IN THE FIFTH ANNIVERSARY issue of Family Chronicle, we published the results of a reader survey. We found the answers fascinating and useful.
        As this issue is largely devoted to using the Internet for genealogy, we thought we would do a second survey, specifically on how readers are using the Internet. The survey was e-mailed on 20 September, only a week before going to press, in order that the findings would be as up-to-date as possible. We received a healthy 29.5 percent response, considered very respectable for Internet surveys.
        We should make it clear that the results are likely biased towards those who are heavy users of the Internet but previous surveys have shown that the majority of Family Chronicle readers are major Internet users. Surveys were sent to different readers than those of the first questionnaire, however we were able to make comparisons between the two groups when the same question was asked and the results were virtually identical.
        The answers were quite anonymous - we have no way of knowing who responded or the identity of individual respondents. A handful of the questionnaires included questions for us: of course we are unable to reply due the anonymity.

"How people use the various facilities of the Internet."

Heavy Users
There is no doubt that Family Chronicle readers - and we do not believe that they are that different from most other genealogists - are making massive use of the Internet. Forty percent tell us that they use the Internet at least daily for conducting genealogical research and a staggering 86 percent use it at least weekly! What is more, 78 percent claim that they are online for at least an hour a day; only three percent use it less than an hour a week.

Connection speed
Fifty-nine percent of respondents use a 56K modem, while nine percent are still on a 28K connection. Sixteen percent have high-speed connections, while 15 percent are not sure of their connection speed.
        The most popular search engines were Google and Yahoo, with the once-favorite AltaVista a distant third.
        Microsoft seems to have won the battle of the browsers: 70 percent use Internet Explorer compared to 31 percent for Netscape Navigator and 20 percent for AOL.

Proper Sourcing
One of the major criticisms of conducting research on the Internet is that the information is virtually all from compiled sources (i.e. the records are not original). Some census records and the Ellis Island records do allow you to examine images of the originals but the vast majority of information is really indexes of records.
        We asked readers if they tried to confirm the information found on the Internet. It appears people are well aware of the need to confirm data and 91 percent claim that they do try to confirm the information they have discovered.
        Forty-two percent tell us that they use the "Connect to the Internet" feature in their genealogy software.
        People are certainly trading a lot of information. Forty-nine percent have sent GEDCOMS, 68 percent have sent photographs, 21 percent have sent pdf files, while 74 percent have sent text documents. Overall, 92 percent have sent genealogical data over the Internet.
        Most respondents seem comfortable with ordering over the Internet. Sixty-two percent have ordered genealogical products online, while a further 27 percent would order if there was something they wanted! Only 15 percent are uncomfortable buying products online.
        When we asked for general comments, several respondents expressed concern over errors in the data. One reader was particularly expressive about careless information:

My biggest concern is all the mistakes. Someone else has put some of my personal information on (not authorized) and I cannot remove it - [the site allows] only the person that put it on to remove it! I can't contact them because the e-mail address is no longer valid. This is not right and something needs to be done to address it.

Those "Family Tree Maker" CDs are the worst as there is no way to remove the incorrect data and they continue to spew out the wrong data around the world, along with the horrific advertising "Complete your family data fast - buy these CDs." Of course the people selling the CDs do nothing to verify the data. To me this is the biggest fraud being perpetrated on the genealogy world. People are buying them hand over fist because they are too lazy to do the research!

"How respondents rate the various subscription database services."

"Readers are spending a lot of time conducting their research on the Internet."

"The major free databases are clearly the most popular with readers."

"How the survey respondents rated the most popular newsletters."