Attitudinal Survey Component of the Study Quantity, 

Quality, and Support for Research in the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service: An Organizational Assessment 

Report of Methods and Frequencies 

By Jennefer Ragan Neilson, Berton Lee Lamb, Earlene M. Swann, Joan Ratz, Phadrea D. Ponds, and Joyce Liverca 

Open-File Report 2005–1449 

U.S. Department of the Interior 

U.S. Geological Survey 
U.S. Department of the Interior 

Gale A. Norton, Secretary 

U.S. Geological Survey 

P. Patrick Leahy, Acting Director 

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia 2005 

For product and ordering information: 


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Suggested citation: 

Neilson, J.R., Lamb, B.L., Swann, E.M., Ratz, J., Ponds, P.D., Liverca, J., 2005, Attitudinal survey component 

of the study quantity, quality, and support for research in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: An 

organizational assessment, report of methods and frequencies: U.S. Geological Survey, Biological 

Resources Discipline, Open-File Report 2005-1449, 14 p. 

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endorsement by the U.S. Government. 

Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual 

copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted material contained within this report. 

ii 
Contents 

Purpose ................................................................................................................................................................................1 


Survey Methods..................................................................................................................................................................2 


Participants......................................................................................................................................................................2 


Survey Development ......................................................................................................................................................3 


Procedures ......................................................................................................................................................................4 


Sample Characteristics .....................................................................................................................................................4 


Question Summaries ..........................................................................................................................................................5 


Question Track 1 .............................................................................................................................................................6 


Question Track 2 ...........................................................................................................................................................12 


Final Questions ..............................................................................................................................................................13 


References Cited ..............................................................................................................................................................14 


iii 
iv

Attitudinal Survey Component of the Study Quantity, 

Quality, and Support for Research in the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service: An Organizational Assessment 

Report of Methods and Frequencies 

By Jennefer Ragan Neilson, Berton Lee Lamb, Earlene M. Swann, Joan Ratz, Phadrea D. Ponds, and Joyce Liverca 

Purpose 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is responsible for managing the Nation’s fish and 

wildlife resources so that these trust resources are preserved for the present and future use and 

enjoyment of the citizens of the United States. The FWS achieves this mission by managing many 

programs. These include the national system of refuges and fish hatcheries, Fish and Wildlife 

Management Assistance Offices, migratory birds program, law enforcement, and working with 

tribal, state, and other Federal agencies to ensure protection of threatened and endangered species. 

Another role of the FWS is consulting with tribal, state, and other Federal agencies and private 

sector interests on the best conservation management practices consistent with Federal law. Each of 

these activities requires a workforce that is recognized for its professionalism, dedication to public 

service, and command of expert knowledge. Recognition for expert knowledge in fish and wildlife 

conservation is demonstrated, in part, when FWS personnel direct, conduct, or report research that 

is well-designed to answer questions of importance for natural resource management. The data 

reported in this document are one part of a three-part study of the status of organizational support 

for research in FWS, which was commissioned by the Directorate of the FWS. Funding for this 

study was provided by the FWS, and the Science Support Program of the U.S. Geological Survey 

(USGS). 

In 1994, the biological research functions of the FWS were transferred to the National 

Biological Survey, and subsequently into the USGS. This transfer was principally accomplished by 

moving whole research units from one agency to another. The result was that some employees 

whose positions were involved with research were not transferred. In addition, some research, 

information, and management needs of the FWS have continued to be met by studies conducted 

within the FWS itself. Although the FWS relies on the USGS and others for most basic research 

investigations, the FWS also conducts its own studies to meet management needs. Because it is 

vital for FWS employees to be able to conduct such tactical and applied research tasks in a timely 

manner, the agency must promote the culture necessary to support and encourage these activities. 

Such research activities are spread widely across the various programs of the FWS, and there is 

presently no collective, formal, or systematic record of planned or existing research activities. In 

1

commissioning this organizational assessment research, the Directorate of the FWS recognized that 

it would be to the advantage of the agency to more fully understand its research capacity. 

