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Dissemination of Research |
| Introduction Technology Issues and Decisions Phase I: Color Preference Test Phase II: Shades of Difference Phase III: Website Preferences |
Publishing archeological information on the web results in the same sorts of problems as publishing other information on the web. Along with technical issues such as data standards and file formats are often over-looked issues of web site accessibility and design. Users are handicapped in finding information if they cannot easily find their way around the site or if the information is not easily downloadable. This paper discusses the process of developing useful and accessible websites that deliver substantive information. Dinham, S. and Scott, C. (2001). The experience of disseminating the results of doctoral research. Journal of Further and Higher Education Vol. 25, No. 1: 45-55. Since a substantial part of the requirements for graduate degrees includes the successful completion of research, it should be expected that the dissemination of the research should be a routine part of the process of postgraduate study. However, this does not seem to be the case, and the progression from completed dissertation to publication of research in not a universal experience. While there is a great deal published about "how to" get a degree, most students are not guided into publication of and dissemination of their research. The study examines the experiences of almost 200 international students in disseminating--or not disseminating--the results of their research. Hundt, G. (2000). Multiple scripts and contested discourse. Social Policy and Administration Vol. 34, No. 4: 419-433. The article explores verbal and textual communication in international research as performances that occur within interpretive and textual frames and that have structure that includes settings and ground rules for participants. In research, the questions, data, and findings are often understood and interpreted in different ways and these differences can sometimes be issues of differential emphasis and sometimes of contested discourse and meaning. The article reviews and discusses the multiple understandings of research questions and the process of disseminating research findings verbally and textually, as well as highlighting broader issues related to the interface between insider and outsider expertise and understandings. Learning Sites, Inc. (2000).
How we built a rendered 3D Model. Information available at: This website discusses and demonstrates the process used in creating a fully rendered 3D computer model of the Northwest Palace of Ashur-nasir-pal II at Nimrud, Egypt. This conversion into virtual reality has major implications for the construction of websites in general. The description of the step-by-step process used is especially valuable. Sanders, Donald H. (1999). Author! Author? Paper presented at 64th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, March 25, 1999:11-19. Archeologists are among those who are increasingly using the electronic world as a dissemination avenue. As a result, the definitions of author, publisher, and content creator have become blurred as people other than the actual researchers become instrumental in the dissemination of information. Close collaboration is needed between researcher, the digital designers, and the publisher in order to produce text, graphics, and organizational layouts. Since this process is so different from traditional print methods, new techniques are needed for crediting authors and illustrators as well as handling peer review and bibliographic citations. Saywell, Darren and Cotton, A. (1999). Spreading the word: Practical guidelines for research dissemination strategies (Interim findings). Loughborough University: Water, Engineering, and Development Centre. Available: http://www.lboro.ac.uk/wedc/projects/stw/. Last accessed: 4/21/03. The challenge of dissemination is to improve the accessibility of research findings to those who need the information. This means ensuring the physical availability of research materials to as large a proportion of the target audience as possible and to make these findings comprehensible. This study looks at the need for improved dissemination and the research dissemination process and media as well as barriers to effective dissemination. It uses a case study analysis and key informant interviews as a basis for the study and includes a checklist of dissemination questions by research stage, a model for planning a dissemination strategy, and a comparison of dissemination pathways. Taylor, J. (2001). Website evaluation project. Available http://www.urbandevelopmentforum.org/WebsiteEvaluation/Home.html. Last accessed: 4/21/03. The Website Evaluation
Project website aims to promote an evaluation process that will enable
websites to be improved as a medium for communicating research. It is
the outgrowth of an applied evaluative study of eight websites disseminating
urban development research findings. The website includes a suggested
methodology for evaluating websites disseminating development research,
a set of guidelines detailing best-practices in online research dissemination
to an international audience, key research activities, design guidelines,
explanation of the software used to produce the website, and an extensive
bibliography. Project C.O.P.E.: Content,
Organization, Preference, Evaluation
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