posted by
revdorothyl at 09:48pm on 12/08/2005 under fandom research
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[Late night update: 9 more responses came in while I was posting this, so those 9 have been printed out for me to incorporate into the results report tomorrow, but they're not yet represented in the figures listed here.]
Thanks to some friends posting links to my questionnaire on their websites and LJ's, I'm continuing to get responses to the survey. But now that I am (for the moment!) caught up on collating and recording the responses received so far, I thought I'd better post some preliminary data for those who've inquired.
I have 45 paper surveys filled out (and three of those only filled out the first page, ignoring questions 8-14 on the back of the sheet) and 9 online responses so far.
Of those, 20 identify themselves as male, 24 as female, and 10 unspecified (either because they overlooked or purposely omitted that part of question #10, or because they didn't realize there was more to fill out on the back).
The vast majority of convention-goers who filled out the questionnaire fell into the 40-55 years of age range, suggesting that I should have given more precise options in that range (since I should have known that most of the fans who would bother to fill out my questionnaire at this particular convention would be in that age range: we've all grown semi-middle-aged together over the past 16 years that I've been attending this con!), and not worried so much about splitting hairs between teenagers, college age, 20-somethings, and 30 somethings. No one so far has signed up for "13 or under" or college "18-22" age ranges.
___ 14-17 years old. 4 total: 3 female, 1 unspecified; 1 convention, 3 online.
___ 23-29. 3 total: 2 female, 1 male; 1 convention, 2 online.
___ 30-39. 11 total: 3 female, 7 male, 1 unspecified; 10 convention, 1 online.
___ 40-55. 28 total: 13 female, 11 male, 4 unspecified; 27 convention, 1 online.
___ Over 55. 4 total: 3 female, 1 unspecified; 2 convention, 2 online.
As for the sex and convention/online breakdown on specific questions (breaking it down by age will have to wait for the next sort-through), here's a start:
1) How long have you been a fan (involved in any fandoms, media or literary)?
A ___ 2 years or less. 0 responses
B ___ 2-5 years. 6 total responses: 5 female, 1 unspecified; 2 convention, 4 online.
C ___ 6-10 years. 7 total responses: 2 female, 3 male, 2 unspecified; 5 convention, 2 online.
D ___ 11-15 years. 5 total responses: 2 female, 3 male; 4 convention, 1 online.
E ___ 16-20 years. 6 total responses: 2 female, 2 male, 2 unspecified; all 6 convention.
F ___ more than 20 years. 30 total responses: 13 female, 12 male, 5 unspecified; 28 convention, 2 online. (one male respondent added after F: ‘39 yrs, with 8 yr. gap for med. school & residency')
2) In which fandoms do you currently participate? (1 female and 2 male convention-goers left this one entirely blank.)
Media:
A __ Star Trek. 26 total responses: 8 female, 12 male, 6 unspecified; 25 convention, 1 online.
B __Star Wars. 24 total responses: 6 female, 12 male, 6 unspecified; all 24 at convention.
C __Dr. Who. 14 total responses: 5 female, 5 male, 4 unspecified; 12 convention, 2 online.
D __Buffy/Angel. 17 total responses: 12 female, 2 male, 3 unspecified; 10 convention, 7 online.
E __Firefly. 10 total responses: 9 female, 1 male; 6 convention, 4 online.
F __Babylon 5. 18 total responses: 7 female, 9 male, 2 unspecified; 17 convention, 1 online.
G __Farscape. 8 total responses: 3 female, 4 male, 1 unspecified; 7 convention, 1 online.
H __Stargate. 9 total responses: 3 female, 5 male, 1 unspecified; 8 convention, 1 online.
I __new Battlestar Galactica. 8 total responses: 4 female, 4 male; 6 convention, 2 online.
J __Xena. 3 total responses: 2 female, 1 male; all 3 convention.
K __Anime/Manga. 14 total responses: 7 female, 4 male, 3 unspecified; 10 convention, 4 online; wide variety of series/artists listed.
L __Other(s): Robin of Sherwood (2); Highlander (2); Lord of the Rings (2); The Equalizer; Veronica Mars; Wonderfalls; RPGs; Wargames; videogames. 12 total responses (not all saying which "others" they meant): 4 female, 5 male, 3 unspecified; 9 convention, 3 online.
