Assessing Community Telecentres: Guidelines for Researchers

Description

Telephone, fax, email, Internet; telemedicine, distance education, news distribution, telecommuting are some of the services offered by the community telecentre. But do they truly respond to the communication and information needs of the communities they are intended to serve? What impact do they have on social equity and economic development? As community telecenters become more commonplace across Africa and in other developing regions of the world, these questions take on an increasing urgency. This guidebook will assist researchers as they assess and evaluate the role and impact of community telecenters. It provides an introduction to some of the key research issues, a framework for telecenter evaluation, and an impetus for research teams to share ideas, instruments, and methods. 'Assessing Community Telecentres' will interest researchers, practitioners and academics in information science, communications, international development and evaluation. Introduction ..............1 Indicators in Telecentre Studies ..............23 Issues in Sampling and Surveying ..............59 Matching Research Methods to Data Needs ..............75