A: Survey Methodology
	B: Survey Results
	C: Comparison with Relevant Surveys
	D: VADS Survey Questionnaire

	What are the aims of the survey?
	How was the survey conducted?
	Categories of User
	Response Rates per Method
	On Line Version

Primarily the survey was intended to supply VADS with the maximum amount of relevant information from its user and depositor communities while not exceeding available resources.

It was intended to facilitate the setting up and development of the service in three crucial respects:

	to help us understand more about how electronic resources are being used now by members of our community
	to help us target the services of VADS more closely to the community’s electronic information provision, creation and management needs
	to help us build up an accurate picture of what digital resources have been already been created by the community; how they are being used; and what we can do to help maximise the investment in these resources.

	The Survey was conducted with a view to the complementary survey that was carried out by the Technical Advisory Service for Images who also have a stake in identifying current data creation practice and the subject of which is digitisation practice within current projects. It was also intended to complement an earlier survey carried out by ADAM with which it has some questions, primarily concerning user background, in common.
	The survey was conducted on a sampling rather than "catch-all" basis.
	Examples of different organisations in the VADS community were identified and targeted.
	The survey was conducted by using a combination of paper, electronic form and telephone methods.

The survey population were defined in three fundamental ways:

	Different types of organisation (i.e. university visual art departments, art schools, art libraries, museums, art galleries, professional bodies etc.)
	Different types of participants (potential users, potential depositors, providers of other services/stakeholders)
	Different VADS subject areas

The total number of survey respondents was 107.

On the on-line form, the survey was divided into two discrete html pages:

	the first asked about the background of the respondent and the nature of their engagement with electronic resources (see sections 1, 2, 3 of the Survey Results)
	the second asked for specific information about digital resources created within their organisation (Survey Results, sections 4, 5).

The paper form did not have a physical division between sections (sections were numbered 1 to 5 as below). However, the number of respondents who provided information about resources in sections 4 and 5 was still relatively small.

The electronic version of our survey was launched on 1st December 1997. It was available until 1st February 1997. Responses to this questionnaire were solicited by sending announcements to the following mailbase lists:

vads-ag@mailbase.ac.uk, vads@mailbase.ac.uk, ahds@mailbase.ac.uk, ahds-all@mailbase.ac.uk, chart@mailbase.ac.uk, cti-art-design@mailbase.ac.uk, scran@mailbase.ac.uk, adam-news@mailbase.ac.uk, adam-project@mailbase.ac.uk, lis-elib@mailbase.ac.uk mcg@mailbase.ac.uk

In addition individuals kindly forwarded it to: EDINA User Group ninch-announce@cni.org

Paper Version

17 were completed and returned. It cannot be assumed that all paper surveys requested by individuals to circulate were actually distributed, however the response rate in this section was as the same time quite disappointing, at only 7.4% .

Telephone Interview

	36 people were telephoned, interviewed and made aware of the survey.
	13 people who were telephoned completed the survey and returned it.
	6 of those telephoned completed a paper survey and returned it.
	7 of those telephoned and were pointed to the web site completed the online version and sent it.

The response rate of 36.1% for telephone interview was considerably higher than through the distribution of paper copies.

However set against this must be the time intensiveness of this method of soliciting responses.

	B: Survey Results
	C: Comparison with Relevant Surveys
	D: VADS Survey Questionnaire

AHDS Visual Arts is part of the Arts and Humanities Data Service (AHDS). Copyright 2003.