Background

As eParticipation moves into a more mature stage of research, we need to move from description and understanding to more rigorous evidence-based explanation of eParticipation in practice.  To achieve this end, participants in this meeting will discuss their strategies, current research, and developmental plans for constructing their survey instruments, disseminating their surveys, and collecting and analyzing their data.
We are also interested in initiating discussion on constructing a common schema for our questionnaires, which would, in effect, serve as a validated question bank for surveys for current and future surveys that concern DEMO-net research issues.  A common schema would allow us to populate a shared database that researchers could use in their work.  This will help to avoid duplication of effort and accurately target sample populations with questionnaires that address multiple issues, rather than survey the same sample multiple times.

Objectives

General survey design techniques, which include:

• Strategies for targeting representative samples.
• Dissemination strategies (interview, telephone, web based, paper based)
• Construction of survey items (e.g., clear, single issue)
• Types of questions (partially closed, open ended, closed ended)
• Types of data analysis (e.g., descriptive, causal)

Issues specific to future research in eParticipation:

• EU survey design and plans
• Presentation and feed-back on current surveys
• Preparation of the workshop in Aalborg

Meeting details

Date:       April 17, 2007
Time:       11:00 – 17:00
Contacts: Kim Viborg Andersen (kva.inf@cbs.dk), Clive Sanford (ccs@cs.aau.dk)
Location: University of Helsinki, Main Building, Unioninkatu 34, auditorium VIII, 3rd Floor.