Dr. Edwards and Dr. Redden have returned for another round of questions in an attempt to scientifically explain the reason why we all fell for overly cute ponies. Usually I put surveys into the nightly roundup, but these guys are definitely legit!
If you want to help them with their second round of questioning, check out the website for it here, and click the "Take the survey" link at the top. It's a long one, filled with all sorts of difficult questions, but nothing overly intrusive. The "dark side" (or clop) evaluation mentioned in the article wasn't included, though honestly it might be kind of interesting to see what the results of something like that would be. I guess we will have to wait for the third.
Right now, Brony Study #1 is currently being re-evaluated due to a large influx of participants, so I'll toss that up once they finish.
Anyway, go help them analyze us... for science.
201 comments:
Oh, the poor scientists....
ReplyDeleteStudies studies studies
ReplyDeleteFOR SCIENCE!
ReplyDeleteI met that guy at Bronycon, didn't I?!
ReplyDeleteSo much science!XD
ReplyDeleteSCIENCE
ReplyDeleteFor Magic!... Um I mean science
ReplyDeleteNow when someone asks, "Why do you like this show so much?" we can all say, "That's currently being studied by top men. TOP MEN!"
ReplyDeleteomg, that website looks horribly unprofessional.
ReplyDeleteBut I'll take the survey anyway, FOR SCIENCE!
I will try and find this man at Bronycon
ReplyDeleteFor SCIENCE
Do we get cake when this is all over?
ReplyDelete@Evenprime Well, the guy's a psychologist, not a web designer. Anyway, I'm halfway through. Interesting questions so far.
ReplyDeleteIt feels like we're actually ponies being studied o3o
ReplyDeleteIf friendship is science, and friendship is also magic, can we conclude that science is magic?
ReplyDeleteMore questions? *sigh* Buck I guess I can do it. You know for science and all that jibber jabber.
ReplyDeleteJust finished it, took me several hours to get through. Definitely legit, it'll be interesting to read the final analysis.
ReplyDeleteWhat exactly is Twilight trying to create in that picture? A sonic rainboom?
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know what commercial he was talking about when he said "A recent commerical includes a young man who takes off his shirt to reveal MLP-like tattoo on his back"?
ReplyDeleteIt was long, but definitely worth it!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete>scientifically explain
ReplyDelete>why I love ponies
NOOOOOOOOOOPE!.............
I will gladly participate in this Aperture Science enrichment activity.
ReplyDeleteI'm very happy with this survey ^_^ as a Christian brony I feel like page 4 was almost directed at me. When it asked if I receive guidance from the message of love and tolerance that MLP portrays, I thought to myself "dude, that's creepy".
ReplyDeleteMy steam name may or may not contain "Love and Tolerance" in the name :3
Sadly, this survey has the same issue as the previous one; it's just too damn long! Stick to the basics, dammit!
ReplyDeleteWow that was quite some survey...
ReplyDeleteSigh its moments like this that make me so happy to be a scientist.
ReplyDeleteSo. Yeah. This is a terrible survey:
ReplyDeleteYou have far, far too many "dual" questions on this survey. "I understand rules are necessary and have little trouble following them" is a great example. I _do_ understand rules are needed. But I have trouble following them. While struct boolean logic would have me checking "never true."
You also many negative questions where "very true" indicates that you seldom/never partake in an activity. "When I am faced with a problem or under stress I do not feel the need to grab a quick shot of booze or a joint." would be an example. you are going to get a lot of crap data from people who cannot parse Very true = I do not do this.
You also have a crap ton of useless questions that do not seem to indicate anything. "I usually get enough sleep and seldom sleep more than 10 hours per day." _I_ never get enough sleep (3 y/o son) but I also never sleep for more than 8 hours (3 y/o son). I was forced to answer "no" to this (boolean logic) which could lead you to think I slept for more than 10 hours. A false conclusion.
Please learn how to be unambiguous in your survey questions. You come off as total amateurs, very reminiscent of the psyche kids' surveys in my dorm. I stopped filling this form out 75% of the way through due to the shear number of bad questions. Next time you may want to demonstrate a litte rigor.