To develop a clearer picture of the nature, extent, quality, and degree of administrative 

support available for conducting research within the FWS, investigations have been undertaken to: 

1.	 identify positions in the FWS that may include, in whole or in part, a component of 

scientific research; 

2.	 identify organizational units within the FWS that may conduct research as a significant 

portion of their mission; and 

3.	 assess the attitudes of employees and managers about the obstacles and opportunities for 

scientific research existing within the FWS by using a scaled-response survey 

instrument. 

The findings presented in this report represent the basic results derived from the attitude 

assessment survey conducted in the last quarter of 2004. The findings set forth in this report are the 

frequency distributions for each question in the survey instrument for all respondents. The only 

statistics provided are descriptive in character - namely, means and associated standard deviations. 

Survey Methods 

Participants 

Our goal was to select a sample of employees who had job titles and grades that made them 

candidates to conduct research. We queried the Federal Personnel/Payroll System (FPPS) for FWS 

employees and limited this query to professional positions (including biologists, ecologists, 

hydrologists, economists, etc.); this procedure eliminated administrative, technical, clerical, and 

other positions. Subsequently, we created a database of all FWS employees who were obtained 

from this query. We defined this database of employees as our population (n = 3,939); this is the 

total population of FWS employees who hold positions that might allow them to conduct research. 

We used standard probability statistics to determine that a sample size of 843 employees would 

allow us to say with 95% confidence that the error attributable to sampling and other random 

effects would be plus or minus 3% for the overall survey. In survey research, it is common to have 

a response rate in the range of 65%. Therefore, in order to obtain at least 843 respondents, and to 

make sure our completed sample was representative of the population, we determined we needed to 

administer the survey to at least 1,297 individuals. 

We also wanted to ensure that the eight regions (Regions: 1–7, and 9) within the FWS were 

proportionately represented in the survey sample. We stratified the random sample so that the 

number of participants in the survey sample from each region was representative of the proportion 

that each region makes up of the study population. Thus, we calculated the percentage of 

employees that each region contributed to the entire study population. We established parameters 

within the statistical software package known as the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 

(SPSSTM) so that the program would randomly select a percentage of employees from each region 

that corresponds to the region’s percentage of the study population. For example, Region 1 makes 

up approximately 25% of the total study population of potential FWS researchers. Therefore, we 

used the SPSSTM software to randomly select 353 employees from Region 1 so that employees from 

this region would make up approximately 25% of the study sample. Once we made certain the 

appropriate percentage of participants from each region was represented in the study sample, we 

2

ended up with a sample size of 1392. This figure slightly exceeds the targeted sample size of 1297 

needed to say with 95% confidence that the error attributable to sampling and other random effects 

would be plus or minus 3% for the overall survey. 

In addition to the stratified random sample of potential FWS researchers, we identified a 

group of FWS employees who had published at least one article in a peer-reviewed, scientific 

journal since 1995 while they were employees of the FWS. This resulted in 492 names. Out of this 

group of “known” researchers, we included in our study sample those who were in professional 

series positions and for whom we had email addresses (n = 471). Adding the known researchers to 

the random sample of 1,392 professional series employees (Table 1) resulted in a total sample size 

of 1,863. 

Table 1. Description of sampling design. 

Region # of individuals receiving the survey % of overall study sample 

Region 1 353 25 

Region 2 157 11 

Region 3 149 11 

Region 4 214 15 

Region 5 132 10 

Region 6 176 13 

Region 7 93 7 

Region 9 118 9 

Total 1392 -

a 

Known researchers = 471 

b 

Total sample size = 1863 

Survey Development 

Our objective for the survey instrument was to ask questions that would ascertain the 

attitudes and perceptions of employees involved in research regarding (1) the nature of their 

research assignments, (2) the resources available for their research activities, (3) how their research 

results are reported, (4) how their research results are used, (5) both the obstacles and the 

opportunities for conducting research, and (6) the level of satisfaction they experienced associated 

with working in a research capacity at the FWS. We wrote a number of items to map onto these 

objectives. Two pre-tests of the survey instrument were conducted in order to improve the survey. 

