Northwestern University student webpage pulled

The original email and survey:

As a frequent lurker in these newsgroups, I have received a great deal of information that has enabled me to be a more effective citizen in dealing with some of the same concerns I've seen here. I hope you don't think this is too intrusive, but the topic of political information is important and interesting to me, and I have developed a research interest in the use of Usenet for gathering information about politics.

Typical research into political opinion focuses on face-to-face and press information gathering only. I would like to investigate electronic information gathering in order to further our understanding of this new medium. If you are willing to help me in this regard, please complete and return the following questionnaire. My professor and I have scaled it down to less than 50 questions, and it should only take about 5 to 10 minutes to complete. You can simply reply to this message as private e-mail to [address deleted] OR you can go to a web site I set up and just click on the responses, [address deleted].

This is an academic survey done as part of my undergraduate studies at Northwestern University. It is NOT a marketing survey or the prelude to a sales pitch. All responses will be kept confidential, and will be rendered anonymous as they are collected for the groups as a whole. No report will identify you as an individual or list your Internet address. Again, please let me emphasize that this is an academic research project and should only take 5-10 minutes to complete.

Thanks for your time and help!

Eric Dahl

INSTRUCTIONS: The following statements refer to reasons why you may seek on-line political information or to your ability to get information from people in a variety of contexts. Please indicate how strongly you agree or disagree with each statement by inserting one of the following numbers in the space provided at the left of each statement:

5= Strongly Agree
4= Agree
3= Neutral
2= Disagree
1= Strongly Disagree


__a. I'm afraid to talk to my close, personal, face-to-face contacts about this topic.
__b. My face-to-face acquaintances might think less of me if we talked about this issue.
__c. I would feel embarrassed if people I know off-line knew I had these concerns.
__d. My face-to-face relationships hold things back to spare my feelings
__e. In face-to-face information relationships, you get too dependent on others.
__f. People I know face-to-face are too harsh about this topic.
__g. In seeking information in my face-to-face relationships, I give up a measure of control over my life.
__h. I wouldn't want some of my friends and family to be aware of this issue.
__i. My on-line acquaintances are *less* likely to judge me negatively.
__j. After I receive face-to-face political information I feel obligated to return the information even though I may not want to.
__k. The advice I receive from my face-to-face relationships is not objective.
__l. On-line, I can say personal things without others knowing who I really am.
__m. I can say things anonymously on-line.
__n. There is less embarrassment being anonymous on-line.
__o. I always get an opportunity to express myself on-line.
__p. No one knows my true identity on-line.
__q. Face-to-face interactions do not always allow me time to compose my thoughts.
__r. It's hard to put my thoughts into words on the spot face-to-face.
__s. I have time to craft a well-thought message on-line.
__t. There's plenty of time to say exactly what I mean on-line.
__u. I am not expected to continue my interaction/relationship after I receive on-line information.
__v. On-line information is always there when I need it.
__w. Face-to-face political information is not available 24 hours a day.
__x. Online political information is available any time of day or night.
__y. I cannot always receive face-to-face political information when I want it.
What is your...
Age?____
Gender?___
____Do you pay for the account you use to access Usenet? ("yes" or "no")
____Have you ever used an anonymous re-mailer when posting to Usenet? ("yes" or "no")
Any other comments, in your own words, about the value or benefits of on-line political information?

Thanks for your help!

Eric Dahl

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