It says people 18 and up are suposed to take it... should i take it anyway even though i'm 16?
ReplyDelete@Kits
ReplyDeleteThis. This all over.
@Kits
ReplyDeleteThey...uh...also misspelled "definitely" at the very end.
@StarSorio Yeah should we take it? I'm not 18 yet.
ReplyDeleteOh, that was probing.
ReplyDelete>Scientists
ReplyDelete>Grammar mistake on page 11
>_____>
Twilight Sparkle would be SO proud right now
ReplyDeleteThat was a bit probing, and quite long. Would type more about it but... should have been in the shower 20 minutes ago. It's worth doing, however.
ReplyDeleteTook it
ReplyDeleteJust finished the survey. I have to say that none of the "Brony Typologies" on the last page fit me to a T though. If the first one had "reserved" instead of "outgoing" it would've been perfect.
ReplyDeleteJUST finished it. Pretty thorough, if you ask me. Very glad that I did it, however. Ignore the grammatical errors, though :)
ReplyDelete@[Snow] Leopard Yeti Articuno
Eeyup
@James
ReplyDeleteShit happens. No one's perfect.
I'd say if you're under 18, you shouldn't take the survey. That's my opinion.
ReplyDelete@James
ReplyDeleteI find that many times professionally smart people make very basic mistakes. My chemistry tutor was a microbiologist who owned his own lab where he helped the county check for impurities in the water, among other things. He could do unbelievably long and complex calculations in his head, but sometimes I had to point out when he made simple division mistakes.
@autobptgodzilla Just like a certain man in college for being an engineer who couldn't work a standard microwave or get ice out of a tray :)
ReplyDelete@[Snow] Leopard Yeti Articuno
ReplyDeleteYay! Another Christian Brony! Mentioning religion of any type on the internet is asking for a world of hurt, but it's nice to see I'm not the only one.
@autobotgodzilla Ello.
ReplyDelete@Jay6
ReplyDeleteErm.... why?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete@autobotgodzilla
ReplyDeletetrue that :) I'm sure there are plenty more out there somewhere :)
Yay Science for Bronies :D
ReplyDelete@autobotgodzilla Hey, I'm one of those too. :>
ReplyDeleteYeah, there were some grammatical errors and dualities like Kits mentioned. But I trudged through 'em, and I would love to see what they accomplish with this info.
Must be 18 or older. But, but, I'm only a few months under! ;(
ReplyDeleteWell that was fun, now come the boring part. Waiting for the results.
ReplyDeleteAnd now that I'm done with that I should get back to my homework. The internet is distracting me from my chores and responsibilities again.;)
ReplyDelete@ShadowBrony
ReplyDeleteThen round up. They do state that you know.
@[Snow] Leopard Yeti Articuno
ReplyDeleteI'm one :)
God damn surveys! I feel like I'm letting them down when I don't know how to answer / when it doesn't apply to me. As a stabled brony, half of these questions actually made me feel bad for not spreading the ponymania O.o
ReplyDeleteDa mythbuster crossover isa coming
ReplyDeleteOh man this thing is much longer than the first one...
ReplyDelete...
Sheesh that took a good 45 minutes... Worth the time though, can't wait to see the results.
You know this is off topic but when did Twilight get a lab?
ReplyDeleteFinally done. I had to laugh at the internet related questions. Does MLP or the internet keep me from going to sleep? I'm filling out a questionaire about me being a Brony at friggin 3 AM, I guess that's a yes, very much.
ReplyDeleteAs has been said, some of the questions were really bad and should've been splitted into at least two seperate questions. And the final brony types were too specific combinations, such that none of them could really fit me.
Just because I'm usually shy doesn't mean I hide being a Brony or won't tell my family/friends about it.
Those pages on spirituality near the end, they were uhh... far out.
ReplyDeleteThat was a very,very long survey. Ow.
ReplyDelete"This survey is for persons of 18 years or older"
ReplyDeleteWhoops. xD
And here I was hoping they would ask *how* people get their pony fix (that is, what websites and such they visit). Another time, I suppose, though I did suggest it for further topics.
