Assessing community telecentres : guidelines for researchers / Anne Whyte.

Format:

Book

Government document

Author/Creator:

Whyte, Anne V. T.

Contributor:

International Development Research Centre (Canada)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Telecommuting centers--Developing countries.

Telecommuting centers.

Information services--Developing countries.

Information services.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (128 p.)

Place of Publication:

Ottawa : International Development Research Centre, c2000.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Telephone, fax, email, Internet; telemedicine, distance education, news distribution, telecommuting: these are some of the services offered by the community telecentre. But do telecentres truly respond to the communication and information needs of the communities they are intended to serve? What impact do they have on social equity and economic development? As community telecentres become more commonplace across Africa and in other developing regions of the world, these questions take on an increasing urgency. This guidebook will assist researchers as they assess and evaluate the role and impact of community telecentres. It provides an introduction to some of the key research issues, a framework for telecentre evaluation, and an impetus for research teams to share ideas, instruments, and methods. Assessing Community Telecentres will interest researchers, practitioners, and academics in information science, communications, international development, and evaluation, including telecentre operators, telecentre managers, and community leaders.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Foreword

Executive Summary

1. Introduction

1.1 Purpose of these guidelines

1.2 Some key definitions

1.2.1 Telecentre

1.2.2 Monitoring, evaluation, and learning

1.3 The Evaluation and Learning System for Acacia

2. The Telecentre Evaluation Plan

2.1 Identifying the research questions

2.2 Systems approaches to evaluation

2.3 Identifying the stakeholders

2.4 Evaluation design

2.5 Resource planning

2.6 Developing an evaluation framework

3. Indicators in Telecentre Studies

3.1 Developing indicators for telecentre projects

3.2 Telecentre performance indicators

3.2.1 Basic telecentre parameters

3.2.2 Demand for services

3.2.3 Service performance

3.2.4 User behaviour and perceptions

3.3 Indicators of sustainability

3.3.1 Financial sustainability

3.3.2 Policy and regulatory environment

3.3.3 Human-resource sustainability

3.4 Applications and information content

3.4.1 Content-demand indicators

3.4.2 Information online

3.4.3 Sectoral and local electronic networks

3.5 Impact indicators

3.5.1 Economic impacts

3.5.2 Social impacts

3.5.3 Organizational impacts

4. Issues in Sampling and Surveying

4.1 Guiding principles for data collection in the Acacia Initiative

4.2 Issues related to sampling

4.2.1 Sampling frame

4.2.2 Unit of analysis

4.2.3 Types of sample

4.2.4 Stratification and multistage sampling

4.2.5 Finding the needle in a haystack

4.2.6 Sample size

4.2.7 Sample frequency

4.3 Issues related to surveys

4.3.1 Surveys for various purposes

4.3.2 When surveys are not useful

4.3.3 Alternatives to community surveys

4.3.4 When and why you need community-level data

4.3.5 The theory of interviewing

4.3.6 Dealing with nonresponse

4.3.7 Mortality in longitudinal surveys.

4.3.8 Ethics of interviewing

4.3.9 From questionnaire to analysis

5. Matching Research Methods to Data Needs

5.1 Performance reports

5.2 Questionnaires

5.2.1 Choosing a questionnaire format

5.2.2 Selecting between alternative question formats

5.2.3 Putting them together

5.3 Projective techniques

5.3.1 Adjective checklists

5.3.2 Sentence-completion tests

5.3.3 Scenarios

5.4 Attitude scales

5.5 Observation techniques

5.6 Group techniques

5.6.1 Focus-group techniques

5.6.2 Nominal-group techniques

5.6.3 Delphi techniques

5.7 Participatory and self-assessment approaches

5.8 Household budgets and diaries

6. Data Analysis and Reporting

6.1 General considerations

6.2 Implications for analysis

6.2.1 Documentation

6.2.2 Coding categories

6.2.3 Questions to review before analysis begins

6.2.4 Variables and indices

6.2.5 Computer statistical programs and common sense

6.3 Acacia Stakeholder Information System

6.3.1 Acacia Telecentre Research Network

6.3.2 Acacia research-data archives

6.3.3 Telecentre operators' forum

6.3.5 International partners

6.3.6 Local stakeholders

6.4 The Evaluation and Learning System for Acacia

Abbreviations and Acronyms

Bibliography

Cited references

Further reading.

Notes:

"For the Acacia Initiative of the International Development Research Centre."

Includes bibliographical references (p. [109]-114).

ISBN:

1-280-84992-4

9786610849925

1-55250-263-5

OCLC:

44795601