THE FAMILY CONNECTION of
ST. JOSEPH COUNTY THE FAMILY CONNECTION of
ST. JOSEPH COUNTY
FC Home Page / Information about Children & Families / State & Local Statistics / Family Involvement / Welfare Reform / Community Systems / Recommended Reading / Links to Related Sites / About The Family Connection
Conducted by The Family Connection for the St. Joseph County Public Library ~ March 1998 ~ Posted on this web site at the request of SJCPL
Survey Data (separate page) |
Survey Respondents (separate page) |
Across the country, social service agencies have begun to discover not only the wealth of information available through the Internet, but also the advantages of local electronic networking and information sharing.
In late November 1997, a one-page survey of not-for-profit agencies, organizations and other groups was conducted by The Family Connection of St. Joseph County, Inc. for the St. Joseph County Public Library. The purpose of the survey was twofold: to gain a better overall picture of the technological capacity of agencies in our community and to determine the extent to which these agencies are using computers to access and share information.
Surveys were mailed to all of the St. Joseph County listings in the library's Community Connection database. This mailing of 372 included not-for-profit agencies and organizations (as well as programs within agencies), foundations, support and other groups. A total of 133 survey responses were received, for a return rate of 36%. (A listing of respondents by organization/ program name can be found at the end of this report.)
Some very large organizations have multiple programs listed in the database and therefore received multiple copies of the survey. (Sixteen organizations accounted for 137 of the surveys mailed.) Of 251 different agencies/organizations who received a survey, 118 returned at least one reply, for a response rate by agency of 47%.
Of those individuals who filled out the survey, 55 were in an upper management position (director, president, CEO, etc.), 17 were in middle management (assistant director, program manager, coordinator, etc.), 22 were office managers or administrative assistants, and 39 were in a variety of other positions.
Percentages in the report have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Therefore, percentages may not always add up to exactly 100. Unless otherwise indicated, percentages are based on total number of respondents (133).
Survey findings are being made available in written report form through the main and branch libraries' reference desks and on the Internet at: <http://business.michiana.org/famconn/technologysurvey.html> to assist with agency and community-wide planning.
~ Most respondents have at least some computer experience and/or have at least one staff member with a lot of experience. A small number have little or no experience.
~ Almost all respondents indicated that their agencies/organizations have at least one computer and most have more than one.
~ According to the responses, the majority of computer use is by directors and staff. A small number of agencies/organizations provide client access; even fewer provide public access.
~ Most respondents indicated that their agencies use Windows95, Windows 3.1 or DOS applications; few use Macintosh.
~ Most said that they have computers with at least 8 Mg of ram or higher; however, a significant number did not know how much Ram their computers have.
~ Most responding agencies have at least one modem and most of these modems are at least 14.4 baud; however, a significant number of respondents did not know the speed of their modems.
~ Among agencies who said they have a modem, most have a separate phone line, however quite a few do not.
~ About one half of the respondents currently have e-mail capabilities for work-related business.
~ Most respondents said that their agencies have Internet access. Some respondents whose agencies are not hooked into the Internet can access it at home. However, some respondents cannot reach the Internet either at work or at home.
~ In the majority of responding agencies, the Internet is most often being used to get in-depth information on specific issues or to conduct research. Little use is made of listservs, newsgroups or electronic bulletin boards.
~ Many agencies already have web pages up or in progress; several others are interested in having one.
~ The majority of respondents are interested in some kind of training on the Internet, local on-line resources, building and maintaining a Web site, and/or e-mail.
OF THE 133 SURVEY RESPONDENTS:
A large majority of respondents (83%) said that they had some or a lot of computer experience. Only 13% had very little or no experience. In addition, 61% of respondents said that their agency had at least one staff member with a lot of computer experience.
Do you have computer experience?
a lot
55 [41%]
some
56 [42%]
very little
13 [10%]
none
4 [ 3% ]
no answer
5 [ 4%]
Do you have at least one staff member with a lot of computer experience?
yes
81 [61%] no
21 [16%] no answer
31 [22%]* *probably attributable to survey design
Looking at the 17 respondents who said that they had very little or no computer experience, only six also said that they did not have at least one staff member with a lot of experience.
Almost all respondents (94%) said that their agencies have at least one computer and most have more than one. Only nine respondents said that their agencies/organizations do not have a computer.
Number and percent of total respondents who:
have more than one computer 102 [77%]
have one computer 22 [17%]
do not have a computer 9 [ 7%]
Operating systems: Most respondents said that their agencies have computers that use Windows 95 and/or Windows 3.1. DOS operating systems are present in over one fourth of the respondents' agencies. Few have one or more Macintosh computers. (Percentages below add up to more than 100% because many agencies have multiple computers and checked more than one choice.)
Of the 124 respondents who said their agency has at least one computer, number and % who use:
Windows95
84 [68%]
Windows 3.1
54 [44%]
DOS
39 [31%]
Macintosh
13 [10%]
Just five of the 13 respondents whose agencies have a Macintosh have only Macintosh operating systems.
Ram: Looking only at the respondents whose agencies have computers, close to two-thirds have at least one computer with 8 Mg of Ram or more. About one in ten have computers under 8 Mg. Almost one out of every four respondents did not know how much Ram their computers had. (Percentages below add up to more than 100% because many agencies have multiple computers and checked more than one choice.)