ReplyDelete@Kits Wow, I'm glad to read some critical comments about this guy's project. I haven't taken a look at the most recent questionnaire but I did read through the first one, and I really wasn't impressed with the question wording or the overall survey design (I'm speaking from experience as a survey methodologist). If this new survey has similar content and design, then I don't expect to put much stock in the results... but I'll reserve judgment until I've had the chance to go through this questionnaire as well.
ReplyDelete"i don't have any issue with applejack"
ReplyDeleteQuite an in-depth survey. I'm happy to contribute to understanding the Brony phenomenon.
ReplyDeleteThe only problem I had with the survey is that I'm an atheist, and MLP reflects views that I have, but all of that information was in the faith section.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone else get a flashback to Twilight hooking Pinkie up to the machine in Feeling Pinkie Keen?
ReplyDeleteThat was a long and thorough survey. My head hurts now >.<
ReplyDelete...I can't get past the first question...
ReplyDeleteWhat constitutes a "brony"?
Forget all the little silly things like 'correct grammar' or 'adequate levels of ambiguous questions'.
ReplyDeleteThe real thing that makes this test sub par is the lack of a sarcastic, monotone robot that at the beginning of each page makes a casual joke about the possibility of my death or dismemberment during the course of the evaluation all the while promising me confectionery goodies as a reward for completing the survey.
@Got Derp What sort of thing are you talking about? Not to make this into a feelings jam but this intrigues me.
ReplyDelete@4d4f5c2a-0f40-11e1-b2f5-000bcdcb8a73
ReplyDeleteThat's easy. Anyone outside the target demographic that enjoys My Little Pony.
I feel like I'm floating in the air when I listen to Smile Smile Smile, guys.
ReplyDeleteSome of those questions were weird, and it was a lot longer than I anticipated. Looking forward to seeing the results.
regardless of what you think of the survey they are doing it to understand us rather than make us look bad, so i hope everyone here supports them and takes the survey
ReplyDeleteSCIENCE!
ReplyDeleteI for one am glad that these two are doing their science thing. It's really reassuring to have scientific data proving that we're not a bunch of weirdos.
>MFW the results come back, proving that we are in fact a bunch of weirdos.
>No regrets
@Kits you do raise some interesting points, but FWIW I do think they were at least aware of the dual questions. A few of those sections had instructions that said something like "Even if only one of these two applies to you, answer as you feel the whole pair applies to you". I won't comment on if this is bad design or not, but it at least seemed intentional.
Just finished it. It was very spirit-oriented. And the questions were kinda...not well-written I guess. Lots of grammatical errors.
ReplyDeleteThe strength of the Brony community is just that, the community. This fan base has built a heavy rooted community of EXTREMELY talented people and those who are active in the community give it the life force.
ReplyDeleteSuch as Celestia must raise the sun in Equestria, The community must give light to the viewers. This gives the show a personal approach as everyone(or everypony) can express their own ideas to the group as a whole.
Good day Sirs
@Vipera
ReplyDeleteI felt the same way about the last page.
@d.munir96
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. The religion stuff was odd at times, and there were a number of errors and strange mixed-context types of issues. Must be an undergrad project. :P
I finally got finished with this... Now I'm hungry. ;_;
ReplyDeleteAbout my comment from earlier, reason why I say 16 year olds (young teens) shouldn't take the survey is because the results wont be as accurate. Besides, you have to be 18 and older anyways to take it. May as well follow the rules, right?
@Got Derp
ReplyDeleteI agree. I replaced the words "God" and "faith" and etc. with "belief system" to answer those questions.
This survey is insanely messy.
ReplyDeleteThey're using 'never true' to 'always true' to scale "how often do you" questions!
I just went and became a data point! I was scared but it feels OK.
ReplyDeleteIt was somewhat long and personal,I liked it.
ReplyDeleteI would have joined the first one if I even knew there was one.
