Authors

• Wessman, Anna (University of Helsinki. Institute for Cultural Research)

Keywords

archaeological objects, archaeology, development, hobbies, information services, museums

Abstract

The survey charted user needs and expectations regarding the FindSampo database, which aims to foster collecting, sharing, publishing, and studying archaeological finds discovered by the public. FindSampo is being developed in the Finnish Archaeological Finds Recording Linked Open Database (SuALT) project, which aims to develop innovative solutions to respond to metal detecting and other non-professional encounters with archaeological material, applying semantic computing to "citizen science". The project is funded by the Academy of Finland. The dataset includes both individual and group interviews. 50 persons were interviewed in total.

Related interview data collected for the project after the survey are also archived at FSD (dataset FSD3486 Finnish Archaeological Finds Recording Linked Open Database: Interviews on User Needs 2018-2019). The two datasets include some of the same respondents, but they cannot be connected between the datasets.

First, the respondents were asked whether they had reported archaeological finds to the Finnish Heritage Agency before and if they had, how many finds they had reported. Additionally, the respondents' experiences and knowledge of both national and international databases were examined. The respondents' expectations for the FindSampo database were surveyed next with questions on, for example, in which languages they though people should be able to report finds, whether they hoped the database would be able to help them identify and date their discoveries or other people's finds, and whether they hoped they could use the database to compare material from Finland with similar data from other countries.

Next, views on user roles and types were charted. The respondents were asked whether they thought levels of access should vary based on different user roles, which user types they thought would be useful for the database (e.g. amateur archaeologists or historians, museum professionals, students), and whether they thought roles and statuses should differ between users in Finland and abroad. Motivations for using the database were surveyed with questions on the potential issues that would prevent the respondents from using the database, what opportunities or features would encourage or convince them to use it, and what their own motivations for using the database might be. Finally, the respondents' opinions on the possible features of the database were surveyed with questions on how important they thought various features were for user experience (e.g. and FAQ page, a general blog, possibility to upload pictures, personal profile, monthly competitions, or mobile application).

Background variables included the respondent's role, age, education, gender, country of residence, and NUTS3 region of residence (if resided in Finland).