods mailing lists. I also use the web pages that are associated with the prescribed text
books for the course.
HEA
HEA HEFCE YouTube.edu(education) Directgov Education database searches
Healthtalkonline
http://www.conceptlinkage.org/#demo http://www.restore.ac.uk/orm/
http://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/realities/resources/toolkits/ http://www.v-
resort.ac.uk/
I also use training and learning sites like Trainers Library and Training Zone
I have a research resources database on my own website --
http://www.arasite.org/RMdatabase/RMintro.html
Lexis UK Data Archive Google Trends
nytimes.com
QAA
RadStats ESRC Quants Initiative ESDS European Social Survey
Research methods network Online QDA at Huddersfield Also adapted some stuff at ESDS
SCIE, research mindedness, SWAP
Social Research Update (Surrey)
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10. the free dictionary online
Vimeo ESRC Research Methods Centre ESRC Data Archive Jorum
www.tes.co.uk
Question 7. Initial approach to searching for resources
The next question focused on respondents’ behaviour while undertaking the actual search,
with the results indicating that there is an even split between a strategy based on inputting
generic search terms (43.9%) and using more targeted phrases as part of more refined
search strategy (43.9%). A small minority (10.2%) indicated that they might have some
difficulty with defining their search terms; this might be an issue worth addressing via
additional training.
7. When searching for learning resources, which of the following statements best describes
your initial approach?
I try short descriptive phrases or keywords such as
43.9% 43
'conducting focus groups'
I try mixing phrases or keywords to add context
43.9% 43
such as 'focus groups sociology undergraduate'
I don't always have a clear idea how to describe
10.2% 10
what I'm looking for
Other 2.0% 2
Total 99
Question 8. The relevance of information about creator of teaching resources
This question was aimed at eliciting information about people’s behaviours when it comes
to making judgements about the quality of teaching resources they find online especially
since quality concerns come up frequently in the context of sharing educational resources
(McGill et al., 2008). Responses to this question also provided us with some insight into
whether people perceived information about the creator of the resource as an essential
part of the resource description.
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11. 8. When choosing a learning resource from search results, how influenced are you by who
created it?
It's highly important to me 57.6% 57
It is somewhat important to me 30.3% 30
It's not very important to me 6.1% 6
It's not important at all 3.0% 3
Other 3.0% 3
Total 99
An overwhelming majority agreed that the information about the creator of the resource (if
it was provided) was important to them, with 87.9% respondents overall agreeing that it
was highly or somewhat important. The relative importance attached to this information
might suggest that wherever possible, it should be included as an element of resource
description.
Question 9. Influence of disciplinary context in which the resource was originally
developed
Overall, the answers to question 9 indicate that the respondents do not perceive
information about the disciplinary context in which the resource was created to be a crucial
element of resource description and for the most part view it as useful, but not essential
(74.7%). This finding has further implications for the description of resources curated via the
collections website. Given that it is quite likely that a politics lecturer would be interested in
finding and repurposing a resource originally created in the context of sociology or
criminology courses, resources placed on collections website need to be described in a way
which enhances their discoverability.
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12. 9. When choosing a learning resource, how influenced are you by the disciplinary context in
which the resource was originally developed(provided this information is available)?
It's highly important to choose a learning resource
that has been used within a context similar to 15.2% 15
mine
It's useful to know the original context, but not
74.7% 74
essential for me when choosing learning resources
I would not choose a learning resource outside of
0.0% 0
my own discipline
I don't need to have access to this information
6.1% 6
when choosing a learning resource
Other 4.0% 4
Total 99
Question 10. Usual strategies for using resources in teaching
As mentioned previously, one of the aims of the survey was to learn more about user
preferences in order to inform the development of the collections website. Thus in
Question 10 we wanted to find out whether users preferred to signpost the students to the
resource by offering a link or whether they would rather choose to download a copy for
their personal use. Preferences were split quite evenly, with about a third of respondents
choosing either of these options and a further third stating that they had no preference.
10. Once you've found a relevant learning resource, which of the statements below best
describe your usual strategy for using the resource in your teaching?
