Jewish Genealogical Society of Oregon

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JGSO Survey Results

Compiled by Michael Steinore
Last updated 2/19/2000

Index:

Q1: Why did you join JGSO?
Q2: Which of the following resources would you like to learn more about?
Q3: Questions about submittal of family tree to FTJP
Q4: How would you prioritize allocation of JGSO's funds?
Q6: How would you rank topics for JGSO presentations?
Q7: How would you rate your level of genealogical expertise?
Q9: If a genealogical expert could solve one problem...

 

All results are based on a response of 25 surveys, of which 21 are JGSO members and 4 are not. Membership category was not factored in compiling results. 

Why did you join JGSO?

The answers could be grouped into three tiers. Following each of the categories is the number of votes out of 25 that each category received:

Tier 1 - the strongest response

  1. Utilize the resources of the JGSO (19)
  2. Improve my genealogy skills (19)
  3. Meet people with like interests (18)
Tier 2 - next strongest response
  1. Get questions answered and problems resolved about my family's history (15)
  2. Learn about Jewish history/heritage (14)
Tier 3 - weakest response
  1. Learn about Northwest genealogical resources (11)
  2. Share my genealogy skills with others (9)
  3. Other - see individual surveys (3)

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Which of the following resources would you like to learn more about?

Only the "Want to Learn More" column was compiled. Results are in order of greatest interest.
  
  1. 16 (64%) want to learn more about Naturalization Records
  2. 16 (64%) want to learn more about Passenger ship lists
  3. 13 (52%) want to learn more about Jewishgen databases/infofiles
  4. 12 (48%) want to learn more about LDS family history centers
  5. 11 (44%) want to learn more about resources in JGSO library
  6. 11 (44%) want to learn more about FTJP
  7. 10 (40%) want to learn more about Jewishgen Discussion Lists
  8. 9 (36%) want to learn more about Cemetery records
  9. 8 (32%) want to learn more about JRI-Poland Databases
  10. 6 (24%) want to learn more about Census Records
 

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Questions about submittal of family tree to FTJP

Only 3 out of 25 respondents said they had submitted their tree to FTJP.

Of those who had not, 8 said they planned to, 3 said they did not plan to, however 14 out of 25 respondents left this question unanswered.

12 respondents would like more information on FTJP, however 8 said they would not.

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How would you prioritize allocation of JGSO's funds?

Unfortunately, the instructions for prioritizing were ambiguous and the responses were prioritized in two different ways. Therefore, the prioritization results reflect the # of 1st place votes, 2nd place votes, etc. that each item received, as well as factoring in blank entries as lowest priority. After combining the two different kinds of results, the results are in order of highest priority (top) to lowest priority (bottom).
     
  1. Purchase genealogical books for research (10 1st place, 5 2nd place, 18 total votes)
  2. Purchase Journals & Periodicals for research (8 1st place, 3 2nd place, 21 total votes)
  3. Purchase CD-ROMs for research (10 1st place, 4 2nd place, 17 total votes)
  4. Pay for speakers/presentation materials (4 1st place, 3 2nd place, 17 total votes)
  5. Develop Education programs for Hebrew/Sunday schools (3 1st place, 4 2nd place, 13 total votes)
  6. Engage in community events (3 2nd place, 6 3rd place, 11 total votes)

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How would you rank topics for JGSO presentations?

Unfortunately, the instructions for prioritizing were ambiguous. The method used to rank the topics was somewhat subjective, but probably reflects the general sense of respondents. First, anyone who did not number them 1-10 was filtered out. Then those who selected more than 10 had only the highest 10 accepted. Then the most commonly chosen items were computed as well as those with the highest rankings. The results reflect a combination of the two with higher weight given to popularity. Results are from highest priority (top) to lowest priority (bottom). Only the top quartile of ranked items are shown, because below that, it is difficult to retain the meaningfulness of the question.
     
  1. Locating and using naturalization records
  2. Using on-line computer resources
  3. Organizing your genealogical material
  4. Holocaust Research
  5. Using the National Archives
  6. Writing and Publishing your Family History
  7. Using Mormon Resources for Jewish Genealogy
  8. Jewish History in Russia and Poland
  9. Research in Israel

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How would you rate your level of genealogical expertise?

Of the 25 respondents,
7 (28%) identified themselves as beginner
9 (36%) identified themselves as advanced beginner
5 (20%) identified themselves as intermediate
4 (16%) identified themselves as advanced

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If a genealogical expert could solve one problem...

Interpretation:

General themes: A few people did suggest a specific problem like locating a particular shtetl, how to find translations of material in Hebrew, how to find a particular marriage certificate. But most people did not supply a specific puzzle. Rather they were usually interested in going to a core (big picture) question in genealogy. For example, they wanted to find the origin of their family surname, the ancestral hometown, when their family name changed, what happened to their family during a specific period in history and why, the names of their earliest ancestors etc. This might suggest more presentations are needed on general history and historical context, Jewish naming conventions, political history as it related to Jews, rather than talks on locating specific types of genealogical documents.

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Correspondence welcome. Send to Michael Steinore msteinor@teleport.com