Discussion of Results

The results of the phase 2 survey show that stakeholders are more alike than different. When comparing the aggregated responses to individual stakeholder responses, many similarities were noted. The average stakeholder uses a variety of sources in a variety of formats to obtain information. 'Print Media' was the source used most often to get information, followed by 'Groups' and 'Professionals.' 'Regular Print' and 'Computers,' both online and file/disk, were the formats which stakeholders preferred for obtaining information. In addition, over half of the stakeholders reported using the Internet 'Very Often' or 'Often' to access information.

Examining the responses concerning the usefulness of and the ability to find information from disability research, a general consensus was observed among stakeholder groups. When all stakeholder responses were aggregated, 84 percent stated that disability research was useful. However, fewer stakeholders (65 percent) are able to find disability research. One might ask the following question about this discrepancy: if stakeholders sometimes have difficulty finding disability research, how do they know it is useful?

While there were many similarities in the responses of stakeholder groups, there were also differences. The widest differences among stakeholder groups to the first five questions were found between State Directors of Special Education (SDSE) and Legislators/Aides (LEG). State Directors of Special Education eported the greatest variety of sources and formats to get information, whereas Legislators/Aides used the fewest. The response selected most often was 'Professionals.' This suggests that Legislators/Aides rely more on other people as information sources. In addition, while there was agreement among groups that disability research is useful, Legislators/Aides had the highest percent of 'Don't Know' and 'Not Useful' responses to this question. This may imply that many Legislators/Aides may not use or have adequate access to disability research in their work.

When interpreting the above results, one must consider that differences between State Directors of Special Education (SDSE) and Legislators/Aides (LEG) groups may be a result of variations in response rate. Ninety-six percent of the State Directors of Special Education responded to the survey, while only 25 percent of Legislators/Aides responded. In addition, there was no differentiation between surveys completed by Legislators or Aides. This may account for this group's higher percent of 'Don't Know' responses to questions three, four, and five. The NCDDR did attempt to improve the response rate for Legislators/Aides by contacting federal legislative offices prior to participation in the survey. A legislative aide told NCDDR that members of this stake-holder group rarely respond to surveys. One-fourth of the Legislators/Aides responded, which for this group is a good response rate.

The primary purpose in adding question six for the stakeholder survey was to facilitate a comparison of (a) the way consumers usually get and like to get information with (b) the methods stakeholders use to disseminate information to their consumers.

Consumer responses in phase 1 to questions one and two are reported in The Research Exchange, Volume 2, Number 4 (NCDDR, 1997, p. 5). Responses to question one showed that consumers usually get information from 'Popular Media' sources such as television, radio, movies, and videos (76 percent), and 'Print Media' such as books, magazines, newspapers, pamphlets, and brochures (73 percent). These were followed by 'Other People' such as parents, family, and co-workers (68 percent), 'Groups' including meetings, workshops, classes, and conferences (63 percent), and 'Professional People' such as doctors, lawyers, teachers, and caseworkers (62 percent). 'Computers,' whether e-mail, Internet, or file/disk were identified by only about one-fourth of the consumer respondents. Preferred formats reported by consumers on question two included 'Regular Print' (66 percent), 'Video tape' (36 percent), 'Audio tape' (28 percent) and 'Computer' (26 percent).

There is some alignment to the responses made by stakeholders concerning methods they use to get information to consumers. About three-fourths of the stakeholders cited 'Personal Communication' and 'Meetings' as the two methods used the most by their organizations, while about two-thirds of the consumers cited 'Other People,' 'Groups,' and 'Professional People' as information sources. However, greater numbers of consumers identified 'Popular Media' and 'Print Media' as primary sources of information. Stakeholders reported 'Newsletters' and 'Information mail outs' as the third and fourth methods used to get information to consumers. In addition, only about one-third of the stakeholders identified 'Reports' and less than one-fourth selected 'Library/Information Holdings' as methods used to get information to consumers.

NCDDR survey results would suggest 'Popular Media' as the most effective method to disseminate information to consumers, however, there was no option for 'Popular Media' sources on question six of the Stakeholder survey. One stakeholder group, MEDIA, reported using 'Popular Media' to a great degree by choosing the response 'Other' and identifying newspapers, journals, magazines, television, radio, and so on as the information formats they use to get information to their consumers. MEDIA also reported frequent use of 'Computer Online' (45 percent) to get information to consumers. Other stakeholder groups with higher use of 'Computer Online' were SDSE (82 percent) and RESNA (39 percent). However, just over one fourth of consumers chose 'Computer Online' as an information source and preferred format in phase one of this study.

NCDDR hypothesized that the stakeholder group most closely aligned with consumers would be administrators of independent living organizations (IL). In some ways, this hypothesis was supported. While the IL group's highest response choice for sharing information was 'Personal Communication' (92 percent), 'Other People' (parents, family, and co-workers) was chosen by over two-thirds of the consumers. Because of consumers' participation in independent living organizations, 'Other People' would be a more likely response than 'Professionals' when communicating with the staff of these organizations.

The findings of the phase 1 consumer survey also determined that a majority of consumers (72 percent) reported that disability research is useful to them, but over 50 percent reported that they did not have or did not know of ways to find this information (NCDDR, 1997, pp. 6-7). Stakeholders reported slightly higher numbers: 84 percent identified information from disability research as useful, while 65 percent reported their organizations have ways to get such information. With improved dissemination channels, stakeholders might be able to help consumers find and use disability research information.

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