Personal digital archiving: influencing factors and challenges to practices

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the associations of personal archiving behaviors to factors and challenges that have been assumed to affect personal digital archiving strategies. Design/methodology/approach This study created an online survey to understand general patterns of personal digital archiving practices and related phenomena. The survey was employed to investigate to what extent people show a certain behavior or feel certain factors and challenge when archiving personal digital content. Findings Some of the findings of this study regarding specific personal digital archiving practices were in accordance with existing studies. However, the associations between digital archiving challenges and archiving practices were not observed statistically significantly as assumed in previous studies. General technology efficacy and the awareness of the importance of personal records appeared to influence personal archiving practices. Research limitations/implications This study used Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. As this is not a commonly used internet service, the workers here could have higher than average levels of internet efficacy. This possibility may have affected the demographics, and the survey responses may be biased in this respect. Practical implications As the study results suggest that technology efficacy and personal heritage awareness are the influencing factors of personal digital archiving, these are the areas where information professionals can involve in assisting users for future cultural heritage. Originality/value This is the first study that develops measures for personal digital archiving related practices and perceptions that the previous qualitative studies have identified. With these measures, it examines the general status of individuals’ archiving strategies and the overall associations of digital archiving challenges as well as looking into other technological and personal factors.

Analysis of College Students� Personal Health Information Activities: Online Survey (Preprint)

“…With these regression results, we could identify possible factors for further analysis to better prepare in PHIM. For instance, many studies have examined the challenges that individuals experience during digital archiving practices [14,17,19,20,23,28,41]. As we stated, our goal was to identify a profile for active PHIM performers and to discover what possible improvements based on the current state of PHIM practices and perceptions among college students.…”

“…Obviously, those patterns are neither sustainable nor efficient. Many researchers argue that professional intervention in PIM would benefit them greatly to preserve important personal information as well as preserving cultural heritage from which personal histories could be found [14,17,18]. However, the era of professional support or technological assistance in PIM is still in its infancy, with only limited technological support available mainly for the aging population [24,25].…”

“…Although not specified for the college population nor health-document focused, previous PIM studies have identified some interesting findings regarding factors influencing PIM activities [13,14]. Technological solutions or individual knowledge about diverse PIM tools and methods were found to be associated with individuals' success at PIM management [14], especially in digital environments [13,14], as individual users often have limited knowledge about appropriate technical tools or techniques for management and preservation [15].…”

“…Technological solutions or individual knowledge about diverse PIM tools and methods were found to be associated with individuals' success at PIM management [14], especially in digital environments [13,14], as individual users often have limited knowledge about appropriate technical tools or techniques for management and preservation [15]. As PIM technology evolves, diverse PIM activities happen in digital forms, and personal data stores could be at risk in terms of digital service providers' policies and standards [16].…”

Security and Privacy Cloud Storage as a Personal Digital Archive Storage Media

“…Personal digital archives are collections of digital information that are maintained by individuals for future use. The terms archiving, backup, and storage are used in the most general sense that refer to any activity for storing personal digital information (Sinn, Kim, & Syn, 2017). The individual's goal in conducting digital archiving is to document his or her personal life history (Kaye et al, 2006).…”