ReplyDeleteDual questions, especially those asked from different vantage points eliminate statistical outliers and ensure the point of data being collected is valid. All things being equal, you should be answering the same way to both dual questions, otherwise there's some misunderstanding or misrepresentation going on. Critical evaluation is fine, but just how many of us have PhD's in Psychology (as the two survey creators do). I'd put more stock into saying we're not used to this type of survey than in the idea that they screwed it up as amateurs would.
ReplyDeleteThat felt more like a psychoanalysis than a survey about colorful equines
ReplyDeleteYeahhh, I started filling this out in earnest but around the second page I had to stop and just focus on evaluating the questions. I stand by my earlier assertion - this questionnaire and the last one are both a mess. Though, this one does seem to improve upon the design from the previous one, but the questions, response options, and the direction text are still worded poorly in ways that are confusing to the respondent, are laden with grammatical/spelling/formatting errors, and in some cases are leading or inherently biased -- all of these issues can contribute to significant response error that will sway the results of the survey.
ReplyDeleteStill flipping through, we'll see if anything else warrants a mention...
@Princess Luna >Everypony
ReplyDeleteIt was a psychoanalysis of people who like colorful equines.
I volunteer to make a more attractive website for these guys.
ReplyDeleteWell that was cool, but it did get a little 'out there' near the end
ReplyDeleteWait...am I suppose to glow after taking the test?
ReplyDelete*blinks and floats around*
Wait...I'm in...dare I say it? Oh...I do...
SSSSSSPPPPPPPPPPPPPPAAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCCCCCEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hope I helped the community! /)
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't take a scientist to get why people like the show. People group together for all sorts of reasons, and members of the community have come here for pretty much ever reason. Some use it as a way to connect to others with similar interests and hobbies, and others use it as an outlet for their creativity. All the creative people in this community makes it worth being apart of. Then you got the people who are here to be prejudiced against.
ReplyDeleteThere are people who form subgroups for the sole purpose of being prejudiced against. They want to be unique individuals, and to not conform to society. They seek acknowledgement of their efforts through the prejudiced of others. Even though they desire it, they never respond to it positively. Those are the people who are blowing the Derpy Hooves thing out of proportion. They see that as a sign that they are being prejudiced against, and blowing it out of proportion so that their pseudo individualism may be validated.
The major reason for a community being formed around anything, and this is proven by MODDING communities around video games, is a creative outlet. People enjoy being able to create things for others and experiencing what others have created. They accept that it's not a true part of the original, and that's what makes it good. If it's not good, it doesn't take away from the original, but if it is good, it adds to the experience of the original.
Maybe these psuedo scientist need to spend less time in their labs and more time experiencing the real world. It's so obvious why communities form that I can't help but feel their just doing it to piggyback on the communities fame, though I have no idea what their getting out of it. Perhaps a some sort of thesis or report for college? Even instructors need to do research papers regularly.
did it
ReplyDeleteRemember, any sufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from science!
ReplyDeleteI did like the "favorite pony" question (it's Spitfire). I was tempted to put something along the lines of "she's sex with wings" as the reason, but decided to be a bit more tactful.
ReplyDelete@EngineerBrony
^
PSYCHOLOGY!?!?!??!! RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
ReplyDeleteHoly crap that survey took me an hour… but it was worth it... FOR SCIENCE!
ReplyDelete@Aisha Sartre
ReplyDeleteHear hear!
@Pav Feira
ReplyDelete"I for one am glad that these two are doing their science thing. It's really reassuring to have scientific data proving that we're not a bunch of weirdos."
I'm not so sure that's what the data proves. ;-)
But what the illustration above proves beyond doubt is that lab coats are mandatory when practicing any form of SCIENCE!, even for psychology professors like Dr. Edwards, and are surprisingly cute when worn by bookish unicorns.
And as for SCIENCE! Thomas Dolby is Best Pony. [|:-D
I am a lab brony! :D
ReplyDeleteOkay, finished going through the rest of the questionnaire... I can say that the structure improved as I got near the end, probably because the questions stuck to the ordinal response format (e.g., varying levels across a spectrum of "agreement"). I imagine the researchers plan to use factor analysis to identify response patterns among different groups of respondents (or, that's how I would approach the data if it were my project). I still think the front end needs some considerable clean-up work, though.
