comparison of the impacts of in-person and virtual conference attendance
Introduction. In-person conferences provide attendees with the opportunity to extend their knowledge, networks and sense of belonging in their field. This paper reports on an investigation that compared attendance at virtual and in-person conferences to identify differences in the impacts for delega...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Borås
2024-09-01
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| Series: | Information Research: An International Electronic Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://informationr.net/infres/article/view/692 |
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| author | Petra Dumbell Gaby Haddow |
| author_facet | Petra Dumbell Gaby Haddow |
| author_sort | Petra Dumbell |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction. In-person conferences provide attendees with the opportunity to extend their knowledge, networks and sense of belonging in their field. This paper reports on an investigation that compared attendance at virtual and in-person conferences to identify differences in the impacts for delegates
Method. An online survey was distributed widely to attract responses from library and information professionals in Australia and internationally. The questionnaire was designed to gather data relating to in-person and virtual conference attendance. It included demographic questions, statements with Likert scale responses and open-ended free text. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were carried out on the data relating to 225 individual responses.
Results. The findings of the study confirmed previously identified impacts of in-person conference attendance and highlighted the primary challenge of virtual conference attendance, which was the networking aspect. Some advantages of virtual conferences were found to be the lower cost, better accessibility and diversity of delegates. However, these potential advantages came with challenges, including distractions and loss of focus in an online environment.
Conclusion. Despite their potential advantages of increased accessibility and lower environmental impact, virtual conferences lack opportunities for attendees to connect and socialise, which needs to be addressed to increase the impact of these events. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-57cda417434143469aa846fe769b1017 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1368-1613 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-09-01 |
| publisher | University of Borås |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Information Research: An International Electronic Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-57cda417434143469aa846fe769b10172025-02-03T10:10:34ZengUniversity of BoråsInformation Research: An International Electronic Journal1368-16132024-09-012939110810.47989/ir293692689comparison of the impacts of in-person and virtual conference attendancePetra Dumbell0Gaby Haddow1Curtin UniversityCurtin University Introduction. In-person conferences provide attendees with the opportunity to extend their knowledge, networks and sense of belonging in their field. This paper reports on an investigation that compared attendance at virtual and in-person conferences to identify differences in the impacts for delegates Method. An online survey was distributed widely to attract responses from library and information professionals in Australia and internationally. The questionnaire was designed to gather data relating to in-person and virtual conference attendance. It included demographic questions, statements with Likert scale responses and open-ended free text. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were carried out on the data relating to 225 individual responses. Results. The findings of the study confirmed previously identified impacts of in-person conference attendance and highlighted the primary challenge of virtual conference attendance, which was the networking aspect. Some advantages of virtual conferences were found to be the lower cost, better accessibility and diversity of delegates. However, these potential advantages came with challenges, including distractions and loss of focus in an online environment. Conclusion. Despite their potential advantages of increased accessibility and lower environmental impact, virtual conferences lack opportunities for attendees to connect and socialise, which needs to be addressed to increase the impact of these events.https://informationr.net/infres/article/view/692conferenceslibrarianshipvirtual conferencesin-person conferences |
| spellingShingle | Petra Dumbell Gaby Haddow comparison of the impacts of in-person and virtual conference attendance Information Research: An International Electronic Journal conferences librarianship virtual conferences in-person conferences |
| title | comparison of the impacts of in-person and virtual conference attendance |
| title_full | comparison of the impacts of in-person and virtual conference attendance |
| title_fullStr | comparison of the impacts of in-person and virtual conference attendance |
| title_full_unstemmed | comparison of the impacts of in-person and virtual conference attendance |
| title_short | comparison of the impacts of in-person and virtual conference attendance |
| title_sort | comparison of the impacts of in person and virtual conference attendance |
| topic | conferences librarianship virtual conferences in-person conferences |
| url | https://informationr.net/infres/article/view/692 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT petradumbell comparisonoftheimpactsofinpersonandvirtualconferenceattendance AT gabyhaddow comparisonoftheimpactsofinpersonandvirtualconferenceattendance |