Instruments

The research made use of two instruments in this study. The first was used for the interview with the moderator of the mailing list, the second was used for the survey among members of the Political Science Society.

The first instrument is an interview schedule. It was composed of a total of six questions that aimed to find out what the objectives of putting up the discussion group were, what was done to implement the new technology, and an overview of the activities that have taken place in the mailing list. For a full copy of the discussion guide, refer to Appendix A (Discussion Guide as a Word Document).

The second instrument is a questionnaire. It was composed of four parts. The first part gathered demographic information. The second part determined the connectivity of the members of the organization. This part was designed to find out the frequency and accessibility of an internet connection. The third part determined the familiarity of the respondents with the technology. This not only aimed to find out if the respondents knew how to make use of the technology but their opinions on matters pertaining to the mailing list itself. Finally, the fourth part is a place where the respondents can give their feedback on the mailing list. For a full copy of the questionnaire, refer to Appendix B (Questionnaire as a Word Document).