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Questia
survey
By Kerstin Goldsby
Browsing in a library of over 60,000 books without ever leaving one's
room - a dream or a reality? Thanks to questia.com, a new research
tool for students, that dream has been realized.
This online resource provides full text books and journal articles
at any time. The price tag for such a source: $19.95 per month.
The search process is similar to searching a standard database in
a library. Questia matches key words with books and articles in its
archive, or suggests other subjects to further the search. All results
from the search are instantly accessible.
The search continues by looking in the text of the document. Questia
provides the option of examining words or subjects within the book.
The topic can be found within a matter of seconds.
Users have several options. The information can be highlighted and
saved. Notes can be made next to specific ideas or injected directly
into a paper. Questia inserts the quote into a document with complete
citations. Various styles of citing information are available. Questia
also provides citations for a reference page.
The 60,000 books and journals now available range from Anthropology
to Literature. This library is lacking, however, in the areas of Theology
and Christian resources. No search results were found when key words
"Bible," "Jesus Christ" or "Ephesians"
were entered.
Questia survey provides a glimpse into the life of college students.
On Leisure Time
- 53% watch less than two hours of television per day
- 69% admit to catching more than seven hours of shut-eye per night
- 19% say they don't call home enough
On Study Habits
- 66% deny skipping class even once a week
- 40% spend one to two hours online per day
- 87% prefer to conduct late-night research via the Internet from
home or in their dorm room rather than trekking to the library,
and 81% spend three hours or less at the library per week
On Finances
- 28% claim to sometimes ask for a handout from Mom and Dad, while 53%
pay for at least half of their college life
- 75% spend $50 or less per week on entertainment such as din- ing out
and shopping
Questia's survey was conducted online and polled 1,500 students. Sixty-four
percent of the survey participants were freshmen or sophomores; 20%
were juniors; and 16% were seniors.
The original idea behind Questia was to have 250,000 books online.
These would include material published in the 20th century as well
as texts from earlier centuries.
The founder, CEO, president and director of Questia is Troy Williams.
The idea for the company came from his educational experience at Harvard
Law School. He was viewing a case study online and pondered the possibility
of researching in the same manner.
After graduation Williams began to research the idea of an online
library. He pursued the idea and eventually partnered with Justin
Barid in 1998. Together they searched for investors.
In April of 1999, Rod Canion, founder of Compaq Computer Corporation,
provided the financial means. In January 2001 Questia Media, Inc.
was formed. Questia Media, Inc. presently has offices in Houston,
New York and Los Angeles. The management team includes individuals
previously with Compaq, Disney and HarperCollins. The vision of Questia
is to "transform the nature of academic research and democratize
access to knowledge." |
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