Who are we talking about? Identifying scientific populations online

In this paper, we begin to address the question of which scientists are online. Prior studies have shown that Web users are only a segmented reflection of the actual off-line population, and thus when studying online behaviors we need to be explicit about the representativeness of the sample under study to accurately relate trends to populations. When studying social phenomena on the Web, the identification of individuals is essential to be able to generalize about specific segments of a population off-line. Specifically, we present a method for assessing the online activity of a known set of actors. The method is tailored to the domain of science. We apply the method to a population of Dutch computer scientists and their coauthors. The results when combined with metadata of the set provide insights into the representativeness of the sample of interest. The study results show that scientists of above-average tenure and performance are overrepresented online, suggesting that when studying online behaviors of scientists we are commenting specifically on the behaviors of above-average-performing scientists. Given this finding, metrics of Web behaviors of science may provide a key tool for measuring knowledge production and innovation at a faster rate than traditional delayed bibliometric studies

An Examination of Sources of Instructional Feedback and the Connection with Self Determination Theory and Job Satisfaction

This study looked to gain information and detail on seven sources of instructional feedback. Instructor’s utilization and perceived value of those sources were examined, along with fulfillment of psychological needs and present job satisfaction. Instructors from Western Kentucky University (WKU; N = 126) were solicited as participants. An online survey included five different measures. The first, a Sources of Feedback Questionnaire, was created to examine various sources of instructional feedback utilized by participants (institutional student ratings, consultation with faculty, soliciting feedback from students, self-assessment, self-observation, peer/administrator observation, and team teaching). The second measure, adapted from the Basic Needs Satisfaction questionnaire (Deci et al., 2001), was based on the proposal that with the satisfaction of basic needs instructors will show greater job satisfaction. The third questionnaire was a measure of present job satisfaction (Larkin, 1990; Oshagbemi, 1995; Oshagbemi, 1999). The fourth measure was a measure of Competence Valuation (Elliot et al., 2000). The final measure was a basic questionnaire created to obtain demographic information for each participant. Of the seven sources of feedback studied, self-assessment (i.e., reflection) was found to be the most utilized source, whereas self-observation (i.e., videotaping) was found to be the least utilized. The most helpful source of feedback to improve an instructor’s effectiveness was soliciting feedback from students; institutional student ratings were found to be the least helpful. Soliciting feedback from students was also found to be the most useful source of feedback for improving teaching. Job satisfaction was significantly correlated with the three basic psychological needs as well as two other items from the basic needs questionnaire (enjoyment and effort). Job satisfaction of participants was also significantly correlated with competence valuation and the utilization of institutional student ratings. In terms of fulfillment of the basic psychological needs and utilization of the feedback sources, relatedness was the only need that was found to be significantly correlated with utilization of feedback