4.1.1.3 Survey Instrument – Online

Online access to a printable version of the questionnaire was provided to allow respondents not able to visit the five distribution sites to take part. The questionnaire distributed online had exactly the same content as the hard copy questionnaire and also included a Letter of Information. This PDF version of the printed questionnaire was hosted by the website of the Māori Interest Group – New Zealand Society of Genealogists ( http://rcyachts.net/maori/ ) and was made available from 16 August 2007. Potential respondents were instructed to print out the questionnaire and send it to the freepost address. Posted replies were accepted until 10 September 2007.

Though Kuglin used local branch meetings of the NZSG to distribute questionnaires directly to genealogists, this was not an option in this research. Because the sites of distribution used in this study were spread across the country it was practical for the Christchurch based researcher to attend local meetings. In addition the Māori Interest Group, which comprises of whakapapa researchers and is therefore the target demographic for the questionnaire, is a national group of roughly 50 individuals[1], spread geographically across the country. It was not possible for the researcher to attend a branch meeting as the members of this group do not regularly meet. The possibility of utilising the group’s mailing list to send questionnaires directly to group members was also out of the question as this would contravene the Privacy act (1993) and as a result it was decided that a PDF version hosted from the the group’s website would be the best way to make it available to members, as well as to interested non-members.

As well as making the members of MIG-NZSG aware of the questionnaire through their newsletter links to the PDF document were posted on the researcher’s project blog www.searching4tupuna.blogspot.com and via the noticeboard of an online whakapapa club http://whakapapa.maori.org.nz/ .

[1] Joyce (2007)