HUGUENOTS-WALLOONS-EUROPE-L Archives

From: "Andrea Vogel" <>
Subject: [HWE] Fw: Researcher Survey
Date: Sun, 23 Jun 2002 14:27:05 -0700

Listers --

I am forwarding the following to the list even though I realize it's
off-topic. But I think it's worthwhile and I think many subscribers may
be interested in completing the on-line survey mentioned.
This is from Kevin Meethan who is a professor of sociology in England.
He is doing a research project on family history research
and characteristics of researchers themselves, especially as this relates to
internet use. In order to do this project, Dr. Meethan needs input from
people such as this group on HWE. Anyway, he explains
it all below.
I have already completed the survey and it really does take only
a few minutes! Andrea

-----Original Message-----
From: Kevin Meethan <>
To:
<>
Date: June 12, 2002 6:12 AM
Subject: request

>Dear List administrator
>
>I am writing to ask for your assistance in an academic
>research project I am currently undertaking. As a sociologist with
>a personal interest in my family history and academic research >interests
in tourism, globalisation and cultural change, I am >undertaking a web based
survey trying to gauge some general >characteristics of family history
researchers. I would be grateful
>if you could forward this message, which contains fuller details to
>your list members. It explains the reasons for my research, and
>also two hyperlinks to the survey itself and my university home
>page.
>
>Yours truly,
>
>Dr. Kevin Meethan
>Senior Lecturer
>Department of Sociology
>University of Plymouth
>Drake Circus
>Plymouth PL4 8AA
>UK
>
>Using the Internet for Family History Research:
>Who are we and where are we?
>
>Kevin Meethan, University of Plymouth, UK.
>
>As well as having an interest in tracing my own family tree (from
>Ireland as it happens), I am also a sociologist working at the
>University of Plymouth in England, and I also have more academic
>research interests in tourism, globalisation and cultural change. It is
>often claimed that both access to global information and increasing
>travel will inevitably lead to an homogenised and 'placeless' world, yet
>evidence tends to suggest that rather, the internet and travel can be
>used to discover and reinforce a sense of identity rooted in ancestry,
>history and place. One of the things that immediately struck me was >how
people, who have probably never met face to face and may
>even live on different continents, were happy to exchange
>information and advice with each other.
>
>Of course, it was not long before the academic side of me
>began to ask questions such as: where are these people, what
>do we have in common, is it the internet that is creating this
>world-wide interest in genealogy, or would so many people be >researching
their family history without the internet? I know I
>would not have! It was while I was thinking over these questions,
>I also noticed that in the email lists I subscribed to, there were
>occasional communications that that mentioned travelling back
>to their ancestral home in order to carry out research,
>perhaps even to contact and meet living relatives face to face, for all
>the global connectivity that the internet offers, perhaps there is no
>substitute for the authenticity of lived experience. Or is it simply
>enough to know, that in this rapidly changing and globalised world,
>one's roots can be traced and recorded? Once more, the academic
>in me took hold, especially when I found out that this particular
>aspect of travel and tourism has never been researched.
>
>With these points in mind I am inviting people to participate in an
>on-line survey which aims to answer some of these questions. In
>particular, the aim is to establish the general features of online
>family history researchers, such as the kinds of research being
>undertaken, the length of time spent on research, and of course the
>actual location of researchers. Another aim is to establish the extent
>of travel that people undertake, if at all, when carrying out their
>research. Completing the survey should take no longer than 6-8 >minutes,
and can be accessed by clicking on this link:
><http://tecex2.hs.plymouth.ac.uk/roots>;
>If you want to check me out first, you can access my home page
>which also links in to the survey:
><http://www.sociology.plymouth.ac.uk/~kmeethan>;
>
>Finally, I would like to assure everyone that this research is academic
>in nature, and as such is not for profit; that all responses will be
>treated as confidential; that all information will be held on a secure
>server; and that no personal details will be passed on to any third
>parties. This research project also conforms to the Ethical Code of the
>British Sociological Association and the University of Plymouth. If you
>have any questions regarding the survey, or even know of any >information
that may be of some use, then please fell free to email
>me at:
>
END

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• [HWE] Fw: Researcher Survey by "Andrea Vogel" <>