Developing the Collection of Historical and Contemporary Census Data and Related Materials (CHCC) into a Major Learning and Teaching Resource

Summary of Evaluation Feedack

The following message summarises the feedback obtained from the questionnaires handed out at the end of the workshop. A copy of this report (RTF format) is available for downloading. A more detailed report is also available.

Thank you for all your feedback from the CHCC Consultation Day. The following comments have been compiled from the written evaluation forms you handed in at the end of the day.

The main objective for those attending was to discover more about the CHCC project and find out how other academics used or could use census material in teaching. Of all the participants there were only two for whom this objective was not completely fulfilled. In these two cases both felt they needed more information about the project. A significant number felt that we should provide more information in advance, such as the questionnaire for the breakout groups and the list of participants.

Not surprisingly a minority of you felt a location in the north (east, west or Scotland) would be more convenient and it is possible that we will vary the location of future events. There were no criticisms of the venue itself, at from the air conditioning, and the lunch came in for particular praise.

Participants reported widespread potential uses of the CHCC's project materials. There was an almost equal potential take up across the three sets of material amongst participants. Three people mentioned using the proposed joint modules specifically and five participants were unsure at this stage what material would be most useful to them. Considering that historians were under-represented amongst participants the most significant feature is that there was as much potential use for the historical census as the other material.

Some of the most useful comments were in regard to how the CHCC materials may be improved or developed. One of the most common suggestions was for the chronological gaps in the census data to be filled, ticularly between the historical and contemporary data. Whether this is possible within the scope of the project will need to be evaluated in more detail. It was also evident that many of you felt that we should think in terms of "units" rather than "modules". The implication being that components should be smaller in order to be able to be incorporated into teaching in a more flexible manner. In general terms it was suggested that the units or modules should also be simple, flexible and accessible in themselves with a clear focus and not prescriptive. Another common theme was that you would like a regional/local focus and more individual level data. This may be achieved through local customisation.

Encouragingly, you would all recommend involvement in the CHCC project to others and a large majority of you are interested in hosting a pilot study or workshop. Indeed there was such enthusiasm for workshops that I fear we have more hosts than we could possibly visit. For those that did not want to host pilots this was because they were not from a teaching/academic detment, although this should not necessarily preclude people. Another common suggestion regarded the time that material should be released for testing or use. Unfortunately there was diversity as to the time needed to incorporate material but an Aug/Sept and Feb/May release would appear to accommodate most needs.

Individual comments that we will also pay attention to are ensuring data is available in as many formats as possible, that the portal can provide a single central access/registration point and that there is not an over-reliance on SPSS/statistical tools.

Thank you all again for your feedback. Our next phase of consultation will be to conduct a wider needs analysis survey as well as subject specific consultation and evaluation when pilot material is released. You will of course be kept fully informed of all these developments.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Ian Anderson

Lecturer in New Technologies for the Humanities
Humanities Advanced Technology and Information Institute
University of Glasgow

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