A Survey I Made!

[Zombulian]

Hey guys, I'm working on a project at school and it involves the D&D 3e/3.5/d20. I made a small survey to help with my research on this specific sub-forum. It's only 8 questions so I'd appreciate it if you clicked through it and gave me some feedback on edits I could make to it if you feel the questions could be better. https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LDW327T

P.S. I reread the forum rules before posting this and didn't find anything calling out posting surveys, but if this is considered spam I apologize.

[Oneris]

On the very first question you missed the option for '2-3 years'. :smallbiggrin:

Edit: and '3-4 years'

[Val666]

Done :v It is cool to have a school work about this Dx

[Venger]

you might want to fix the first question. it hops from 2 years to 4 years, so someone who's been a member for 3 years has no option to click.

[eggynack]

The last question is a bit awkward. In particular, terms like theoretical optimizer and power gamer have connotations that run beyond system mastery and indicate things like the kinds of things you spend your time creating (TO objects as opposed to something like standard builds or even homebrew), and your behavior in-game. They're also somewhat ill-defined terms even in the best of contexts.

[atemu1234]

I'd like to see the results of this survey when it's done :smallbiggrin:.

[Zombulian]

On the very first question you missed the option for '2-3 years'. :smallbiggrin:

Edit: and '3-4 years'

Well that's strange. Because for question 6 I copied the formatting I did for question one. Somehow I still screwed it up though. Thanks.


The last question is a bit awkward. In particular, terms like theoretical optimizer and power gamer have connotations that run beyond system mastery and indicate things like the kinds of things you spend your time creating (TO objects as opposed to something like standard builds or even homebrew), and your behavior in-game. They're also somewhat ill-defined terms even in the best of contexts.

Yeah I knew it would be an ill-defined question. I wanted to put it in but it's not really a question meant for a survey. More something where people can discuss the definitions and meanings behind the terms. I think I may just remove it.

[Curmudgeon]

"Slightly often" is awkward. "Seldom" is the antonym. I think you would be better off having "often" at one end of the scale, with "seldom" at the other end.

[Zombulian]

"Slightly often" is awkward. "Seldom" is the antonym. I think you would be better off having "often" at one end of the scale, with "seldom" at the other end.

I agree. I used Slightly Often because for some reason that's the Survey Monkey default for less-than Moderately Often.

[Fax Celestis]

All done!

...though my answers sort of terrify me. I've been posting here since 2006, and I'm #18 in total posts from all time (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/memberlist.php?order=desc&sort=posts&pp=25). I guess you could say I'm active? :smalleek:

[Abd al-Azrad]

Man. I've been here since 2005 and I'm still so far down the list of active posters, I couldn't easily find myself. I guess "slightly often" is a bit of an overstatement.

[Zombulian]

All done!

...though my answers sort of terrify me. I've been posting here since 2006, and I'm #18 in total posts from all time (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/memberlist.php?order=desc&sort=posts&pp=25). I guess you could say I'm active? :smalleek:

Mother of god...


Man. I've been here since 2005 and I'm still so far down the list of active posters, I couldn't easily find myself. I guess "slightly often" is a bit of an overstatement.

I'll be honest. It's entirely possible that I have never seen you around here.

[Fax Celestis]

Man. I've been here since 2005 and I'm still so far down the list of active posters, I couldn't easily find myself. I guess "slightly often" is a bit of an overstatement.

Man, I remember you from when you were named Big McLarge-Huge.

[Val666]

Man, I remember you from when you were named Big McLarge-Huge.

HAHAHAHAHAAHHAAH No Way!

[Abd al-Azrad]

Man, I remember you from when you were named Big McLarge-Huge.

That brings tears to my eyes. The legacy lives on!

[Zombulian]

On the very first question you missed the option for '2-3 years'. :smallbiggrin:

Edit: and '3-4 years'

Just by the way, I fixed this. If people answered with something else because 2-3 or 3-4 weren't available, they are now.

[dascarletm]

Just took the survey. I have to echo that the wording for the "often" answers is awkward, but besides that the survey is fine.

[Irk]

Survey taken. What's the class?

