the actual survey

this is the survey for my thesis, the first part is a disclaimer... yada, yada, yada  if you didn't email me but are interested in taking the survey perusing it over - I will love you forever & your childrens children - Please copy & paste it into an email and send it to: maren_buchanan at yahoo {dot} com

Survey for SSC Thesis Paper
Maren Buchanan
3/21/2009

Thank you for volunteering for this survey. Your answers will help me to get a better understanding/feel for the relationship that you have with blogs, online/offline relationships, and your creative outlet (ie sewing, scrapbooking, etc.).

Any information that I obtain will be used for academic purposes. Please complete the survey as well as you can. If you have any comments, do not understand what I am getting at, or need further clarification, you can email me or respond to that effect on your survey. If there is anything you don’t want to answer just state that, please don’t leave any blanks. Completion of this survey is optional. You may quit at any time during the survey; it does not need to be submitted. Your name will be kept confidential, any answers provided will be written under a pseudonym.

I might email you after the survey is complete for further light only you can shed. Again, I truly appreciate your time and thoughtfulness to these questions and participating. You rock!

Online/Offline Bloggy Survey
Name:
Age:
Marital status:
Children, ages:
Pets, how many what kind:
Whose responsibility is it to care for them?
Which of the following categories do you fit into: (check all that apply)
stay at home mom
work full time away from home
part time away from home
work full time from home
part time from home
full time student
part time student
other, please explain:___________________________________________


Your “techno” status:
1. What is the easiest way to get in touch with you (cell, email, txt, etc.)?
2. Why is that easiest?
3. Does your computer have a nickname?
4. Does your car or cell phone have a nickname?
5. Can you give a rough estimate (for a typical day) how many hours do you spend using a computer? (Include listening to music or watching movies/work or personal use)
6. How much time in a given day do you spend “online?”
7. How frequently do you use email?
8. How many email addresses do you have?
9. Are you a member or do you visit chat rooms?
10. How much time do you spend in chat rooms?
11. Are you a member of any social networking sites? (facebook, myspace, ning, etc) Which ones?
12. How often do visit them?
13. How much time do you spend in a day at these sites?

Your home life:
1. How many people depend on you in your “home” setting?
2. What are your top ten (or so) responsibilities?
3. How often do you perform these responsibilities?
4. How does it affect your household if you are unable to meet your responsibilities?
5. What is your least favorite responsibility? Why?
6. What is your most favorite responsibility? Why?
7. What are one or two motivating factors for you to fulfill your responsibilities?
8. What percent do you contribute to your family income (%)?
9. If you had no income source would this affect your quality of life?
10. Would it affect you emotionally, mentally, and/or physically? How so?

Your “Online” relationships:
1. How many blogs do you author/coauthor?
2. How many are strictly personal?
3. Why do you blog?
4. Have the reasons for blogging changed from when you began blogging until now?
5. Who is your intended audience?
6. Who is your actual audience?
7. Do you blog stalk or lurk? Why?
8. Are any of your blogs restricted to private? Which ones?
9. Do you follow other people’s blog? Officially/unofficially, why?
10. How many? How often do you check them?
11. What do you like about blogging/and or bloggers?
12. What do you hate about blogging/and or bloggers?
13. Do you participate in a group blog? What percentage do you contribute?
14. What is your relationship and/or responsibility to the group blog?
15. How often do you get online to participate in group blogging or other online discussions?
16. How do you feel about your relationships online vs. offline?
17. Do you feel a special connection to an “online only” friend?
18. Do you know any of your “online only” friends educational background, race, class, gender? Is this important to know? Why or why not?

Your “Offline” relationships:
1. Are your parents married? Divorced? Remarried?
2. How often do you talk to your parents/in-laws? Grandparents? How do you communicate with them? (online, email, phone calls, IM, txt, etc.)
3. How many siblings do you have? How many live close by (within the valley)?
4. Do you feel obligated to maintain any of these relationships?
5. Are they mostly positive/negative encounters?
6. What friend(s) do you communicate with most often?
7. Do you feel obligated to maintain any of these relationships?
8. What is your definition of friend?
9. How do you communicate with your friends most often? (online, phone calls, IM, txt, etc.)
10. Does internet use detract from time spent with friends and family?
11. What church/civic responsibilities do you have?
12. Do you feel they detract or add to the time you spend with family/friends?
13. What are your feelings about these responsibilities?
14. Does the internet affect neighborhood/religious/civic community?

Your creative outlet (aka hobbies):
1. What are your creative outlets?
2. What is your preferred creative outlet? Why?
3. How were you introduced to this creative outlet?
4. What does it do for you?
5. Do you see it changing or your relationship with it changing in the future?
6. What do you love about your creative outlet?
7. What do you hate about your creative outlet?
8. Do you use this creative outlet as a business opportunity?
9. Do you feel successful in this endeavor?
10. Do you belong to a (hobby, book club, craft, etc.) group of some kind?
11. What group is it?
- If you don’t participate in a group… you can stop here, and Thank You!

Online/Offline Group:
1. Do you meet online/offline or both?
2. If it is an online group have you ever set up an offline meeting with anyone you’ve only met online? Explain.
3. How have your relationships with other people in the craft group changed/developed since joining the club?
4. What were they like before? Now?
5. Do you feel like the online community you are involved in is important to your creativity and crafting? Why or why not?
6. Does your blogging/online community motivate you? Inspire you?
7. What have you sewn/crafted/read that you probably wouldn't have if you hadn't been involved in an online group?
8. How do you accomplish your creative "needs" and your everyday house responsibilities?
9. Is one sacrificed to the other?
10. How alike are the people in your group?
11. How different?
12. How do these differences and similarities contribute to the group?
13. How do they hinder?

Thank You for your time and attention to this survey. I need this back ASAP - by Wednesday, March 31st at the latest.