An examination of the use of United States government documents on the World Wide Web by social sciences faculty at selected ARL institutions.

摘要

With the explosion in government information available via the World Wide Web, it is essential to determine the current nature and extent of government documents use in print and on the Web. This thesis is an examination of U.S. government documents use by social science faculty at the four ARL universities in Pennsylvania. In order to gather data on government documents use since the advent of the World Wide Web, an electronic survey of social science faculty, a user group frequently surveyed in government documents user surveys, was conducted. Each participant completed a twenty-three part HTML survey questionnaire designed to determine the current nature and extent of government documents, as well as general World Wide Web use. The 120 respondents provided information regarding: use of specific government information in print and on the Web; frequency of print and electronic access to government information; the location from which they access the World Wide Web; which Internet applications they use; and their purpose in accessing government information.