Literary:
M __Harry Potter. 21 total: 14 female, 1 male, 6 unspecified; 18 convention, 3 online.
N __Terry Pratchett. 7 total: 3 female, 3 male, 1 unspecified; 6 convention, 1 online.
O __Anne McCaffrey 18 total: 8 female, 6 male, 4 unspecified; 17 convention, 1 online.
P __Heinlein. 19 total: 6 female, 10 male, 3 unspecified; 18 convention, 1 online.
Q __Asimov. 18 total: 7 female, 8 male, 3 unspecified; all 18 convention.
R __Douglas Adams. 20 total: 6 female, 11 male, 3 unspecified; 18 convention (and the convention did have a Douglas Adams theme for the whole weekend), 2 online.
S __Andre Norton. 11 total: 6 female, 4 male, 1 unspecified; 10 convention, 1 online.
T __Anne Rice. 9 total: 6 female, 1 male, 2 unspecified; all 9 convention.
U __Tolkien/Lord of the Rings. 26 total: 9 female, 10 male, 7 unspecified; 23 convention, 3 online.
V __Others: L. M. Bujold (3); Diane Duane (3); Mercedes Lackey (3); Christopher Stasheff (2); H. P. Lovecraft (2); David Weber (2); Glen Cook (2); John Norman's "Gor" saga (2); Robert Lynn Asprin; David Drake; Arthur C. Clarke; Robin McKinley; Mickey Zucker Reichert; Neal Stephenson; Susanna Clarke; Brothers Strugatsky (Russian sci-fi); The Chronicles of Narnia/C.S. Lewis; Harry Turtledove; C. J. Cherryh; George R. R. Martin/Song of Fire & Ice; Laurel K. Hamilton.
27 total (not all of whom bothered to fill in specific names for their 'others'): 14 female, 9 male, 4 unspecified; 24 convention, 3 online.
I'm running out of steam tonight, so I'll have to try to post more of the results -- perhaps going right for the 'good stuff' (such as question #7, asking which one attribute/benefit of participating in fandom is most important to the individual), rather than working through some of the more mundane questions first.
Thanks to some friends posting links to my questionnaire on their websites and LJ's, I'm continuing to get responses to the survey. But now that I am (for the moment!) caught up on collating and recording the responses received so far, I thought I'd better post some preliminary data for those who've inquired.
I have 45 paper surveys filled out (and three of those only filled out the first page, ignoring questions 8-14 on the back of the sheet) and 9 online responses so far.
Of those, 20 identify themselves as male, 24 as female, and 10 unspecified (either because they overlooked or purposely omitted that part of question #10, or because they didn't realize there was more to fill out on the back).
The vast majority of convention-goers who filled out the questionnaire fell into the 40-55 years of age range, suggesting that I should have given more precise options in that range (since I should have known that most of the fans who would bother to fill out my questionnaire at this particular convention would be in that age range: we've all grown semi-middle-aged together over the past 16 years that I've been attending this con!), and not worried so much about splitting hairs between teenagers, college age, 20-somethings, and 30 somethings. No one so far has signed up for "13 or under" or college "18-22" age ranges.
___ 14-17 years old. 4 total: 3 female, 1 unspecified; 1 convention, 3 online.
___ 23-29. 3 total: 2 female, 1 male; 1 convention, 2 online.
___ 30-39. 11 total: 3 female, 7 male, 1 unspecified; 10 convention, 1 online.
___ 40-55. 28 total: 13 female, 11 male, 4 unspecified; 27 convention, 1 online.
___ Over 55. 4 total: 3 female, 1 unspecified; 2 convention, 2 online.
As for the sex and convention/online breakdown on specific questions (breaking it down by age will have to wait for the next sort-through), here's a start:
1) How long have you been a fan (involved in any fandoms, media or literary)?
A ___ 2 years or less. 0 responses
B ___ 2-5 years. 6 total responses: 5 female, 1 unspecified; 2 convention, 4 online.
C ___ 6-10 years. 7 total responses: 2 female, 3 male, 2 unspecified; 5 convention, 2 online.
