Results from Survey given in May 2009

There were 299 responses to the survey, down from the 344 responses received last year. Below is a plot showing the response rate for the past 7 years.

We solicited responses from all subscribers to the Archive Newsletter, those who had a GALEX CASJobs account, and to all those who had retrieved data from DADS in the previous 28 months. We also placed an invitation to participate in the survey on the MAST web pages.

With questions 1 through 6, we asked questions to characterize MAST usage and to determine the platforms and browsers MAST users are utilizing. The remaining questions attempt to solicit input concerning various tools and services MAST has either implemented or may plan to implement in the future. We provided several places for responders to enter comments and suggestions. We have responded to some of these comments and suggestions on the page http://archive.stsci.edu/surveyresults/2009/response2009.html We really like to receive questions and comments throughout the year as you discover needs or have questions. Please send suggestions to the archive help desk at archive@stsci.edu or call at 410-338-4547 between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM eastern time.

1. How often have you used MAST in the past 12 months?

2. What missions did you access? (multiple choices permitted)

3. Which operating system do you primarily use to access MAST?

4. Which browser do you primarily use for your work?

5. Please rank the fraction of your MAST usage that is related to the following activities:

6. Please select the description that best describes your experience with finding documentation within MAST.

7.Please select the description that best describes how useful you generally find MAST documentation.

8. GalexView is a tool that MAST introduced last year to browse and download public release GALEX data. Please select the description that best applies to you:

9. We have enhanced GalexView's capabilities since its introduction. Enhancements include target upload lists, filtering on selected targets (with histograms), downloads via a shopping cart, and upgraded presentation details (some of these were recommended by user comments in last year's survey). Please help us prioritize future developments by ranking the following items in terms of how useful they would be to you. Enter other suggestions, or any other related comments, in the box.

The Hubble Legacy Archive (HLA) provides another interface to Hubble data, including enhanced combined images, extracted grism spectra, source lists, and user-contributed products. Through the HLA interface, users can quickly find which HST data have been taken in a given region of the sky, select them through a graphic footprint or tabular interface, and visualize science-grade images and spectra right from their browsers.

10. Have you used (or do you plan to use) the HLA for the following purposes? Check all that apply.

11.Please rate the usefulness of the following HLA tools:

12. Please tell us about how valuable you would find each of these possible future HLA enhancements:

15. How can we do a better job of supporting your archive needs? Please suggest in the comment box other new features or improvements you would like to see.