Appendix Three

DATAD Market Survey Letter

Dear Colleague,

Locating research information about Africa is relatively easy—if the research results are published in the United States or Europe. But that's only one piece of the puzzle. What about research carried out in Africa by Africans that remains unpublished or is published locally? For many reasons, African research results are rarely indexed in the major international databases, a problem that is further exacerbated by the inaccessibility of theses and dissertations completed in the region, many of which contain local empirical data that is not available in the international literature. This inability to learn about and access African material is frustrating to students and scholars—both on the continent and overseas.

Over the years, a number of organizations have discussed the need to do something about African theses and dissertations, but with the exception of print bibliographies complied by individual universities and a few computerized databases, little has been done outside of South Africa, and these ad hoc efforts have not been sustained.

The Association of African Universities (AAU) and the Project for Information Access and Connectivity (PIAC) want to make African research visible and accessible. As a organization with over 125 member universities spanning the continent, the AAU appreciates both the challenges African universities must meet and the contributions they can make to scholarship worldwide. PIAC, which is supported by the Ford and Rockefeller foundations, has as one of its objectives: 

Assist grantees, foundation staff members, and other donors think through the most suitable electronic means for disseminating research findings and reports worldwide.

Together, we are collaborating on a feasibility study, which we hope will lead to a pilot project to index, abstract, and make available to the maximum extent possible theses and dissertations completed at African universities. DATAD—the Database of African Theses and Dissertations—is described in the attached leaflet.

We are writing to you today to ascertain your interest in DATAD. We know that questionnaires are rather tedious, but would be most grateful If you would spare a few minutes of your time to complete and return the enclosed questionnaire to Lisbeth Levey do Hans Zell Publishing Consultants, who are assisting us in carrying out this preliminary market assessment. A self-addressed envelope is enclosed for your convenience. You may also fax (254-2-252830) or e-mail (l.levey@fordfound.org) your reply to Lisbeth Levey directly.

Respondents to the questionnaire will receive a free demo DATAD disc when it becomes available.

Sincerely,

Lisbeth A. Levey, Director
Project for Information Access and Connectivity

 

Narciso Matos, Secretary-General
Association of African Universities