Chapter 56: The archive of EU distance teaching institutions

Chapter 56 The archive of EU distance teaching institutions Luigia Acciaroli Università degli studi di Roma III

Set

Our research was vitally linked to the construction of a database, an indispensable support tool when various series of data must be combined and crossed in different ways in order to conduct analyses with precise aims. The first stage of the survey consisted, in fact, in collecting essential data on all the European distance teaching bodies (names, types etc.) and how to contact them (telephone, fax, address etc.).

The resons behind the decision to set up a database are mainly the following:

to have the possibility of accumulating and organising the data collected on European bodies involved in distance teaching according to certain principles;
to make available not only a pool of information but also an organised collection of data that would allow the mass of information to be accessed and managed simply and rapidly, making it possible to conduct selective research according to specific criteria and to transform data and derive new information.

By combining the possibilities offered by an archive set up along precise informational guidelines (in which the information is categorised according to a pre-defined structure), with the limitless capacity for manipulation offered by the computer, the database becomes a polyfunctional tool with no equal. For example, data can be organised alphabetically, grouped according to logical conditions, or information can be summarised, and printed in various forms.

The structure of an archive needs to be planned very carefully, and the planning stage is a very sensitive and decisive one. It is important to focus on what information is important in the context in which the archive is being set up. In otehr words, among all the attributes of the subjects to be archived, it is necessary to select only those considered useful for the operations (research, selection., elaboration, etc.) intended.

In our case, since the archive is aimed at providing a census of the European institutions involved in distance learning, sampling for research and organising the distribition of the questionnaire on testing strategies, planning the single entries followed the following criteria:

selecting useful information for defining a sample (nation, type of institution)
including all the indispensable information to be able to contact single institutions through more than one channel of communication (post, telephone, email)
including information that can be univocally interpreted and that is useful for building logical keys needed for conducting research with precise aims.

The following table presents the structure of the archive:

contents of field	name of field	type	Length
Number of identification	num	number	4
type	tipo	letter	3
name of institution	Ist1	letter	100
name of institution	Ist2	letter	35
postal address	ind	letter	35
country acronym	nazsig	letter	3
postcode	cap	letter	32
name country	naz	letter	30
contact name	cog	letter	20
contact name	nom	letter	20
telephone number	tel1	letter	20
telephone number	tel2	letter	20
fax number	fax	letter	20
electronic mail	email	letter	40
www address	www	letter	40
send questionnaire	quest	logic	1

Table 4. The structure of the archive on European distance learning institutions

Collecting information

Once the informational aims were identified, planning and setting up the archive was relatively easy. Collecting the data, on the other hand, was much more difficult.

Our first source of information was the CRIAD archive from which we extracted the names of various experts involved in distance teaching in various European countries with whom collaboration exchanges were already underway. These experts were the people to whom we sent the preliminary informative questionnaire(1) that aimed to gather information on distance learning in each and every EU country. Only six countries sent back their questionnaires and not even all of these were complete. Greece provided us with a detailed list of distance learning centres operating there, giving us precious information on an rea we knew very little about.

Another important source of information was the FUKUR archive set up in the ambit of the same research project by a group at the FernUniversität. Since the archive had been set up with the same programme as ours (DB5), we were able to download directly the fields that interested us after adapting the structure.

Finally, the International Centre for Distance Education, provided us with a list of institutions which would provide us with further information and data.

It is important to note that the sources of information we have mentioned, most of which were set up with different aims than ours', rarely provided us with all the data we needed to fill in our archive. In the vast majority of cases it was necessary to contact the institution directly to complete or correct the information. In many cases it was impossible to establish contact with the institutions involved and other means were adopted, such as asking for help from the experts or contacting the embassies in the various countries.

At the end of this work of control and completion, 819 institutions were included in our archive. Among these, we were only able to verify the wxactiness of the information for ... institutions. In the appendices it is possible to consult the lists of the institutes controlled, organised according to type of institute (DPU = Distance Teaching University, ULDE = University-Level Distance Education, GDTP = Government Distance Training Provision, PDTP = Propriety Distance Training Provision).

Using the VOCTADE computer archive and further developments.

Managing the information archived in the database has allowed us prepare the lists from which to extract samples of single countries or of the four types of institute.(2) It also made easily available all the necessary data to keep up contacts with institutions that have already or have still to complete the questionnaire on Evaluation Strategies, the main tool of our research.

This first archive will become part of a system of correlated archives, a real database of all the data regarding evaluation systems in distance teaching institutions in Europe.

Notes to the text:

See Gli strumenti di misurazione e la loro somministrazione, by A. Salerni, in this same report.
See "The definition of the sample and methods of administration by L.Piria in this report.