Evaluation of a graduate school Web-site by graduate assistants

College Student Journal, June, 2003 by Choo Kiang Ng, Phil Parette, Jack Sterrett

Prior to the survey, graduate assistants were provided an explanation of the purposes of the survey and were required to perform five simple tasks while visiting the School of Graduate Studies and Research Web site. These tasks were intended to familiarize graduate students with the Web site since they would be asked to evaluate the site by responding to specific questions based on their Web site experience.

Instrument and Materials

The survey instrument was created using WebSurveyor Desktop, an easy-to-use software package designed to create, publish, and host online surveys (www.websurveyor.com). GAs completed the survey online at a Web page hosted by WebSurveyor. Data from the survey were collected and stored in a database maintained by WebSurveyor.

The survey instrument consisted of a 5-Point Likert scale questionnaire addressing students' opinions and evaluations of (a) college and university Web sites in general; and (b) this university's School of Graduate Studies and Research Web site, in particular. The general questions on college and university Web sites employed a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Very Unimportant; 5=Very Important). Items addressed focused on specific characteristics as: (a) Content, (b) Organization, (c) Navigation, (d) Friendliness, (e) Major Emphasis on Graphics, (f) Minor Emphasis on Graphics, (g) Distinctiveness, (h) Organization of Content by Target Audience, and (i) Download Speed. Participants also had the opportunity to list the information they expected to find when visiting a college or university Graduate School Web site.

The site specific questions on the School of Graduate Studies and Research Web site also used a 5-point Likert scale (1=Strongly Disagree; 5=Strongly Agree). Participants were asked to rate specific criteria that were grouped into the following categories: (a) First Impression/General Appearance, (b) Speed, (c) Ease of Navigation, (d) Site Architecture/Organization, (e) Content/Information, and (f) Availability of Further Information. Participants also had the opportunity to enter comments after each category was evaluated.

Respondent Demographics

Of the 129 total respondents to the formal survey, 37.2% (n=48) were males and 63.8% (n=81) were females (Table 1). Ethnicity of the respondents included 78.2 % (n=101) Euro Americans, 10.9% (n=14) Asian/Pacific Islanders, 6.2% (n=8) African Americans, 0.8 % (n=1) American Indian/Alaskan Natives, and 3.9% (n=5) who were classified as 'Other'. Age categories of the respondents included 17-23 years, 48.8% (n=63); 24-35 years, 45% (n=58); 36-45 years, 5.4% (n=7), and > 45 years, 0.8% n=l).

Respondent General Information

The majority of respondents (n=122; 95%) were enrolled as full-time students, i.e., taking more than 6 credit hours. Only 2 respondents (2%) were enrolled as part-time students. Although the survey was targeted at GAs only, 4 respondents (3.1%) selected Undergraduate Full-time while 1 respondent (0.8%) selected Undergraduate Part-time. Domestic (non-international) students comprised the majority of the respondents (81.4%; n=105) while the remaining 18.6% (24) were international students. Of the 129 respondents surveyed, 5 respondents had obtained a previous graduate degree. A majority of the respondents (84.5%; n=109) indicated having access to the Internet at home while the remaining respondents (15.5%; n=20) do not. A total of 92 (71.3%) of the respondents reported using the Internet for more than six years, 31 (24%) had 3-6 years of Internet experience, and 6 (4.7 %) reported using the Internet for the past 1-3 years only. Of the respondent pool, 82.2% (n=106) had visited the university's School of Graduate Studies and Research Web site in the past, 14% (n=18) had never visited the Web site before, and 3.9% (n=5) were unsure whether they had accessed the Web site before or not. The following responses were indicated when asked how they first heard about the Web site: Graduate Bulletin (27.1%; n=35); Other means (25.6%; n=33); Word of Mouth (15.5%; n=20); Friend/Family/Relative (9.3 %; n=12); First time heard about it (8.5%; n=11); E-mail (7.8%; n=10), and Brochure (6.2%; n=8).