Of the 124 respondents whose agencies have at least one computer, the number and percent with computers that have:
8 Mg [of Ram] or over 81 [65%]
under 8 Mg [of Ram] 15 [12%]
don't know [amount of Ram] 32 [26%]
Of the 15 respondents whose agencies have a computer with under 8 Mg of Ram, just six (less than 5%) have only a computer under 8 Mg.
Modem: Looking only at the respondents whose agenices have computers, slightly more than three out of every four have modems.
Of the 124 respondents whose agencies have at least one computer, the number and percent whose agencies:
have a modem
95 [77%]
do not have a modem
26 [21%]
no answer
3 [ 2%]
Of the 95 respondents who said that their agencies do have a modem, the majority (55%) have at least one modem with 28.8 baud or over. Consistent with responses to the previous question, about one fourth of respondents did not know their modem speed. (Respondents whose agencies have more than one modem may have checked multiple responses, depending on modem speeds.)
Of the 95 respondents whose agencies have a modem, number and percent who have:
at least one 28.8 baud or over
52 [55%]
at least one 14.4 baud
19 [20%]
at least one under 14.4 baud
6 [ 6%]
don't know
24 [25%]
no answer
2 [ 2%]
Looking at those who only have modems under 28.8 baud, 14 (15%) have at least one modem with 14.4 baud, and 3 (3%0 have only modems under 14.4 baud.
Separate phone line: Of the 95 respondents whose agencies do have a modem, just under two thirds have a separate phone line for their modem (including 1 agency that is planning to get one); approximately one third of the agencies do not have a separate phone line.
Of the 95 respondents whose agencies have a modem, number and percent who:
Have a separate phone line (or plan to get one) 60 [63%]
Do not have a separate phone line 29 [31%]
No answer 6 [ 6%]
Most respondents said that their agencies' computers are primarily used by directors and staff. Few are available to clients or the public.
Of the 124 respondents whose agencies have computers, the number and percent of computer use by:
Staff
108 [87%]
Director
103 [83%]
Clients
15 [12%]
The public
7 [ 6%]
Slightly more than half of the respondents have e-mail that is or can be used for work-related business (either at home and/or at work); almost as many do not.
Number and percent of total respondents who have e-mail that is or can be used for work-related business:
Yes
68 [51%]
No
62 [47%]
No answer
3 [ 2%]
Almost three out of every five respondents said that they have Internet access at work. And at least half have Internet access at home. But 18 respondents (14% of the total) reported that they do not have Internet access either at work or at home.
Number and percent of total respondents who have Internet access at work:
Yes
79 [59%]
No
43 [32%]
No answer
11 [ 8%]
Number and percent of total respondents who have Internet access at home:
Yes
66 [50%]
No
39 [29%]
No answer
28 [21%]
Number and percent of total respondents who indicated that they have Internet access:
both at work and home
47 [35%]
at work but not at home
20 [15%]
at home but not at work
16 [12%]
neither at work nor at home
18 [14%]
(the remaining 24% did not answer one or both questions)
Of the 95 respondents who reported that their agencies have modems, 18 (19%) said that they do not have Internet access at work.
About three out of every four respondents said that they have used the Internet in some way to gather information (102 respondents, or 77%, checked at least one of the categories listed below.) Of those who have used the Internet, most have gotten in-depth information or conducted research. About half have searched for grants; a quarter have found services for clients. Less than one in five were using it to participate in listservs, newsgroups or electronic bulletin boards. (Percentages below add up to more than 100% because respondents could check all that apply.)
Number and percent who have used the Internet to:
How internet used
#
% total respondents
% of 102 respondents to question
Get in-depth information on specific issues 80
60%
78%
Conduct research in your field 73
55%
71%
Track current issues in your field 58
44%
57%
Search for grants 51
38%
50%
Follow legislation 41
31%
40%
Gather demographic/other statistical info 35
26%
34%
Find community services for clients 24
18%
24%
Participate in listservs 18
14%
18%
Access electronic BBS 17
13%
17%
Join newsgroups 16
12%
16%
Other 7
5%
7%
No answer 31
23%
-
"Other" catagories listed included: email, parent support groups, school reports, and online technical support.
Most respondents said that their agencies have or are interested in having a Web page. Almost one third already have a Web page; others have one in progress. Close to another third are interested in having one, while about one in four are not interested in a Web page at this time.
Have a Web page
40 [30%]
Have a Web page in progress
16 [12%]
Do not have a Web page, but are interested
38 [29%]
Are not interested at this time
34 [26%]
No answer
5 [ 4%]
Approximately two thirds (67%) of all the respondents indicated an interest in at least one of the training topics listed below. Most wanted to learn about the Internet and local on-line resources; however, there was significant interest in the other topics as well.
Number and percent interested in training for themselves or their staff:
Topic
#
% of total respondents % of 89 respondents to question
Internet 61
46%
69%
Local on-line resources 60
45%
67%
Building and maintaining a Web site 53
40%
60%
45
34%
51%
Other 5
4%
6%
Other training mentioned: DOS and Word Perfect, Research tools, how to find resources for agency (including funding and support groups). One respondent requested student training in an afterschool program.