Media Selection for Agricultural Knowledge Transfer: The Malaysian Experience.

A study examined the ways in which the staffs of communication units in agricultural extension agencies in Malaysia select media to transfer knowledge to their clients. A survey method of data collection was employed, whereby 95 staff of communication units from 11 development agencies were asked to respond to self-administered questionnaires. Mostly closed-ended questions and ratings of items for frequency and applicability on a scale of 1 to 7 were employed. Results indicated that: (1) respondents regarded actual objects as best in knowledge transfer activities, followed by media that conveyed reality with a high degree of fidelity; (2) the media for instruction were considered somewhat different from media for campaigns; and (3) audience characteristics, purpose of communication, audience media preference, and time given to complete the media were the selection elements (in descending order) considered important in the media selection process. (Contains 22 references and three tables of data.) (Author/RS)