The first pre-test of the survey instrument took the form of a review by FWS regional 

research coordinators who were asked to either pre-test the survey instrument themselves or 

identify someone in their region who would be willing to do so. Specifically, they were asked to 

serve as a pre-test panel by completing the questionnaire, recording the time required, and noting 

any difficulties they encountered. They were also encouraged to provide specific feedback on any 

of the items on the survey. Eight individuals served on the first pre-test panel, one from Region 5, 

five from Region 6, and one from Region 9. The second pre-test was given to five field office 

employees of the Service. These employees were asked to complete the questionnaire, record the 

time required, and comment on any problems encountered. The results from these employees were 

examined to ascertain whether or not significant problems could be identified. Finally, three 

3

scientists outside of the U.S. Geological Survey were asked to review the survey instrument 

regarding its content, structure, and wording. The comments and suggestions from both pre-tests 

and the peer review were incorporated into the final survey instrument. 

Procedures 

Dillman’s (2000) Tailored Design Method was followed to conduct the survey. Data were 

collected primarily via an interactive web page located on a server housed at the USGS Fort Collins 

Science Center. Because most FWS employees have access to computers connected to the Internet, 

we followed Dillman’s method by sending email invitations to the FWS employees included in the 

study sample, asking them to access a web page to complete the questionnaire. We provided three 

follow-up invitations via email. Because we recognized that some remote FWS locations would not 

have adequate Internet access and anticipated that we might encounter technical difficulties in 

administering an Internet survey, we provided a back-up procedure. All of the study participants 

were given the options of either downloading a PDF version of the questionnaire or requesting that 

a hard copy of the questionnaire be mailed to them. Before the survey began, notification was given 

to employees indicating that the study was an official activity of the FWS. Of the 1,293 employees 

(69.4%) who responded to the survey , a total of 1149 respondents (88.9%) used the Internet to 

complete the questionnaire and 144 (11.1%) either requested a paper questionnaire or downloaded 

the PDF file and submitted the questionnaire through the mail. 

Sample Characteristics 

Of the 1293 FWS employees who participated in the survey (Table 2), the average age of 

participants was 44.5 years, with a standard deviation of 8.8 years. Sixty-six percent of the sample 

was male. The participants have worked for the FWS an average of 12.8 years, with a standard 

deviation of 8.9 years. We asked participants to designate their highest completed educational 

degree and found that 37% have completed a Bachelor’s Degree, 49% have completed a Master’s 

Degree, and 11% have completed a Doctor of Philosophy Degree. The other 3% of the sample 

completed another type of degree (e.g., High School diploma, Associate’s Degree, Doctor of 

Medicine, etc.). 

Table 2. Description of sample by region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

# of individuals completing the survey % of study sample 

Region 1 233 25.8 

Region 2 89 9.9 

Region 3 95 10.5 

Region 4 135 15 

Region 5 95 10.5 

Region 6 134 14.9 

Region 7 64 7.1 

Region 9 56 6.2 

Total 901 -

a 

Known researchers = 368 

b 

No region designated = +24 

Total number of respondents = 1293 

4 

c 
Question Summaries 

The following are summary statistics for all the questions that appeared in the survey. 

Below is a list of activities that may constitute involvement in research. Please consider 

these activities and place a check mark by all of the activities that you have performed in your 

current position with the FWS (n = 1293). 

If a participant endorsed any one of the items below, they were asked to complete Question 

Track 1. If they did not endorse any one of the items below, they were asked to complete Question 

Track 2. Because of the nature of the survey, some respondents answered questions from both track 

1 and 2. In the analyses, we used data from one track per respondent. 

