THE MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION - ELECTRONIC AND PAPER SURVEYS OF COMPUTER-BASED TOOL USE

Members of the Modern Language Association of America (MLA) were surve yed about their use of computer-based tools. A questionnaire was sent to 1,000 randomly-selected members in the U.S., with 500 sent via pape r mail and 500 through electronic mail. Word processing, electronic ma il, online catalogs, and the MLA International Bibliography were used heavily. Responses by the two subgroups differed significantly in seve ral respects. Electronic full texts received substantially less use by both groups, especially those responding to the print survey. Major c hanges in research habits included greater reliance on word processing and more work outside of libraries. Problems reported focused on acce ss to computer-based resources, learning to use them, the need for ins truction, and inconsistent interfaces. Finally, evidence strongly sugg ests that reliance solely on electronic surveys may produce misleading results.