Women Religious Portal

Q1. Which best describes your primary role? *

Member of a religious congregation (sister, novice, associate) Congregation staff or sponsored-institution employee Academic researcher / faculty Graduate student Undergraduate student Genealogist / family historian Archivist / librarian / museum professional Educator (K–12) Journalist / media Artist / creative General public Government / legal researcher Other

Please select your primary role.

Q2. How experienced are you with archival research? *

Beginner (little to no experience) Intermediate (some experience using archives) Advanced (regular archival researcher) Expert (professional archivist / researcher)

Please select your experience level.

Q3. How often do you use archival or special collections materials? *

Daily Weekly Monthly A few times per year Rarely / first time

Please select how often you use archival materials.

Q4. What are your primary reasons for using archival materials? (Select all that apply)

Academic research / publication Coursework / assignments Genealogy / family history Personal interest / curiosity Professional work (museum, legal, consulting, etc.) Journalism / media production Creative projects (art, writing, film) Teaching / curriculum development Other

Q5. What types of materials do you typically search for? (Select all that apply)

Photographs / images Manuscripts / handwritten documents Books / printed materials Maps / cartographic materials Audio recordings Video / film Newspapers / periodicals Born-digital records Ephemera (postcards, flyers, etc.) Data sets / structured data Other

Q6. How specific are your research needs when you begin? *

Very specific (exact item or collection) Somewhat specific (topic, person, or time period) Broad / exploratory Unsure / browsing

Please select how specific your needs typically are.

Q7. How do you typically begin your search for archival materials? (Select all that apply)

Google or other search engines Library discovery systems Archival databases / portals (e.g., ArchiveGrid, DPLA) Institutional websites Recommendations from colleagues Visiting in person Social media / online communities Other

Q8. What search methods do you prefer?

Select a rank for each method — 1 = most preferred, 6 = least preferred. Each rank should be used once.

Keyword search

Advanced search (filters, Boolean)

Browsing collections

Curated exhibits or guides

Visual / map-based exploration

AI or recommendation-based search

Q9. When using finding aids or inventories, what information is most important? (Select up to 3)

Maximum 3 selections.

Subject keywords Dates / time period Creator / author names Geographic location Collection scope and content note Item-level descriptions Digital availability indicator Provenance / context

Q10. When interacting with digital archival materials, which features are most important? (Select up to 5)

Maximum 5 selections.

High-resolution zoom viewer Full-text search (OCR / transcripts) Download options (PDF, images, data) Clear metadata display Citation tools (export citations)

IIIF viewer compatibility

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IIIF is a standard for viewing high-resolution digital images. A compatible viewer lets you zoom in and may let you compare material from different archives side by side.

Side-by-side comparison Annotation tools Ability to save / bookmark items Accessibility features (screen reader support, captions) Other

Q11. How important are the following platform features to your work?

Rate each from Not at all important to Extremely important.

Q12. What are your biggest frustrations when using archival search platforms?

Q13. Which of the following challenges have you experienced? (Select all that apply)

Difficulty finding relevant materials Inconsistent or unclear metadata Limited or no digital access Poor search functionality Slow performance or loading Confusing navigation / interface Lack of context about materials Restrictions on downloads or use Accessibility barriers Other

Q14. Once you find materials, what do you usually do with them? (Select all that apply)

View online only Download for personal use Cite in research / publications Incorporate into teaching or presentations Request physical access Share with others

Q15. How do you prefer to access archival materials? *

Fully online Hybrid (online discovery + in-person access) Primarily in-person

Please select your access preference.

Q16. What would an ideal archival discovery platform look like for you?

Q17. Which innovations would you most like to see? (Select up to 3)

Maximum 3 selections.

AI-assisted search / recommendations Automatic transcription and translation Visual timeline or map-based browsing Linked data / connections across collections User-generated tags or contributions Enhanced multimedia viewing Personalized dashboards Other

Q18. What is your primary work setting or affiliation? *

University / academic institution Cultural heritage institution (archives, museum, library) Government agency Private sector Independent researcher Not affiliated

Please select your work setting.

Q19. Have you encountered barriers to accessing archival materials? *

Yes No

Please indicate whether you have encountered barriers.

Thank you!

Section 1 — About You