[Sigcr-l] Survey

[Marcia J. Bates]

Dear Sarit,
	You have certainly found an unusual way to do your research. 
And I don't know what question or hypothesis you are studying. 
However, I worry about the quality of the data you will receive. 
People may define browsing in many different ways.  What kinds of 
searching the catalog will qualify as browsing and what kinds do you 
consider to be focused searching and not browsing?  Every catalog is 
different in design and interface, and may influence your results in 
ways you won't know, because you have not asked for descriptions or 
the names of catalogs used in your study.  Also, are you not worried 
about the artificiality of asking people to browse subjects they may 
have no interest in?
					Marcia
-- 
Marcia J. Bates, Ph.D.
Professor Emerita
Department of Information Studies
Graduate School of Education and Information Studies
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1520 USA
Tel: 310-206-9353
Fax: 310-206-4460
Web: http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/bates/