Activity 

Test hypotheses that further the state of scientific knowledge 

Design methods of data collection for research projects 

Write research project proposals 

Analyze data (statistically or qualitatively) 

Write reports of research results 

Collect data and use those data to evaluate particular management actions 

Collect data and use those data to inform managers or decision-makers who develop plans or 

policies 

Collect data and use those data to provide input to environmental impact statements 

Use monitoring data to detect environmental or ecological trends or causes of trend 

Collaborate with individuals from other organizations (e.g., U.S. Geological Survey, 

universities) on a research project where they may be the Principal Investigator, but you 

write some portion of the final research input 

Supervise or coordinate the efforts of other FWS employees who are engaged in one or more 

of the research activities listed above 

% of sample that 

endorsed item 

30.6 

40.7 

37.5 

53.9 

43.1 

51.4 

52.0 

18.3 

48.1 

39.7 

43.9 

5 
Question Track 1 (76% of overall sample, n = 981) 

1. The following items concern employees’ perceptions of the role of research in the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service. 

1 = 2 = 3 = 4 = 5 = 

Strongly disagree Somewhat disagree Neutral Somewhat agree Strongly agree 

1 (%) 2 (%) 3 (%) 4 (%) 5 (%) n Mean SD 

I am expected to conduct research as part of 

my normal job duties. 16.4 14.8 14.2 52.2 2.5 972 3.1 1.2 

There is a clear career path leading to 

advancement for me through conducting 37.3 29.2 20.9 9.2 3.4 971 2.1 1.1 

research. 

I am able to obtain the financial resources 

that are necessary to conduct research from 31.7 33.9 18.8 13.3 2.3 974 2.2 1.1 

FWS funds. 

My supervisor encourages me to publish 

research. 16.8 14.7 36.9 18.0 13.6 971 3.0 1.2 

I feel that the FWS encourages me to 

publish research. 17.8 22.2 35.2 20.0 4.8 970 2.7 1.1 

I feel comfortable approaching my 

supervisor when I have questions or need 6.2 8.8 21.9 26.4 36.8 971 3.8 1.2 

help regarding my research projects. 

I have been in other positions within the 

FWS that have been more supportive of 

conducting research than my current 13.2 12.3 51.7 12.5 10.3 952 2.9 1.1 

position. a 

I have been in other positions within the 

FWS that have been less supportive of 

conducting research than my current 12.1 12.0 56.3 12.5 7.1 953 2.9 1.0 

position. a 

Support for FWS employees to do research 

has increased in the past 10 years. b 25.1 23.8 29.3 17.9 3.9 963 2.5 1.2 

Support for FWS employees to do research 

has decreased in the past 10 years. b 4.4 16.7 31.3 24.4 23.3 965 3.5 1.1 

I feel that the FWS encourages me to get 

involved in research. 11.6 21.0 26.1 32.8 8.5 970 3.1 1.2 

a 

These two questions are correlated (r = -.31, p < .01). 

b 

These two questions are correlated (r = -.89, p < .01). 

6

2. The following items concern employees’ perceptions of the resources available to them for 

conducting research. 

A. 

1 = 2 = 3 = 4 = 5 = 

Strongly disagree Somewhat disagree Neutral Somewhat agree Strongly agree 

1 (%) 2 (%) 3 (%) 4 (%) 5 (%) n Mean SD 

I have access to the equipment (e.g., tools, 

machinery, etc.) I need to conduct 6.5 15.2 11.5 50.9 15.9 971 3.5 1.1 

research. a 

I have access to the technology (e.g., 

computers, tracking devices, etc.) I need to 4.5 14.8 8.4 51.6 20.6 972 3.7 1.1 

conduct research.a 

I have access to the computer software 

(e.g., statistics, etc.) I need to conduct 4.1 14.2 12.9 45.3 23.6 972 3.7 1.1 

research. a 

I have access to the journals, books, etc. 

that I need to conduct research. a 5.6 14.1 9.9 44.8 25.6 970 3.7 1.2 

I have access to the training I need to keep 

me current in research and data analysis 10.2 22.6 17.7 37.6 11.9 971 3.2 1.2 

methods. a 

My supervisor is a valuable resource to me 

because he or she is knowledgeable about 15.4 20.7 24.3 24.8 14.9 969 3.0 1.3 

research. 

