Thanks, Rosemary. I hope you are well - I think you wrote to me about
your research into car drivers and health some months ago. Has this been
completed and written up yet?
This report is 30 pages long and apparently comes without a copy of the
questionnaire, but does come with a letter saying you can get the raw
data on a CD for another 100 quid! Two people have written to say that
they were disappointed with what they received. The problem for me is
that I know of it's existence and - in my mind - I need to look at it.
I'm wondering what my supervisor will say!
You will have seen Chris Yewlett's note that he has ordered it for
Cardiff University library so you could try Inter-Library Loan, as I
will. I think the British Library Document Supply Centre would buy it if
a request was received.
You've raised a very interesting point about the true cost of research.
Several years ago, a well-known architectural practice produced what was
the definitive work on (I think) intelligent buildings. It cost over
40,000 pounds with an executive summary at 35 pounds. There must have
been some relationship between the costing of the report and the number
of copies they expected to sell. To have purchased a copy for the
university library would have taken the whole of my bookfund for that
subject area for the year, but it brought home the actual cost of the
research. I never did get to know how may copies they sold! But to
publish looked good, though the number of "others" who might have
benefitted must have been very small.
Roy
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>From: "Rosemary Hiscock" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask], [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: FW: Women & Transport research report & cost
>Date: Wed, Aug 18, 1999, 10:30
>
>
> I also wanted to purchase this report but was prevented by the price.
> Their suggestion to me was to buy the report with several others
> unfortunately however I am the only person in my department to whom this
> report has major relevance.
>
> Much of the problem could have been solved if they had had a free report
> summary so that we could see what we were paying for
>
> They also said that the price of the report was simply to cover
> costs. I was wondering whether other similar reports do cost this
> sort of amount or whether they are subsidised in some way. If stlg40 is
> the true cost of the research we would be doing ourselves as
> researchers (if we are researchers!) a disservice if we were unable
> to pay for the cost of research work
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