[A_S]

As mentioned above, possible answers to #8 are questionable. The bottom three represent a scale of experience/ability, while the top three are more about attitudes toward optimization. I answered "well-versed" because it seemed the best option for "experienced optimizer who chooses not to ruin people's fun by over-optimizing in games where it's not expected." But if you're trying to treat all 6 answers as an ordinal variable, anyone who answers like me is going to mess up your analysis.

*edit*
Yeah I knew it would be an ill-defined question. I wanted to put it in but it's not really a question meant for a survey. More something where people can discuss the definitions and meanings behind the terms. I think I may just remove it.
I think it would have been better as two questions. One like:
How skilled an optimizer do you consider yourself?
Extremely skilled
Very skilled
etc....
...and another like:
How do you prefer to optimize?
Theoretical optimization; I like to show off neat tricks and combinations I've found in the rules that generally wouldn't be used in play.
Powergaming; I like to "win" at D&D by using everything available to me to make a very powerful character.
Practical optimization; I like to make sure my character is actually good at the things their fluff says they should be good at, and is useful in gameplay, without going too overboard.
Concept optimization; I like to make use of my extensive knowledge of available material to make a build represent a pre-selected character concept as closely as possible.
I don't like to optimize.
The former could be a "more or less" question, whereas I think the latter hast to just be a categorical variable.

[Curmudgeon]

As mentioned above, possible answers to #8 are questionable. The bottom three represent a scale of experience/ability, while the top three are more about attitudes toward optimization. I answered "well-versed" because it seemed the best option for "experienced optimizer who chooses not to ruin people's fun by over-optimizing in games where it's not expected." But if you're trying to treat all 6 answers as an ordinal variable, anyone who answers like me is going to mess up your analysis.
I gave the same answer, though I pull out all the stops when I optimize. It's just that I start at Tier 4 or lower power to set the baseline.

[Zombulian]

Survey taken. What's the class?

It's a composition and rhetoric class. I'm using observation and this survey as resources to decide if this sub forum can be defined as a Discourse Community.

Edit: The survey has hit over 100 responses. Thanks everyone! Feel free to take the survey, but past 100 responses the results aren't calculated on the site.

[Garktz]

As an advice, english is by far the most spoken language in the internet, a question about mother language or from where are the posters would be nice i believe...
Im saying this because of the question about the therms used on this forum, for me, was a bit hard to catch with all of them and also with the short? names of the books mm, dmg etc, because i have most of them in spanish and well, sometimes its confusing :-P

[Zombulian]

As an advice, english is by far the most spoken language in the internet, a question about mother language or from where are the posters would be nice i believe...
Im saying this because of the question about the therms used on this forum, for me, was a bit hard to catch with all of them and also with the short? names of the books mm, dmg etc, because i have most of them in spanish and well, sometimes its confusing :-P

Good idea! The survey is already closed, but I'll have a chance to revise the essay when I'm putting together my portfolio. Maybe I'll send a revised survey out again too.

[Tarlek Flamehai]

Question 6 is a tad vague. I assumed you meant D&D 3e/3.5e/d20 since you mentioned a subforum. I would note that Roleplaying Games is also a subforum, and the parent of D&D 3e/3.5e/d20. I would recommend spelling out what you mean in #6. I've been doing this vs since 2011, but I've been playing RPGs since 1982.

[Max Caysey]

Interesting... be sure to upload the data when the project is done. I would very much like to see it<!

[Fax Celestis]

Good idea! The survey is already closed, but I'll have a chance to revise the essay when I'm putting together my portfolio. Maybe I'll send a revised survey out again too.

If you do so, maybe use googledocs with a form instead? It's pretty decent analytics and doesn't have a cap on number of responses.

Actually, hell, I'll do that now. PM me your email address and I'll share the results doc with you, Zomb.

New survey: http://goo.gl/forms/UnNcfkWkks

[Zombulian]

If you do so, maybe use googledocs with a form instead? It's pretty decent analytics and doesn't have a cap on number of responses.

Actually, hell, I'll do that now. PM me your email address and I'll share the results doc with you, Zomb.