My co-workers are a valuable resource to 

me because they are knowledgeable about 5.7 13.0 15.7 42.4 23.3 970 3.7 1.1 

research. 

I feel that the time necessary to conduct 

research is made available to me. 23.7 28.6 17.1 21.5 9.0 962 2.6 1.3 

I am able to obtain the financial resources 

that are necessary to conduct my research 

by partnering with:

 i. City, county, or state 

government agencies. 16.8 15.9 27.1 32.0 8.1 962 3.0 1.2 

 ii. Other federal agencies. 8.3 10.6 21.1 46.8 13.3 964 3.5 1.1 

iii. Non-profit agencies. 13.6 15.4 36.8 29.1 5.0 961 3.0 1.1

 iv. Private companies. 22.9 19.5 39.8 15.0 2.7 959 2.6 1.1 

 v. Universities. 10.8 12.9 27.7 39.0 9.6 933 3.2 1.1 

a

These five items are interrelated (α = .81) 

7 
B. Which of the following resources do you use to support research projects? Options are rankordered from those receiving the highest average percentage to those receiving the lowest average 

percentage. 

Resources to support research Mean (%) SD (%) 

Base operating funds 42.3 35.8 

Inter-agency agreements with other federal agencies, where they provide some or all 

of the funding 24.9 27.0 

Research grants obtained independently or through collaboration with others 15.1 20.6 

Partnerships with other organizations where no money changes hands 13.5 17.0 

Agreements with other governments (e.g., state, local), where they provide some or 

all of the funding 12.4 16.7 

Agreements with universities and/or non-profit organizations, where they provide 

some or all of the funding 12.0 15.5 

Volunteers 8.2 12.2 

Line-item funds from Congress 6.1 17.2 

Agreements with for-profit organizations, where they provide some or all of the 

funding 4.9 11.8 

Reverted Federal Aid funds 1.2 7.1 

3. The following items concern employees’ perceptions of the nature of their research. 

A. What is the subject or topic of your current or most recent research project? (For example, 

black-footed ferret reintroduction monitoring, migration, reproduction, fire management, 

hydrological study of refuge marshes, etc.) 

[Open-ended responses are not included in this report; see Completion Report]. 

B. What percentage of your job involves research? 

Mean response 25 (%) 

Standard deviation 25.1 

Range of responses 0-100 

Mode response 5 

Median response 15 

C. 

1 = 2 = 3 = 4 = 5 = 

None Very little Some Most All 

1 (%) 2 (%) 3 (%) 4 (%) 5 (%) n Mean SD 

How much of your research do you consider to 

be applied (i.e., collecting data with the goal of 

solving a practical problem)? 

How much of your research do you consider to 

be basic (i.e., collecting data with the goal of 

increasing scientific knowledge)? 

4.0 

24.6 

5.9 

28.5 

15.3 

29.4 

46.7 

14.1 

28.1 

3.4 

958 

948 

3.9 

2.4 

1.0 

1.1 

8 
D. 

1 = 2 = 3 = 4 = 5 = 

Strongly disagree Somewhat disagree Neutral Somewhat agree Strongly agree 

1 (%) 2 (%) 3 (%) 4 (%) 5 (%) n Mean SD 

When I do research, I am usually asked by other 

researchers to join projects they have initiated. 14.9 21.3 26.0 29.0 8.8 954 3.0 1.2 

I usually initiate the research projects I conduct. 7.8 12.3 21.5 37.4 21.1 954 3.5 1.2 

The research I engage in is conducted 

independently, which is to say that I am usually 33.5 29.6 13.5 17.0 6.4 955 2.3 1.3 

the sole investigator. 