ReplyDeleteA few other posters commented on the high presence of content related to spirituality/religion/faith topics and I'd have to agree. In fact, the emphasis is so high that you can almost make out the direction that the researchers want to go -- that they want to explore the relationship between spirituality and MLP fandom in depth -- and this is a cause for concern to data quality since, if respondents can piece together this intention over the course of the survey, that knowledge can sway their response behavior, thereby biasing the results.
Sorry bout the wall-o-text, everypony ^_^
@Aisha Sartre
ReplyDeleteUm, you do scientific studies by observation, hypothesizing, gathering data and experimentation and then seeing if your hypothesis is borne out. They're doing that, so I don't see why you're calling them "psuedoscientists." It's pretty clear that they are actual scientists who are engaged in researching the community.
Also, you lump the creative members of the community together with the ones who only enjoy the creations, while saying nothing about the people who just genuinely like the show itself and couldn't care less about the fan-created stuff.
Honestly, this whole phenomenon isn't as obvious as you say it is. The main reason why I hang out here is because the fandom itself fascinates me as much as the show entertains me. I'll be interested in reading their book when they get around to publishing it, mainly because I think Brony culture points out a lot of misconceptions about gender and media stereotypes in our culture.
As an atheist, most of the spirituality questions still fit me okay but a few were kind of odd in that context. I was given particular pause by the one about whether MLP fit the "teachings" of atheism.
ReplyDeleteHm... the gods are a pair of magical winged unicorns who directly control the Sun and Moon? Doesn't exactly fit atheism, or any religion that I know of. But are they gods, or just immortal super-powerful but non-deific beings? If they were part of something like Greek mythology they'd definitely be considered gods... so much complexity. Or perhaps I just overanalyze things. :)
I left a few notes about spelling and grammar errors in the "other comments" field at the very end.
@[Snow] Leopard Yeti Articuno
ReplyDeleteI'm actually glad to see bronies that are proud to say that they're Christians.
Apparently people aren't looking at these researchers' credentials. I think they know what they're doing, guys.
ReplyDeleteActually this survey isn't too bad, it avoids over-scietification and has many human elements in it, which is just as well since we are trying to understand people here.
ReplyDelete@Bowregarde
ReplyDelete"A few other posters commented on the high presence of content related to spirituality/religion/faith topics and I'd have to agree. In fact, the emphasis is so high that you can almost make out the direction that the researchers want to go -- that they want to explore the relationship between spirituality and MLP fandom in depth -- and this is a cause for concern to data quality since, if respondents can piece together this intention over the course of the survey, that knowledge can sway their response behavior, thereby biasing the results."
True, but that's a danger in any sort of questionnaire-based research. I'll be interested in reading their conclusions about what the great appeal of the show is.
... was it just me or did the wording in the new sections need major editing, i mean it made sense though the eyes of someone who failed English (kind of) but... yeah, science guys, go proof read your paper, come back and try again
ReplyDeleteSome of those questions man... like i knew them, but having to give a yes or no answer on a forum, its trippy man, like defining myself. I'm like a quanumly entangled particle man, there is no defining.
@Ponified Commando
ReplyDeleteI'm gonna pitch a comic to Marvel called Quanumly Entangled Particle Man now.
@Vipera Actually, I was wondering what business a clinical psychologist had in doing a study that was sociological or anthropological in nature. Not that he's not qualified to do it, mind you, but the content of the study isn't exactly up his alley. As far as his research partner, who is cited as having a research methodology background, that seems appropriate enough, though my earlier concerns about certain design elements and question wording raise some red flags, IMO.
ReplyDelete@Vipera
ReplyDeleteYou should have put 'Sex with Wings' seems perfectly legit to me. On that part I had to try and compliment Fluttershy without making me sound really creepy.
@Don't Call Me Brony (Please)
ReplyDelete"True, but that's a danger in any sort of questionnaire-based research. I'll be interested in reading their conclusions about what the great appeal of the show is."
