Change Takes Time; HRD's response rate -Respectable

I am examining two university studies on the use of iPods.

The Duke University study distributed iPods to all 1700 freshman in the Class of 2008. At the end of the fall semester, a survey found that 3/4 of these students used their iPods at least once for class, mostly for recording lectures or transporting computer files.

Relating this to HRD and my action research study, HRD did offer iPods to users. Also, it will take time for members to begin using the iPod. I wonder what the rate of use would be with HRD staff at the end of 2006 fall semester. (www.dukemagazine.duke.edu/dukemag/issues/091005/ipod1.html).

At the end of 2005 fall quarter at the University of Washington (UW), 28%(41/148) iPod users from a specific class completed a survey. The researchers concluded that the response rate was "respectable" for an informal and the voluntary nature of the survey.

If I considered my survey on the use of pod technology in the same view, then the 41% response rate exceeds that respectable response. If the survey results examined the 0 responses from HRD clerical/maintenance staff, the response rate would have been 28%, the same exact rate as the UW study. It would be interesting to examine the reasons why this group did not respond. Members might have assumed that only producers should reply to the survey. (http://catalyst.washington.edu/projects/podcasting_report.pdf#search=%22evaluate%20podcast%22).

It will be interesting to compare the survey results if I repeated it midyear.