Over the next three years, we will see the development of an amazing
array of new capabilities on the Web. The members of The Science
Advisory Board (http://www.scienceboard.net) have been expressing their
opinions on the current state of the Web, and how it must evolve to
support their research.
When asked, "Which of the following advanced Web site features do you
believe would be MOST valuable to your area of research?" the number one
answer of our members was: "Full-text, hyperlinked references to all
articles relevant to {their} experiment/research." "A single gateway to
all relevant biological databases" was the second most desired feature.
We believe these findings are yet another clear indication that the Web
is no longer considered just a place to "visit," but must be viewed as a
valuable tool in biological research. Websites must be "useful" not
just "interesting."
To what extent do you believe the Websites maintained by life science
vendors are meeting this need? The quality of these sites varies
considerably - which sites set the standards of quality that others must
emulate?
If you would like to participate in this, or future studies, please
complete the RESEARCH PANEL registration form which can be found at
http://www.scienceboard.net. Your identity and individual responses are
always held in strict confidence, and all participants are compensated
for their time. In additional to the standard compensation awarded to
all participating members, drawings are routinely held for high value
prizes including computers, cash awards and gift certificates.
The Science Advisory Board is an online panel of more than 4,300
scientific and medical professionals from 65 countries. The Board
convenes electronically to participate in online surveys and focus
groups to voice their opinions on a wide variety of topics related to
new research products and emerging technologies. If you have any
additional questions about membership, please feel free to contact me at
j.evans at scienceboard.net.
Joan Evans
Membership Secretary
The Science Advisory Board
http://www.scienceboard.net