I prefer to offer a link to the resource 32.3% 32
I prefer to download a copy of the resource for
34.3% 34
use elsewhere
I have no preference 28.3% 28
Other 5.1% 5
Total 99
We included a follow-up question for those who indicated their preference for downloading
a resource as this is the only option which opens up a possibility of repurposing and for
instance changing the format/granularity of the resource, adding further elements to it etc.
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13. Question 10a. Preference for downloading resources
10.a. If you prefer to download learning resources that you find, why do you prefer this
method?
I like to have more control over how my students
17.6% 6
access a learning resource
Sometimes the learning resource I find disappears
29.4% 10
or moves if I don't download it
Sometimes I only want a part of a learning
11.8% 4
resource, not the whole thing
I sometimes like to reformat or split apart a
20.6% 7
learning resource I find
Other 20.6% 7
Total 34
Overall, the preference for downloading a copy of the resource rather than just offering a
link was connected to the expressed need for having more control over the resource. Some
users wanted to be able to regulate the way in which students access the resource (17.6%),
others expressed concerns related to the longevity of the resource, with links becoming
broken or resources disappearing altogether (29.4%) and finally others wanted to be able to
use only part of the resource (11.8%) or reformat it altogether (20.6%). In the free
comments section, some users also mentioned problems with not always reliable university
IT network which discouraged them from relying solely on the link to a resource during a
lecture.
Question 11. Preferences regarding the format of the resource
In general, users did not seem to have a strong preference for accessing resources in a
particular format, with only 14.1% incorporating a preferred format into their search
strategy. A majority of respondents (67.7%) did not consider format to be a relevant aspect
of the resource and 14.1% argued that format was irrelevant because they felt competent
enough to reformat the resource if needed. A small fraction (3.0%) mentioned that they
lacked the skills to search for a resource in a particular format and so it might be worth
including that information with any materials that address the issue of searching for online
resources.
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14. 11. Regarding the format of learning resources you find, which of the following best
describes your experience? Please interpret 'format' in whichever way makes most sense to
you, for example type of file, whether a learning resource is on a web page, in a MS Word
file, PDF, etc.
I often have a clear idea of the format I want so I
14.1% 14
incorporate this in my search
I don't mind what format the resource is in, as
67.7% 67
long it is a good quality resource
I don't mind what format the resource is in, as I
can easily get it converted to the specific format I 14.1% 14
need myself
I don't know how to search for resources in a
3.0% 3
particular format
Other 1.0% 1
Total 99
Question 12. Comments and ratings features
As mentioned earlier, quality is quite a high-priority concern for (re)users of OERs and so
when designing the survey, we were hoping to find out how lectures make judgements
about the quality of resources that they find online, which is why Question 12 specifically
asks about respondents’ attitudes towards reviews of learning resources.
12. How influenced are you by user's comments or ratings (if they are available) about
learning resources that you find?
If user ratings are available I tend to use them to
19.2% 19
make up my mind before using a resource
I seldom rely on user ratings as I don't know the
26.3% 26
context in which the comments are made
User ratings don't really matter to me provided
37.4% 37
the resource is fit for my purpose
I would not use a resource that had a bad review,
2.0% 2
rating or comment
The websites I most frequently use don't have
14.1% 14
user ratings
Other 1.0% 1
Total 99
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15. About one fifth of the respondents (19.2%) declared that they would take user ratings into
account when deciding whether to use the resource for their own teaching. at the same
time, a somewhat similar proportion of respondents (26.3%) expressed a mistrust of user
ratings, arguing that they were reluctant to rely on user ratings because their provenance
could not be trusted. Over a third (37.4%) of respondents argued that user ratings were
irrelevant provided that the resource was “fit for purpose” and so an assumption could be
made that users themselves would be making judgements about whether the resource was
fit for purpose or not. On a related note, only a very small minority (2%) claimed they would
not use a resource that had a bad review and so this implies that users are unlikely to rely
solely on reviews/ratings when deciding whether a resource would be useful for their
teaching. Finally, 14.2% respondents viewed ratings as largely irrelevant due to the fact that
the websites they most commonly accessed to search for resources lacked the rating and
reviewing features.
Question 13: Approaches towards copyright
In general, copyright issues are the defining feature of OERs which should be licensed in
such a way as to allow use, re-use and re-purposing (Yuan et al., 2008). Accordingly,
question 13 was meant to elicit information about academic practices related to sharing
resources and general awareness of copyright issues.
