SURVEY ON THE INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SCIENCE'S ACTIVITIES (Ⅱ)

Institute of Social Science, University of Tokyo
15 March 199

Dear Colleague,

Many thanks for your participation in our Institute's activities over the years.

As you know Shaken is working to raise the level of social science research on Japan and to build worldwide networks of social scientists. Over the past decade we have completed two major research projects, Contemporary Japanese Society and the 20th Century System. The results of both projects have now been published. We have also established the Information Center for Social Science Research on Japan. The Information Center's activities include the production of a new refereed journal in English, Social Science Japan Journal, an English magazine, email and Web-based discussion groups, and a data archive. The latter project, called SSJ-DA, is collecting, storing and making available for use empirical microdata on Japanese society. So far these activities have generally been well received. In order to focus our efforts more effectively, however, this year we will carry out an evaluation exercise led by a committee of experts and practicioners from both Japanese and overseas institutions.

As part of the evidence we present to this committee, we would like to produce a report showing the opinions and evaluations of former visiting professors to Shaken regarding the Institute. We would greatly value your views regarding the Institute's performance to date, and your suggestions on areas where we need to do better. We would be most grateful if you could take a little time to fill out the questionnaire and return it to us by 15th May.

Please feel free to answer the questions in any way you like. Although we plan to make the answers public, we intend not to name the authors of individual answers, but simply to list all the respondents at the end of the report. We believe this will increase the credibility of the survey.

This evaluation exercise is very important to our future as an institute, and we thank you in advance for your collaboration. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

With best wishes,
Seigo Hirowatari,
Director

（Ⅱ）

Name

Male/Female

Nationality

General area of research:
　　1. law
　　2.political science
　　3. economics
　　4. sociology or labor studies
　　5. other

Specific area of research:

Current affiliation and position:

Period of affiliation to Shaken:

1. The Institute of Social Science has carried out a large number of joint research projects, which have included researchers from other institutes.

　　1-1 How well do you know Shaken's joint research projects?
　　　　1. Very well
　　　　2. Quite well
　　　　3. Not very well
　　　　4. Not at all

　　1-2 Have you used the results of Shaken's joint research projects in your own research?
　　　　1. Extensively
　　　　2. Sometimes
　　　　3. Rarely
　　　　4. Never

　　1-3 Please write here any comments you have on the themes or results of Shaken's joint research projects.

2. Periodicals published by Shaken.

　　2-1 Have you used Shaken's Japanese journal "Shakai kagaku kenkyuu" (Kiyou)?
　　　　1. Extensively
　　　　2. Sometimes
　　　　3. Rarely
　　　　4. Never

　　2-2 Have you used Shaken's English journal "Social Science Japan Journal"?
　　　　1. Extensively
　　　　2. Sometimes
　　　　3. Rarely
　　　　4. Never

　　2-3 Have you used Shaken's English magazine/newsletter "Social Science Japan"?
　　　　1. Extensively
　　　　2. Sometimes
　　　　3. Rarely
　　　　4. Never

　　2-4 Please write here any comments you have about periodicals published by the Institute of Social Science; what you like about them, what needs to be improved.

3. What has been your level of participation in symposia and research meetings organized by the Institute of Social Science?
　　1. I have presented a paper / papers
　　2. I have attended meetings
　　3. I have read proceedings or reports
　　4. I know nothing about these events

4. In 1996 the Institute of Social Science established the Information Center for Social Science Research on Japan.

　　4-1 How well do you know the Information Center?
　　　　1. Very well
　　　　2. Quite well
　　　　3. Not very well
　　　　4. Not at all

　　4-2 (For those who answered "Very well" or "Quite well" to the previous question) Do you think the Information Center is contributing to Shaken's efforts to become the hub of international networks of research on Japanese society?
　　　　1. Contributing a lot
　　　　2. Contributing a bit
　　　　3. Not contributing anything
　　　　4. No opinion

　　4-3 Please write here any comments you have about the activities of the Information Center for Social Science Research on Japan; what it is doing well, what it should be doing better.

5. In your area of research, and in the context of international trends in research on Japanese society, how do you evaluate the research of ISS staff?

6. How do you evaluate Shaken's contribution to international networks of social scientists working on Japan?

7. Please write down any comments you have on Shaken's current research organization, administration and library services. What targets do you think the Institute should set itself for the future?

This is the end of the questionnaire. Many thanks for completing it.