The research I engage in is usually conducted 

with a team of investigators. 7.5 10.6 13.1 37.8 30.9 954 3.7 1.2 

4. The following items concern employees’ perceptions of how their research results are reported. 

1 = 2 = 3 = 4 = 

Never Infrequently Frequently Always 

A. How frequently do you present the results of your research in the following sources? 

1 (%) 2 (%) 3 (%) 4 (%) n Mean SD 

Publications of the FWS or other government 

agencies 35.5 38.5 20.4 5.6 946 2.0 0.9 

Peer-reviewed scientific journals 42.9 40.1 14.9 2.1 948 1.8 0.8 

Peer-reviewed professional or trade journals 69.9 27.0 3.0 0.1 943 1.3 0.5 

Non-peer-reviewed magazines 69.2 29.0 1.7 0.1 942 1.3 0.5 

Newspapers or TV media 52.4 39.7 7.3 0.6 943 1.6 0.7 

Web-based media 56.1 32.7 9.6 1.6 941 1.6 0.7 

Scientific symposia or conferences 26.9 40.3 29.6 3.2 948 2.1 0.8 

Chapters in edited books 77.9 19.8 2.3 0 945 1.2 0.5 

Sole-authorship books 97.0 2.8 0.2 0 942 1.0 0.2 

Multiple-authorship books 88.2 10.7 1.1 0 941 1.1 0.4 

FWS internal symposia or conferences 33.6 46.8 18.6 1.0 929 1.9 0.7 

B. There are several possible objectives for publishing or presenting research results. Which would 

you say best describes your purpose when you publish or present research results?a 

% of sample that endorsed Item n 

Provide information to other scientists 68.4 957 

Provide information for land, water, or wildlife managers 80.9 958 

Provide information to the general public 58.1 957 

Not applicable to me. I do not publish or present research results 20.9 958 

9

5. The following items concern employees’ perceptions of how the results of their research projects 

are used.a 

In my current position with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the 

results of my research have been used to: 

(Check all of the statements that apply to you.) % of sample that endorsed item n 

Inform myself or other FWS employees of better practices 86.6 953 

Improve policy 50.5 953 

Improve government programs 54.6 953 

Write environmental impact statements 31.2 953 

Advise administrative rule-making, permits, or licenses 46.8 953 

Increase the scientific knowledge in my discipline or field. 80.1 953 

Satisfy a directive of my supervisor. 43.5 953 

a 

These items were either endorsed or not endorsed by survey respondents. Endorsed statements were coded as “1”; non 

endorsed statements were coded as “0.” If none of the statements within a set were endorsed, we could not determine if 

the question had been skipped or if the respondent intended a negative response to all statements within the set. 

Therefore, the responses to those statements were treated as missing data. 

6. The following items concern employees’ attitudes towards working at the FWS. 

A. 

1 = 2 = 3 = 4 = 5 = 

Completely Somewhat Neutral Somewhat Completely 

dissatisfied dissatisfied satisfied satisfied 

How satisfied are you with: 1 (%) 2 (%) 3 (%) 4 (%) 5 (%) n Mean SD 

Your current position at the FWS? 2.1 14.1 4.8 49.0 30.1 974 3.9 1.0 

The weight that is given to research 

productivity in your performance evaluations, 5.6 19.2 35.5 24.0 15.7 960 3.3 1.1 

in your current position at the FWS? 

The level of financial support you receive for 

research in your current position? 18.7 36.1 22.6 17.7 4.9 961 2.5 1.1 

The level of encouragement you receive from 

your supervisor for research in your current 8.0 15.7 29.1 24.5 22.7 961 3.4 1.2 

position? 

The amount of research time you have, free 

from other commitments, in your current 18.4 39.6 18.0 16.2 7.7 954 2.6 1.2 

position? 

10

B. 

1 = 2 = 3 = 4 = 5 = 

Completely 

unlikely 

Somewhat 

unlikely 

Neither unlikely 

nor likely 

Somewhat 

likely 

Completely 

likely 

1 (%) 2 (%) 3 (%) 4 (%) 5 (%) n Mean SD 

How likely are you to begin looking for another job 

outside of the FWS in the next six months, due to a 

lack of opportunity for research in the FWS? 