13. When you have found a learning resource that you would like to use, which of the
following statements best describes your approach:
I tend to look for learning resources which are
18.2% 18
licensed under Creative Commons
I normally ask the author for permission whether
4.0% 4
or not there's a clear licensing statement
I don't really pay attention to the licensing of the
resources as I only intend to use them for 54.5% 54
educational purposes
I don't think it is necessary to ask for permission as
12.1% 12
the resource is online anyway
Other 11.1% 11
Less than one fifth of respondents to the survey (18.2%) indicated that they are purposefully
seeking out resources that are licensed under Creative Commons; these licenses provide a
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16. clear indication of conditions under which resources can be re-used and shared. A small
fraction of respondents (4%) went even one step further and declared that they would
normally ask the author of a learning resource for permission to use it regardless of its
license. While entering in such a dialogue might be useful for both parties, it is nevertheless
quite consuming and even unnecessary if the resource is CC-licenced and so this particular
response might indicate some level of misunderstanding of issues around copyright and
licensing. At the same time, it is really concerning that over a half of respondents believe
that copyright issues are largely irrelevant either because they intend to use the resource in
an educational context and so presumably need not address copyright issues (54.5%
respondents) or because the resource has been published online and by implication can be
freely re-used (12.1%). Those responses indicate quite a low level of awareness of copyright
issues and indicate that there is still a lot of work to be done to remove barriers in sharing
content in order to change academic practice which to a large extent relies on tacit
assumptions about copyright and licensing with regard to educational resources (Littlejohn
et al. 2010).
The remaining questions in the survey were open-ended and aimed at gaining feedback as
to what the features of the collections website should be.
Question 14. Important features when searching for online resources
Overall, the key message from the respondents was that resources should be of high quality
and meet the criteria of “fitness for purpose”. Importantly, teaching materials need to be
relevant to users’ teaching needs as well as reliable and accurate, especially when it comes
to subjects such as social policy where guidelines etc. change quite quickly thus making
some teaching resources obsolete (at the same time, the nature of research methods
resources overall means that they should not go out of date so rapidly). Users also
emphasised the need to be able to find the resources quickly and easily as indicated by one
of the respondents:
Being able to find resources quickly. This requires that they are tagged with the
keywords that I can think of using and it would also be useful if short summaries of
the resource were readily available via the search engine so that it is possible to
evaluate whether they are appropriate without having to go through in detail.
Thus the level of description provided should be “user friendly” and offer adequate details
without overburdening the user.
Question 15. Desired features of the methods collection website
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17. In response to Question 15, users were invited to offer their ideas as to what features they
would like to see in an “ideal” collections website if there were no restrictions on time and
resources available to create such a website.
In terms of overall needs, users indicated that they would like to see a resource that
signposted them to a variety of resources which were fit for purpose and addressed their
specific teaching needs. They also indicated that the resources should be adequately
described with details about author, discipline and possible learning uses and finally, that
the resources should be in a format which is easy to access and/or amend.
Other comments focused on pedagogical issues and so users would like to see a collection
that offered information on ways in which resources are integrated in the actual teaching.
Some user also mentioned that they would appreciate being able to access resources which
were targeted at students of varying levels of ability and pre-existing knowledge of research
methods.
Generally, in terms of how the ideal collections website should be organised, the preference
was for a research methods gateway which would offer case studies of implementing
research methods in practice. The gateway would be organised thematically so that users
could access resources which address issues that frequently come up in the context of
research methods (such as ethics) across different social science disciplines. Furthermore, a
number of users indicated that they would like to see elements of various Web2.0
applications that they have come to appreciate mostly in the context of social networking
websites:
A Facebook page which we could "like" which would alert us to new resources that
have been newly added to the collection in our news feed; an "account" on your
website where we could collect together the resources from the site that are most
useful to us.
Something akin to the Diigo education group would be useful as resources could be
added by users as well as C-SAP, and the tagging and comment functions, as well as
being able to post topics, would help create a more dynamic and interactive
resource.
A number of users also indicated their preference for including videos as part of the
research methods resources collection:
You tube clips - I have found some great resources being generated by respected
academics in the US, could we have the same here (e.g. some big names doing two
minutes clips on their speciality?)
