Trying to determine the potential capabilities of the World Wide Web as a survey medium, the College Health Service released an on-line survey on drugs and alcohol this week.
The Web page survey, which is identical to the paper "Cycles" survey sent out earlier this term, asks students a barrage of questions regarding the use of drugs and alcohol and their effects on people.
Health Service Program Evaluator John Pryor said he first e-mailed students to invite them to participate in the Web survey on Monday.
Because of the central role of computers at Dartmouth, having a Web page survey on this campus is ideal, John Pryor said.
"Dartmouth is an ideal test place," he said. "Everybody has got a computer. Everybody is familiar at least with BlitzMail."
But John Pryor warned that this type of survey can only be offered in a community like Dartmouth where all people surveyed have access to computers.
The survey will continue remain on the Web for several more days, John Pryor said.
Michael Pryor '98 designed the survey. Michael Pryor also created the Web page used to conduct student elections this term.
The response rate for the Web survey, as of Thursday, was about 25 percent, John Pryor said. Out of the 400 people e-mailed and instructed how to take the survey, 104 have completed it.
With the paper surveys, the response rate is about 35 percent, according to John Pryor.
"The thing that is nice about our experiment is that we are doing them concurrently," he said.
John Pryor said he thinks students preferred the electronic survey.
"They liked not having to worry about taking it to the Hinman Boxes or various places to turn it in," he said.
John Pryor said not only does the on-line survey version cut down on paper, but it also cuts down on time.
"We got students to participate by blitzing out a list with the URL [location] of the web page in the message," John Pryor added. "All they had to do is command-click on the location. If Netscape is on your computer, you do not even need to know how to use it. Command-clicking will just take you to the appropriate location."
The Web survey, like the paper one, is anonymous, John Pryor said. The survey requires students to enter their names and BlitzMail passwords to determine if the student surveyed was part of the group initially e-mailed by John Pryor and to determine the number of times a student has voted.
"What I'm hoping to be able to do is have enough results from both methodologies to look at the samples and the consumption patterns," he said. "The whole picture that we have, not only at Dartmouth but all over the country, is through mail surveys. What I am hoping is that the results are the same with a web survey."
"We do not want to skew results," he added. "If only a certain number of people can do it over the Web, then that is not the best way to conduct the survey."
Despite John Pryor's thoughts that the on-line survey would be more student-friendly, some students do not favor the new surveying technique.
Rupa Mukherjee '99 said it is easier to fill out a paper survey.
"I usually do not go into Netscape that often," she said. "I always go to my mailbox and when I get home, the survey is right there for me to fill out."
"It is not that I am scared of Netscape," she said. "It is so much easier with paper in front of you. You check off the boxes and drop it off in intercampus mail."
But some said they liked the Web survey.
Grant Kernan '99 would rather have the survey on the Web.
"It is easier," he said. "I would not have to worry about giving it back to intercampus Mail or anything."
The survey is located at http://www.Dartmouth.edu/~evalres/survey.html
