Formative Evaluation of the Ganga Website

In 2005, Independent Broadcasting Associates (IBA) received funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to create a series of radio programs for National Public Radio that features the Ganges river basin in South Asia. The radio programs, which are in the process of being produced, will describe the 650 million people who are supported by the river, as well as its cultural and religious significance. The programs will also describe the political and/or economic environment of the river and its surrounding areas. Each of these topics will encourage listeners to divorce themselves from U.S. cultural ideas in order to understand a different worldview. In addition to the radio programs, IBA is also creating a companion Web site designed to house the radio programs and provide listeners with additional information about the river and related topics. The Web site, once completed, will feature the eight different locations along the river by describing the geographical, historical, mythological, cultural and religious characteristics of each. The Web site will also house lessons about the Ganga designed for high school students. Goodman Research Group, Inc. (GRG) was contracted by IBA to conduct a formative evaluation of the Ganga Web site in order to obtain information that would support and guide IBA with the site's continued development. As a first step in this process, GRG conducted a Web-based survey of visitors who reviewed an early version of the Web site including the home page, the site's introduction, and the information provided for one of the river's eight locations that was reflective of IBA's plans for the remaining seven river locations. The appendix of this report includes the online survey used in the study.

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