D ___ 11-15 years. 5 total responses: 2 female, 3 male; 4 convention, 1 online.
E ___ 16-20 years. 6 total responses: 2 female, 2 male, 2 unspecified; all 6 convention.
F ___ more than 20 years. 30 total responses: 13 female, 12 male, 5 unspecified; 28 convention, 2 online. (one male respondent added after F: ‘39 yrs, with 8 yr. gap for med. school & residency')
2) In which fandoms do you currently participate? (1 female and 2 male convention-goers left this one entirely blank.)
Media:
A __ Star Trek. 26 total responses: 8 female, 12 male, 6 unspecified; 25 convention, 1 online.
B __Star Wars. 24 total responses: 6 female, 12 male, 6 unspecified; all 24 at convention.
C __Dr. Who. 14 total responses: 5 female, 5 male, 4 unspecified; 12 convention, 2 online.
D __Buffy/Angel. 17 total responses: 12 female, 2 male, 3 unspecified; 10 convention, 7 online.
E __Firefly. 10 total responses: 9 female, 1 male; 6 convention, 4 online.
F __Babylon 5. 18 total responses: 7 female, 9 male, 2 unspecified; 17 convention, 1 online.
G __Farscape. 8 total responses: 3 female, 4 male, 1 unspecified; 7 convention, 1 online.
H __Stargate. 9 total responses: 3 female, 5 male, 1 unspecified; 8 convention, 1 online.
I __new Battlestar Galactica. 8 total responses: 4 female, 4 male; 6 convention, 2 online.
J __Xena. 3 total responses: 2 female, 1 male; all 3 convention.
K __Anime/Manga. 14 total responses: 7 female, 4 male, 3 unspecified; 10 convention, 4 online; wide variety of series/artists listed.
L __Other(s): Robin of Sherwood (2); Highlander (2); Lord of the Rings (2); The Equalizer; Veronica Mars; Wonderfalls; RPGs; Wargames; videogames. 12 total responses (not all saying which "others" they meant): 4 female, 5 male, 3 unspecified; 9 convention, 3 online.
Literary:
M __Harry Potter. 21 total: 14 female, 1 male, 6 unspecified; 18 convention, 3 online.
N __Terry Pratchett. 7 total: 3 female, 3 male, 1 unspecified; 6 convention, 1 online.
O __Anne McCaffrey 18 total: 8 female, 6 male, 4 unspecified; 17 convention, 1 online.
P __Heinlein. 19 total: 6 female, 10 male, 3 unspecified; 18 convention, 1 online.
Q __Asimov. 18 total: 7 female, 8 male, 3 unspecified; all 18 convention.
R __Douglas Adams. 20 total: 6 female, 11 male, 3 unspecified; 18 convention (and the convention did have a Douglas Adams theme for the whole weekend), 2 online.
S __Andre Norton. 11 total: 6 female, 4 male, 1 unspecified; 10 convention, 1 online.
T __Anne Rice. 9 total: 6 female, 1 male, 2 unspecified; all 9 convention.
U __Tolkien/Lord of the Rings. 26 total: 9 female, 10 male, 7 unspecified; 23 convention, 3 online.
V __Others: L. M. Bujold (3); Diane Duane (3); Mercedes Lackey (3); Christopher Stasheff (2); H. P. Lovecraft (2); David Weber (2); Glen Cook (2); John Norman's "Gor" saga (2); Robert Lynn Asprin; David Drake; Arthur C. Clarke; Robin McKinley; Mickey Zucker Reichert; Neal Stephenson; Susanna Clarke; Brothers Strugatsky (Russian sci-fi); The Chronicles of Narnia/C.S. Lewis; Harry Turtledove; C. J. Cherryh; George R. R. Martin/Song of Fire & Ice; Laurel K. Hamilton.
27 total (not all of whom bothered to fill in specific names for their 'others'): 14 female, 9 male, 4 unspecified; 24 convention, 3 online.
I'm running out of steam tonight, so I'll have to try to post more of the results -- perhaps going right for the 'good stuff' (such as question #7, asking which one attribute/benefit of participating in fandom is most important to the individual), rather than working through some of the more mundane questions first.
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