A score of 90%
GUIDE TO ASIAN STUDIES IN THE NETHERLANDS '95

By Paul van der Velde

In the article 'A statistical view of Asian Studies in the
Netherlands' in IIASN-3 (p. 7), we gave the provisional
outcome of the mailing to 650 Asianists in the Netherlands
based on 425 questionnaires which had been returned at that
juncture. Since then this pilot-project for the European
Database for Asian Studies has almost been completed. Our
pilot-database now consists of 1500 Asianists in the
Netherlands. We think that this figure represents 90% of all
Asianists in the Netherlands: the Asianists we have not been
able to trace must have very secret hide-outs or just do not
want to be in the Guide. We trust that the score of 90% will
give a truthful picture of the scope of Asian Studies in the
Netherlands.

ENORMOUS RESPONSE
The publication of the Guide to Asian Studies in the
Netherlands '94 contained the names of 522 Asianists. These
names had been gathered prior to the mailing of questionnaires
on the basis of information material received from university
departments and institutes in the field of Asian Studies. The
guide was bound to contain many mistakes due to the manner in
which the information had been obtained. Since a reply card
was included on which corrections could be filled in, the
guide itself served as instrument to gather information. We
received a great many  reply cards for which we would like to
thank the respondents. In general, the guide provoked an
enormous response, especially from those who had not been
included in the guide. Furthermore, we received new
address-files of Asian related organizations. In the follow-up
mailings we used the same approach as in the first mailing.

NEW DIVISION
Whereas the Guide '94 was divided into sections:
'Universities', 'Institutes', 'Museums', and 'Newsletters'
plus three indexes: on name, discipline, and region, the Guide
'95 will have a new division because many found the old one
somewhat confusing. The Guide '95 will be divided as follows:
'Index of Asianists by primary discipline', 'Index of
Asianists by primary region/country of interest', 'List of
Institutes and Departments of Universities and Organizations
in the field of Asian Studies', and 'Newsletters in the
Netherlands on Asia'. We hope this new division will clear up
any remaining obscurities from the 1994 edition. In order to
update our database on a regular basis everyone in the
database will receive an outprint of his or her file once a
year. At the back of this print-out is an empty file in which
alterations can be indicated.
The next issue of this newsletter will contain an article
giving the results of research on the basis of the outcome of
this pilot-project being conducted at present.