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18. Short videos (or other material, but something visual would be useful)
demonstrating how to use software such as SPSS - very small, max 5 minutes on
specific features of SPSS, so that we can pick and choose the ones we need. This is
the sort of material that can take a long time for individual lecturers to prepare; but
which would be very useful to support teaching.
At the same time, preference for video might be connected with the fact that it offers a
means of catering to different learning styles (Kuhn et al., 2010); this is helpful especially in
the case of teaching research methods where the content can quite often be abstract
(Macheski et al., 2008).
Conclusions
The survey was part of the effort of the C-SAP collections project team to define the focus
and scope for a collection of research methods in social sciences and accordingly, its
purpose was to gather information on ways in which academic staff working within the
social sciences search for and evaluate online learning resources.
First and foremost, the survey provides substantial evidence for the need to address issues
around copyright and especially the assumption that if the resources are used for
educational purposes, copyright does not apply. This approach presents significant barriers
to the uptake of OERs; increasing awareness of Creative Commons licenses and OERs could
help encourage more academics to share and re-use already existing resources.
Overall, the key message from the respondents was that resources should be of high quality
and meet the criteria of “fitness for purpose”. At the same time, users seem to trust first
and foremost their own judgement and so appreciate being able to access resources
described in a way which speeds up that process; therefore striking a balance in terms of
providing descriptions which are not overly detailed yet not too limited is vital. The survey
results emphasise the relevance of including elements of pedagogical description with the
resource given that a number of users indicated a need for resources that match their
teaching needs and are pitched at a level which is adequate for their students.
The concept of “fitness for purpose” also extends into other aspects of user behaviour;
respondents mentioned that they prefer to search for resources when they have a specific
need and therefore value being able to access resources which are curated and/or
organised around the model of a gateway. Furthermore, user preferences are strongly
influenced by features embedded within existing commercial websites (such as Amazon)
and Web 2.0 applications (such as Facebook or diigo).
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19. Overall, the survey has given us better insight into academic practice that informs
academics’ approach to digital resources in general and OERs in particular. As much as
possible, the C-SAP collections team will strive to incorporate the conclusions from the
survey into a resource being developed as part of the project an interactive research
methods website hosted at methods.hud.ac.uk.
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20. References
Davies, D. 2010. OOER resource discovery/re-use survey. Available:
http://www.medev.ac.uk/ourwork/oer/survey_analysis/ [Accessed 17 July
2011].Eijkman, H. (2010). Academics and Wikipedia: Reframing Web 2.0+as a
disruptor of traditional academic power-knowledge arrangements. Campus-Wide
Information Systems, 27(3), 173 - 185.
Gruszczynska, A. (2011). C-SAP collections survey: A very special preview. Available:
http://csapopencollections.wordpress.com/2011/01/13/c-sap-collections-survey-a-
very-special-preview/ [Accessed 7 July 2011].
Kuhn, K.-A., Russell-Bennett, R., & Rundle-Thiele, S. (2010, 26 - 29 May). Promoting student
learning with online videos: a research agenda. Paper presented at the 2010
Academy of Marketing Science Annual conference, Portland, USA.
Littlejohn, A., Falconer, I., Smith, K., Milligan, C., Carroll, C., Beetham, H., et al. (2010).
Subject strand - Cultural issues. Available:
http://www.caledonianacademy.net/spaces/oer/index.php?n=Main.SubjectStrand-
CulturalIssues [Accessed 3 July 2011].
Macheski, G. E., Buhrmann, J., Lowney, K. S., & Bush, M. E. L. (2008). Overcoming Student
Disengagement and Anxiety in Theory, Methods, and Statistics Courses by Building a
Community of Learners. Teaching Sociology, 36(1), 42-48.
McGill, L., Currier, S., Duncan, C., & Douglas, P. (December 2008). Good intentions:
improving the evidence base in support of sharing learning materials: JISC.
Yuan, L., MacNeill, S., & Kraan, W. (2008). Open Educational Resources - Opportunities and
Challenges for Higher Education. Available: http://learn.creativecommons.org/wp-
content/uploads/2008/09/oer_briefing_paper.pdf. [Accessed 10 June 2010].
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