Recruitment Posting

I'll post the recruitment flyer periodically so it remains at the top of the blog. You can read further for comments on the process. Thanks for stopping by!

You are invited to participate in a study of

Interpersonal motivations and benefits of blogging

If you are at least 21 years of age and have been maintaining an English-language personal blog for at least six months that you update or visit at least twice a week (on average), you are eligible to participate by completing a confidential online questionnaire.

I am interested in learning more about the factors that lead people to start and maintain blogs, and any benefits or risks that are related to blogging. Help me to do so by completing our online questionnaire.

Please email ltrub@gc.cuny.edu to learn more about the study and complete the online questionnaire.

Three participants will be randomly selected by a lottery to receive $75.

This research has been approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Graduate School of the City University of New York. Contact the principal investigator at ltrub@gc.cuny.edu or 732 407 7928 if you have any questions about this research.

Two weeks of recruitment

When I began recruitment, I kept saying to myself that it wouldn't be too hard -- after all, bloggers enjoy writing and reflecting so why not participate in a study? Secretly, of course, I was concerned people wouldn't bother to respond to a stranger making a (somewhat rare and random) request of their time, effort and thoughtfulness.
I've heard from 30 of you, and most of your have filled out the survey. Which is awesome.
I imagine that blogging kind of forces people to be more open to strangers who might find you on the internet, for whatever reason.
At any rate, or whatever the reason, I want to say thank you to all those people who have responded so far. Always feel free to pass it along or comment here on your experience. And if you do choose to post about it, please share with me as well if you feel so inclined.

Looking inward

I've gotten a number of interesting responses from people who have taken the survey. I'd like to share a small piece of one response which I felt was very honest and refreshing. I hope that others will find/have found the survey to offer some opportunity for reflection that makes you stop and think (though perhaps not too much!)

Here is the excerpt from the person's comment:

"It asks the kinds of questions that teach you certain things about yourself. The basic format requires (for most questions) that you answer using the researcher’s words. And that can be hard to do sometimes. It’s the kind of survey where, if you are not careful, you may find yourself inadvertently giving answers that you wish were true.

It’s funny how even in anonymous surveys we find it difficult to admit certain things about life – as if checking the True box make a problem more real."

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!

YDoUBlog?

You are invited to participate in a study of

Interpersonal motivations and benefits of blogging

If you are at least 21 years of age and have been maintaining an English-language personal blog for at least six months that you update or visit at least twice a week (on average), you are eligible to participate by completing a confidential online questionnaire.

I am interested in learning more about the factors that lead people to start and maintain blogs, and any benefits or risks that are related to blogging. Help me to do so by completing our online questionnaire.

Please email ltrub@gc.cuny.edu to learn more about the study and complete the online questionnaire.

Three participants will be randomly selected by a lottery to receive $75.

This research has been approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Graduate School of the City University of New York. Contact the principal investigator at ltrub@gc.cuny.edu or 732 407 7928 if you have any questions about this research.