54.6 17.4 12.3 9.5 6.2 967 2.0 1.3 

How likely is it that you would be happier with your 

job at the FWS if it included greater opportunities 

for research? 

10.7 6.1 21.2 35.4 26.5 961 3.6 1.2 

How likely is it that you would be happier with your 

job at the FWS if it included fewer opportunities for 

research? 

40.7 28.5 26.3 3.1 1.4 955 2.0 1.0 

C. 


n % who answered “yes” 

Do you feel that your current position description adequately includes 

the research you do? 946 61.7 

Did you initially seek employment with the FWS because you expected 

research opportunities? 944 41.0 

D. Is there any other information you would like to provide regarding the support, lack of support, 

obstacles, inducements, or resources at the FWS with regard to research? If so, please write your 

answer below. 

[Open ended responses are not included in this report; see Completion Report.] 

11 
Question Track 2 (24% of overall sample, n = 312) 

1. The following items concern employees’ attitudes towards research at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service. 

A. 

% who answered “yes” n 

Overall, would you say that your formal 

education prepared you to conduct either 

applied or basic research? 

89.7 311 

Were you hired originally by the FWS solely or 

in part to do research? 15.1 311 

B. 

1 = 2 = 3 = 4 = 5 = 

Greatly less 

satisfied 

Slightly less 

satisfied 

Neutral Slightly more 

satisfied 

Greatly more 

satisfied 

1 (%) 2 (%) 3 (%) 4 (%) 5 (%) n Mean SD 

If I had a position in the FWS that was 

rewarded for conducting research, I would be: 3.9 2.9 47.1 25.0 20.6 310 3.6 1.0 

2. The following items concern employees’ perceptions of how they are involved in the research 

process. 

A. 

% who answered “yes” n 

Do you supervise employees or manage groups 8.1 310 of employees who conduct research? 

B. 

% who answered “yes” n 

Do you or your employees contract outside of 

the FWS for research to be conducted (such as 

with private companies, universities, or other 30.8 312 

agencies)? 

If the answer is “Yes” then what is the major consideration you use in deciding to whom you 

should award these contracts? 

[Open ended responses are not included in this report; see Completion Report.] 

12 
C. 


% who answered “yes” n 

Do you use the results of others’ research 84.6 312 studies in the course of your work? 

If the answer is “Yes” then what percentage of the following sources of research information do 

you find most helpful? 

a. Professional or scientific conferences 

b. Professional of scientific journals 

c. The World Wide Web 

d. Personal contacts with scientists 

e. Newspaper, TV or other open media 

sources 

f. Colleagues within the FWS 

g. Colleagues in other agencies (e.g., 

universities, USGS, etc.) 

h. Reports of other agencies 

 Mean % allocated 

to this source by 

the sample SD (%) Median (%) Mode (%) n 

13.4 14.1 10 10 208 

25.1 21.3 20 10 235 

18.1 19.8 10 10 204 

15.6 15.4 10 10 216 

6.5 16.3 1 0 119 

23.1 20.0 20 10 270 

18.1 13.3 15 10 257 

15.5 15.5 10 10 211 

Final Questions (Both Track 1 and Track 2 Respondents Answered) 

Within the past 3 years, have your research responsibilities changed, or have you moved within the 

FWS to or from a job with more research responsibility? (n = 1264) 

% of sample 

that selected item 

To a job that includes more research responsibilities 9.3 

From a job that included more research responsibilities 12.4 

Remained in current job, but now have added research responsibilities 13.2 

Remained in current job, but now have fewer research responsibilities 8.9 

None of the above apply to me 56.1 

Please tell us if you have any other comments, suggestions, or information: 

[Open ended responses are not included in this report; see Completion Report.] 

13 
References Cited 

Dillman, D.A., 2000, Mail and internet surveys: The tailored design method. 2nd Edition. John 

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