Sunday, March 14, 2010

Day one of collecting responses

Yesterday I started collecting responses to my survey. Its been a whirlwind 24 hours of entering into the minds and lives of individuals I don't know, only to enter another a moment later. It's a surprisingly (or perhaps not so surprising!) addictive process -- engrossing and emotional. Of the almost 90 blogs I've reached out to, about 8 people have responded to me. I'm curious what differentiates those who decide to participate from those who don't. Sadly, I suppose there is no way of really finding out. But it hardly compares to all the things I am going to find out when I do start looking at the data.

That said, I do want to take this opportunity to thank those people who have responded so far. Please spread the word!

7 comments:

  1. Leora,

    Thanks for the opportunity to participate in your survey. I would find it interesting to see a cross-referencing of people's responses with their age. I was in college when the monumental shift to timesharing took place and was a young professional when personal computers emerged. Because I was there at the "beginning", I've found that I have a very different perspective on the use and place of technology in our lives. This also influences my perspective on the online/offline words (as you've defined them). In contrast, the millenial generation (with whom I've worked extensively) and my own teenage daughter have significantly different perspectives on technology and online/offline personnae.

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  2. Thanks for your comment and you're very welcome!

    I agree with you that age will be a important factor to look at in understanding the data.

    It will be slightly limited in that I am only including people over 21 in the study.
    I have actually received a few emails from frustrated teenagers about this! (which is certainly an understandable frustration)

    Based on just a preliminary look at people's responses, I definitely anticipate there will be age-related differences in an over-21 population.

    I can only imagine that you and your daughter must have such different experiences of technology and its role in your lives -- If you feel like expounding your statement about how your perspective on online/offline worlds has been informed by your age, I'd be curious to hear your thoughts.

    As for my own research: As I've only just started data collection, it will be some time before I get to the analysis stage. However, I will certainly keep you -- and all others who have helped/will help make this possible -- posted!

    And please feel free to comment any time...

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  3. Here are a few links to some things I've written that include this topic.

    http://carlosjimenez-sf.com/2008/02/21/generations-communications/

    http://carlosjimenez-sf.com/2009/07/21/communication-and-connection/

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  4. Enjoyed participating, will definitely spread the word among my blogger friends. Expect more responses :D

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  5. Thank you, I really appreciate the feedback and the help with getting the work out...I look forward to their emails!

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  6. I suppose part of the problem will be that those who have not responded to you may be of the demographic of "moody, introspective, and introverted" who don't really want to be involved in a study. And those are probably people that you really would want responses from. :( How unfortunate.

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  7. Thanks for your comment.

    I definitely agree with you, it is a concern of mine for which I don't have a great solution. I tried, in part, to account for it by having the survey be completely online and not requiring any verbal interaction with me. However, I recognize that isnt a foolproof plan. Unfortunately, many studies are limited by the fact that the sample is self-selecting, and this study is no exception.

    So, that said, if you know of anyone you would characterize as the kind of person I'd "really want responses from," send 'em along!

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