New survey: http://goo.gl/forms/UnNcfkWkks

Wow that is way better. I dunno, I used Survey Monkey because my teacher recommended it.

edit: Fax you gotta clear your inbox :P

[Fax Celestis]

Wow that is way better. I dunno, I used Survey Monkey because my teacher recommended it.

edit: Fax you gotta clear your inbox :P

Whoops! Try now.

[Temotei]

If you do so, maybe use googledocs with a form instead? It's pretty decent analytics and doesn't have a cap on number of responses.

Actually, hell, I'll do that now. PM me your email address and I'll share the results doc with you, Zomb.

New survey: http://goo.gl/forms/UnNcfkWkks

On the participation in informal competitions, I put "Practically all the time" because I run the BCC (and I'll help out if asked with other competitions), but maybe that's inaccurate? Unsure.

That's the only unclear bit for me. Good work.

[Fax Celestis]

On the participation in informal competitions, I put "Practically all the time" because I run the BCC (and I'll help out if asked with other competitions), but maybe that's inaccurate? Unsure.

That's the only unclear bit for me. Good work.

It's "participate", not "enter". You answered fine.

[Temotei]

It's "participate", not "enter". You answered fine.

Cool. If it were enter, it'd be the next option after never. :smalltongue:

[eggynack]

I can't tell if rules/build help also connote helping people with that stuff instead of just seeking such help. It seems like it would, but at the same time, those seem like two very different things. It looks a bit like ""Is there a thing that does X?" questions." was supposed to cover that ground, but it's hard to tell for sure.

[Venger]

I can't tell if rules/build help also connote helping people with that stuff instead of just seeking such help. It seems like it would, but at the same time, those seem like two very different things. It looks a bit like ""Is there a thing that does X?" questions." was supposed to cover that ground, but it's hard to tell for sure.

Yeah, I had the same problem. I answer people's rules/build questions considerably more often than I ask my own. the question seemed to just cover making the threads and not contributing answers to them.

[Fax Celestis]

I can't tell if rules/build help also connote helping people with that stuff instead of just seeking such help. It seems like it would, but at the same time, those seem like two very different things. It looks a bit like ""Is there a thing that does X?" questions." was supposed to cover that ground, but it's hard to tell for sure.

"Help" is on both sides of the equation: both people who need help, and those who offer it. Sorry I wasn't clear.

[eggynack]

"Help" is on both sides of the equation: both people who need help, and those who offer it. Sorry I wasn't clear.
It might be an issue of necessary granularity more than clarity. Needing help and providing it are different in most conceivable ways, even if two groups might hang out in basically the same threads.

[Irk]

It's a composition and rhetoric class. I'm using observation and this survey as resources to decide if this sub forum can be defined as a Discourse Community.
I did not know what I discourse community was, but I looked it (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discourse_community) up (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discourse), and this is a really interesting place to try and conduct that kind of research. You'll have to let us know how it comes out. One problem I could see (with the survey), is that the permeation of discourses could depend on both the growth rate of GitP (newer posters won't know as much), the learning curve of posters, and the occasional argument thread that goes on for ages (usually caused in waves by a single individual before they are banned or melt back into the community). Naturally you're also basing this on observation, and you're far more familiar with all of this than me, so I could be getting it all wrong, but I am very interested to hear about how this project encapsulates the community!

[Garktz]

Checked the new one, as a tip, you might want to edit #1 to post the new link

[Zombulian]

I did not know what I discourse community was, but I looked it (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discourse_community) up (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discourse), and this is a really interesting place to try and conduct that kind of research. You'll have to let us know how it comes out. One problem I could see (with the survey), is that the permeation of discourses could depend on both the growth rate of GitP (newer posters won't know as much), the learning curve of posters, and the occasional argument thread that goes on for ages (usually caused in waves by a single individual before they are banned or melt back into the community). Naturally you're also basing this on observation, and you're far more familiar with all of this than me, so I could be getting it all wrong, but I am very interested to hear about how this project encapsulates the community!

Yeah it's definitely an interesting topic. I'm personally using John Swales' 6 characteristics of Discourse Communities as a sort of litmus test.