1. Cognitive testing to check for comprehension problems with the survey questions.

2. Field testing to check for potential problems in the entire survey adminstration process (e.g. structure, content, flow and length of the questionnaires) as well as  the actual data collected.

We begin with cognitive testing on a small scale, after which we make revisions to the survey instruments to address issues revealed by the cognitive tests. Next we carry out the field testing with a larger number of locations and respondents.

This strategy enables us to use the results of the cognitive testing to eliminate comprehension of survey questions as a potential major source of delays during field testing. For example, we are likely to get a more accurate estimate of the length of the surveys if interviewers don’t have to spend too much time trying to explain what specific survey questions mean.

Our survey implementation teams have been given detailed guidance in our survey testing guidelines.

The study asks:

• Do people gain any ICT skills (i.e., keyboarding skills, knowledge of operating systems and file structures, etc.) through non-instrumental uses of ICTs?
• Are any skills gained through non-instrumental uses transferable to other (instrumental) uses of ICTs (i.e., searching strategies, information evaluation, synthesis and summary)?
• How do the characteristics and consumption patterns of non-instrumental use differ between public and private access points?
• How do user’s understandings of and attitudes towards ICTs differ between public access sites where the emphasis is on consumption of information versus the creation of content and multimedia?
• How do the characteristics of users affect skill level and activity choice in public access sites?

It’s important to look at public access venues (such as libraries and telecentres) because they are different from private access points (such as home computers). Many public spaces explicitly create collaborative or learning environments as part of their social mission — but in doing so they may also prohibit or discourage non-instrumental use.

This two-year study (2009–2011), led by Beth Kolko, includes fieldwork in Chile and Brazil. Fieldwork will consist of venue and user observations, user and operator interviews, computer skills assessments for users, and a case study on creating content and multimedia at a telecenter in Brazil. Our hypotheses:

1. Novice and experienced users engage in a mix of instrumental and non-instrumental uses of ICT.
2. Because of the surveillance aspects of public use, as well as policies that are in place at certain centers that may encourage or discourage non-instrumental use, the type of non-instrumental uses may differ (with regard to frequency, volume, visibility) in public versus private spaces.
3. Engaging in communication and entertainment activities results in users gaining computer skills, cognitive abilities, content knowledge, and other potential skills.
4. The computer skills gained through non instrumental uses transfer to instrumental uses of ICTs.
5. Public engagement with ICTs for non instrumental uses leverage collaborative shared space, and thus emphasizes specific kind of skills — skills that transfer to other areas of life, including those domains mentioned in the Global Impact Study.
6. Having an opportunity to create multimedia gives people different skill sets than just consuming media, and it also gives them a different sense of themselves as agents and participants in a knowledge and technological society.
7. Some demographic characteristics may affect skill acquisition.

People are more likely to use computers in telecenters, libraries, and cybercafés for social and entertainment purposes than for anything else. (See our Literature Review.) If such non-instrumental uses promote general ICT skill acquisition, the fact that traditional instruments or measurements do not investigate these non-instrumental usage patterns may have hindered our understanding of how people acquire ICT skills that then have impact on their lives.

Browse non-instrumental use updates »

Led by Ricardo Ramirez, with Balaji Parthasarathy and Andy Gordon, this study asks four main questions:

1. What are the practices, skills, and attitudes exhibited by infomediaries across different types of public access venues (libraries, telecentres, and cybercafes) and job descriptions (formal versus informal)?
2. What outcomes do patrons provide as evidence of a positive experience from using a public access venue (across sectors like health, education, finance, job, democratic engagement)?
3. To what extent do users point at infomediaries’ practices, roles, skills, attitudes as contributors to their positive or negative experiences, outcomes, and motivation to use public access venues (and how do they vary across sectors)?
4. Under what conditions are infomediaries most able to contribute to positive impact in terms of effective use and improved information ecologies?

Through focus groups and semi-structured interviews, the research team will identify specific mechanisms, contexts, and conditions that allow infomediaries to broker the needs of users. Fieldwork in Bangladesh, Chile, and Lithuania will continue through 2011.

The study’s hypotheses:

• The different practices and roles played by infomediaries will influence the impact of public access venues on users. This includes infomediaries’ skills and attitudes, the extent to which their jobs are formalized, the type of venue they work in, and the rules they improvise as gatekeepers.
• The context and type of public access venue where infomediaries perform their work will influence the reach and effectiveness of the services.  The context includes: information ecology, policies, pricing of services, and trust issues across the different types of public access venues.
• The impact of the infomediaries will vary across patrons’ different livelihood priorities, including health, education, finances, jobs, democratic engagement, etc.

The Infomediaries study’s findings will be helpful to governments, donors, and investors involved in policy debates about the merits of public access venues. For the library community, the findings will provide insights into staff attributes, training, motivation, working conditions, and support needs.

Browse infomediaries updates »

Country Research Teams collected data on several public access venues, looking at user groups and activities, venue characteristics, and the roles venues play in each community. This data provides a snapshot of regional information ecologies — community networks of trusted information sources. It will be used to refine the Global Impact Study’s research design, and will be helpful in formulating research questions and hypotheses.

Each of the three Country Research Teams conducted individual interviews, group interviews, and non-participant observation at six to nine public access venues — including public libraries, cybercafes, and telecenters in rural and urban locations. What follows here are a few highlights.

Inconsistent usage trends

Usage trends for venues providing public access to ICT are not consistent across countries. In recent years, Bangladesh saw a growing number of users, most prominently among telecenters, while Lithuania experienced declines, due in part to rising home computers purchases. Staff in Lithuania, however, reported that the range of users — by age, occupation, and social status — has simultaneously grown. All three research teams, including the team in Chile, found that the user base in telecenters and libraries tends to be more diverse than in commercially-oriented cybercafes.

Public access venues often fulfill social functions

In Lithuania, where the majority of users have Internet access at home or school, supplemental access in telecenters and public libraries is often for social purposes. Older users may appreciate having a public space for communication and exchange. Children may visit public access venues to play games or work on homework together. In such instances, the benefits of public access may be measured by the benefits of public use as opposed to private use.

In Chile, researchers noted differences in users’ perceptions between the roles of community-oriented and commercially-oriented venues. Community-oriented venues are perceived to be in contact with the community, local mass media, churches, adults and youngsters associations — serving their information, communication, and leisure needs. Commercially oriented venues are perceived as a service provider that does not building bridges within the community.

In Bangladesh, free Internet services and a wider offering of activities in libraries and telecenters build bonds, strengthen values, and create awareness about social issues. Pilot findings show that low-income users make up one-half of telecenter users and one-third of library users, in contrast to one-sixth of cybercafe users.

The social function of community-oriented libraries and telecenters may be more pronounced in rural settings or in communities with clear geographic and socio-economic boundaries. Chile’s Country Research Team found that

People living in these communities have shared feeling of belonging and therefore, public access venues also are perceived as part of this community. (Users refer to the venue as “our” venue). Commercially-oriented venues located in areas without defined socio-demographic boundaries, for example “downtown of the city”, even if they are immersed in a community, declare themselves as providing a service. (Users refer to the venue as “the” venue.)

Similarly, rural residents in Lithuania using the Internet in public access venues are reportedly more likely to perceive themselves as local community members and be more active in community activities.