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In my experience, the most important element of a good survey form is simplicity: keep it to the essentials. That way you are more likely to get a positive response. There is always a temptation to ask as many questions as you can think of about as many subjects as you can think of; but the less you ask the better the response is likely to be. Play your cards right and you can always come back for more; it does not have to be a one-shot exercise. You can send out forms or set up an online form and wait for the responses to come in. Benefits: simple, little effort on your part (until you have to compile the results). Disadvantages: many people will not bother to respond or do it incompletely or badly; you do not get much feedback and people may interpret the categories in wildly differing ways, making the results difficult to compare. Or you can go out and do it yourself, clipboard in hand. Advantages: you get thorough, comparable results. Disadvantages: very labour-intensive and time- consuming (it's actually very difficult to write and listen at the same time, ideally you need two people for a survey); you risk being perceived as an interfering busybody. My advice is to mix the two. Identify the key contact in each department, meet and explain what you are looking for, give them a fairly simple form to fill in (online is probably better) with a deadline, and gently nag them until they come up with the result. One crucial point is where the request is seen to be coming from; if you have official approval at a high level, responses are likely to be more accurate and comprehensive. I did a detailed survey for a London borough that had official backing and a project board - which was useful for exercising gentle pressure on defaulters. A lot depends on your relationships with the key staff around the organisation - I am increasingly of the view that the secret of good records management is building good relationships - so, three things that will help: 1. Explain why you are doing this - how it will benefit the whole organisation, and especially them; 2. Let them see themselves as part of the overall picture - a certain amount of competition will help get results (nobody wants to be the ones trailing in the rear); 3. Give them something back - a retention schedule, a list of specific materials that can be thrown away, helpful guidance on organising records. A major stumbling block to information audits is that people find it hard to understand what the use of it is, and why they need to find time to take part. 'Cold calling' is difficult; anyone in business will tell you it is much easier to get repeat business from existing customers than recruit new ones. Build relationships with key staff, help them do their jobs, and you can come back to them for more information, and more comprehensive information. It ought to be a two-way process, and an ongoing one. Rodney ------------------------------------------- Rodney Breen Records Manager University of Aberdeen University Office King's College ABERDEEN AB24 3FX Tel: 01224 273175 Fax: 01224 273984 Email: [log in to unmask] For any technical queries re JISC please email [log in to unmask] For any content based queries, please email [log in to unmask]