Problem Solving Survey

Computerization

The "Social Impacts of Computerization" Gemstone Group at the University of Maryland, College Park is conducting this survey to generate data on various aspects of computer use. Thank you for your participation.

1. Age:
2. Gender: Male Female
3. Racial/Ethnic Identity (Check all that apply):
African American
Asian American
Caucasian
Hispanic
Native American
Other:

4. Occupation:
Student: K-7
8-12
college undergraduate
graduate student
teacher
professor
other (please indicate specific position):

1. On average, how many hours a week do you spend on computers:
0 1-3 4-6 7+
2. On average, how many hours a week do you spend on the Internet?
0 1-3 4-6 7+

3. I use the Internet for: Often Never

research and general information 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

business purposes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

e-mail with friends and family 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

e-mail with co-workers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

chat rooms 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

leisure and entertainment 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

other:

4. I access the Internet from: Often Never

home 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

work 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

school/college 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

local library 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

other:
5. I consider myself proficient in: (Check all that apply)
word processing
Computer Programming
Internet Use
e-mail

3. I use the Internet for:	Often	Never
research and general information	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
business purposes	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
e-mail with friends and family	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
e-mail with co-workers	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
chat rooms	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
leisure and entertainment	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
other:

4. I access the Internet from:	Often	Never
home	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
work	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
school/college	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
local library	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
other:

E-mail

1. I use e-mail for:	Often	Never
work	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
school	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
communicating with friends	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
communicating with family	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

2. Due to increased use of e-mail:	Strongly Agree	Strongly Disagree
I now use the telephone less often with co-workers.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
I now use the telephone less often with long-distance friends and family.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
I now use the telephone less often with teachers/professors.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

3. Due to increased use of e-mail:	Strongly Agree	Strongly Disagree
I now interact face-to-face less often with co-workers.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
I now interact face-to-face less often with long-distance friends and family.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
I now interact face-to-face less often with teachers/professors.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

4. Due to e-mail:	Strongly Agree	Strongly Disagree
I feel the quality of my communication has improved with co-workers.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
I feel the quality of my communication has improved with long-distance friends and family.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
I feel the quality of my communication has improved with teachers/professors.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

5. Due to e-mail:	Strongly Agree	Strongly Disagree
the frequency of my communication has increased with co-workers.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
the frequency of my communication has increased with long-distance friends and family.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
the quality of my communication has increased with teachers/professors.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Statement	Strongly Agree	Strongly Disagree
e-mail is a quick way to communicate.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
e-mail is more convenient than most other methods of communication.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
e-mail is less "personal" than a hand written letter.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
I find it hard to convey emotion, humor and/or personality through e-mail.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
e-mail can be a waste of time due to "junk" mail.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
e-mail is the best way to send one message to an entire group of people.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
an e-mail message can easily be misconstrued or misinterpreted.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Video Games

1. Do you have children? (if no, please skip this section)
yes no
2. Do your children play computer/video games?
yes no
3. Please indicate the age and gender of those that play:
1.
2.
3.
4.

On average how many hours a week do your children spend on:
homework	0 1-3 4-6 7-12 12+
physical activity/sports	0 1-3 4-6 7-12 12+
games and toys	0 1-3 4-6 7-12 12+
video/computer games	0 1-3 4-6 7-12 12+
watching television	0 1-3 4-6 7-12 12+
other:

Education

Statement	Often	Never
I use the Internet for educational purposes.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
I use computer software for educational purposes.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
My local school system uses computers for educational purposes.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
My local school system uses the Internet for educational purposes.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Statement	Strongly Agree	Strongly Disagree
computers are useful educational tools.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
computers are improving our educational system.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
computers are negatively affecting the student/teacher relationship.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
computers are changing the way we learn and teach.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
computers are distracting children in the classroom.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
teachers are relying too heavily on computers as a teaching tool.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
the cost of computers does not outweigh the benefits.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
the role of computers in the classroom is limited.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Virtual Worlds

1. Have you ever used a MUD/MUCK or similar virtual world ? Yes No (If no, skip questions 3-5)
2. If no, would you be interested in using one? Yes No
3. On what type of environment do you spend the most time?
Combat
Role-playing
Social
Educational
Other
4. How long did you use this environment?
0-6 months
7 months - one year
over one year
Still Active
5. If you are no longer active, why do you believe you stopped?
If you are still active, what is the principal draw?

Word Processing

Statement	Strongly Agree	Strongly Disagree
I prefer to compose documents on a computer.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
I prefer to write out documents in long-hand first as a rough draft.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
I like to use speech recognition (dictation) software to write documents.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
I write longer documents using a computer compared to long-hand.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
I write better documents using a computer compared to long-hand.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
I get better grades with computer-written documents.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
I have experienced a computer mishap where I lost important data.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

With the help of a computer, I have found that:	Strongly Agree	Strongly Disagree
it is easier than long-hand.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
it is more complicated than long-hand.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
it is harder to organize my thoughts.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
I am more creative.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
it is easier to develop my thoughts.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
I have less errors due to spell-check and grammar-check.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
it is more time-consuming than long-hand.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
it is harder to edit without a hard-copy.	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9