Africa: Initial Survey Results/Reminder

Africa Policy E-Journal

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Africa: Initial Survey Results/Reminder
Date Distributed (ymd): 960712

Thanks to all of you who have returned the Africa Policy
Electronic Distribution List survey sent out on June 30.
Through July 10, 1996, 314 responses had been received.  223
responses were from individuals saying they received the
postings directly, equivalent to 19% of the addresses on the
list at the time the survey was distributed.  Posters will be
mailed to the first group of respondents early next week.

Tabulated below for your information are initial results. 
There were also many encouraging comments and constructive
suggestions for improvement.  We will be compiling final
results and analyzing the suggestions at the end of this
month.

If you have not yet returned your survey, and wish to do so,
please send it to us as soon as possible.  Remember, all those
who complete surveys can receive a free, attractive 11" by 17"
poster with a map and charts of "Africa's Regions." 

If you have misplaced your survey form, or did not receive one
when it was first sent out, you may receive a new one by
sending a blank e-mail message to apicdata@igc.org.  In
the subject field write "send new survey."  You should receive
a new survey form within one or two days.

Note: The following tables are best read in a non-proportional
font such as Courier.

Background of Respondents

1. Country of Residence

COUNTRY      NUMBER          PERCENT
USA           217               69
Canada         20                6
South Africa   18                6
UK             15                5
Netherlands     7                2
Belgium         5                2
Australia       5                2
Switzerland     3                1
Scotland        3                1
Japan           3                1
Germany         3                1
Sweden          2                1
Denmark         2                1
Zimbabwe        1                0
Zambia          1                0
Swaziland       1                0
Portugal        1                0
New Zealand     1                0
Namibia         1                0
Lithuania       1                0
Ireland         1                0
Ghana           1                0
Brasil          1                0

Total answers: 313

2. Age

AGE          NUMBER          PERCENT
20 to 35        122               40
36 to 50        124               41
Over 50          60               20

Total answers: 306

3. Sex

SEX     NUMBER          PERCENT
F          102               33
M          203               67

Total answers: 305

4. Education

EDUCATION     NUMBER          PERCENT
Advanced         231               75
College           69               22
Other              1                0
Secondary          6                2

Total answers: 307

5. Primary Institutional Affiliation

INSTITUTION    NUMBER          PERCENT
Commercial      14                5
Educational    141               46
Governmental    25                8
Media           18                6
Non-government  58               19
Other           20                7
Religious       28                9

Total answers: 304

6. 62 Born in Africa (20 Percent)

7. 148 Worked in African country (47 Percent)

8. 130 Visited an African country (41 Percent)

9. 239 Born, worked in, or visited Africa (76 Percent)

10. 31 African Diaspora (10 Percent)

11. 38 Business Interests (12 Percent)

12. 185 Academic Interests (59 Percent)

13. 135 Other Professional Interests (43 Percent)

14. 210 Activist Concerns (67 Percent)

Usage Patterns and Opinions of Respondents

1. How long have you been receiving documents?

HOWLONG     NUMBER                      PERCENT
<2mo            35                           11
2mo-1yr        155                           51
>1yr           115                           38

Total answers: 305

2. How do you receive documents?

HOWRECEIVE     NUMBER                      PERCENT
bulletin            3                            1
direct e-mail     223                           73
indirect e-mail    73                           24
other               5                            2
web                 1                            0

Total answers: 305

3. Web Access

264 Have access to a web browser (84 Percent)

4. Reading Pattern (Average out of ten documents)

Number discarded: 1.5
Number skimmed: 4.4
Number read carefully: 3.8
Number archived: 4.0
Number redistributed: 1.9
Number of people receiving a document: 6.1
Total number of additional recipients per document: 2.3
Number used for education: 1.0

5. Frequency

FREQUENCY              NUMBER            PERCENT
Not frequent enough      30                  10
About right             260                  86
Too frequent             11                   4

Total answers: 301

6. Length

LENGTH                NUMBER              PERCENT
Not long enough          11                   4
About right             235                  78
Too long                 54                  18

Total answers: 300

7. Quality


QUALITY     NUMBER                      PERCENT
Poor            4                            1
Average        18                            6
Good          136                           45
Very good     147                           48

Total answers: 305

Average quality (on scale of 1 to 5): 4.4
 
8. Contact Policy-Makers concerning Action Alerts

CONTACT     NUMBER                      PERCENT
Never          107                           36
Almost never    85                           28
Sometimes       89                           30
Often           18                            6
Always           1                            0

Total answers: 300

9. Pass on Action Alerts to Others

CONTACT     NUMBER                      PERCENT
Never           89                           29
Almost never    59                           19
Sometimes      102                           34
Often           40                           13
Always          14                            5

Total answers: 304

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