Agreed, but most researchers who design questionnaires are aware of this danger and will do their best to mitigate the issue through proper design techniques. Not saying that they didn't attempt to reduce the bias potential, but it's still there and probably could have used some more work.
I expect that they will produce another infograph like the one they made for the first questionnaire, but I'd really like to read more about their survey design practices and the details of their data analysis, so I hope to see a more formal publication someday! ...I'm a bit of a data geek, if you couldn't tell :)
that took loger than i expected.
ReplyDelete@Bryan Yeah, I just answered no to those ones since it was asking about the teachings of my faith, and I don't consider my atheism a faith so I didn't think they were applicable.
ReplyDeleteI found some of the questions a bit clunkily-worded and I wish there had been some "long-term relationship" option for marital status (I'm not married but can hardly consider myself "single" after having lived with my partner for almost 9 years), but it was interesting overall.
So.. I just did an 30 min survey(for the 2nd time, I did the first one a few month ago) and only know read the whole "18 years" thing.. I want an hour worth of time back.. lol
ReplyDeleteI am putting absolutely no stock in this study. The nonsensical comments the researchers made when introducing this study has made me question whether they know what they are doing. I really don't think we need something like this and if we do, it should be done by more objective people.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to do it right now!
ReplyDelete@Vipera
ReplyDeleteTake this from a statistical consultant. NOBODY may be assumed correct based solely on credentials
Unfortunately, this survey isn't particularly well-written. Its questions are "leading", and the correlations that the researcher finds interesting to prove or disprove are too obvious. When the researcher is too visible, it impedes honesty and impairs trust that the researcher is impartial.
ReplyDeleteThe data set is also going to be manipulated by trolls and activists, and filtered by self-selection (i.e. answered only by people who are either exhibitionists, in a nonsexual sense, or who want to steer perception of MLP fans in one direction or another). I assume the researchers are aware of data-poisoning and selection bias... if they aren't, well, then they're not very good researchers.
I felt that most questions were trying to find out how the internet has affected my social life. More than how MLP had affect my life. I still think the survey needs to be narrowed down to more MLP related stuff.
ReplyDelete@Kits
ReplyDeleteThe sleep questions are part of determining correlations with clinical depression.
Yup, way too many double-negatives, internally-contradictory questions, and lumping together two conditions which are not necessarily linked in reality. There's going to be some answers opposite of what the reader intended.
@Jareddm
ReplyDeleteOh I know. That post was meant to be a reply to whoever was calling them "pseudoscientists", not to imply that they're beyond questioning.
Direct quote from one of the questions:
ReplyDelete"Sometimes I experience things as if they were doubly real (super intense)."
I can not begin to explain how hard I laughed at that, intentional or not!
Didn't complete it because it's a sloppy survey. Lots of typos and bad questions, but what really got me angry was the optional LGBT question on page 2.
ReplyDeleteI am a lesbian trans woman, but because of the way they set it up I had to choose between the two. Also, it's "I am transgender" not "I am a transgender."
If you're going to ask a question like that, show that you know what you're doing. >.<
Social scientists may spend years researching any particular group. This survey certainly would not be the pillar of their research, but a supplement to more personal interviews and close observation.
ReplyDeleteI can't say I would know the goals of these two given that every scientist has their own procedure, but interpretive bias is neither something you can avoid entirely or necessary want to avoid entirely in a survey. The important thing is mainly to understand the participant's own viewpoint on their situation.
That said, there was some confusing question structure in there which would hopefully be addressed in any subsequent survey.
Wow that was long...a lot of questions really likes to know if we're religious or spend a LOT of time on the internet xD
ReplyDeleteThe last question was strange. It seemed to assume that you were either outgoing and open about being a brony, or socially reserved/shy and didn't tell people about being a brony.
ReplyDeleteYou could be outgoing but a closet brony or socially reserved/shy and yet still be open about being a brony.
For science, Merideth!
ReplyDeleteThat was one doozy of survey, very fun and intriguing.
...
ReplyDeleteA recent commerical includes a young man who takes off his shirt to reveal MLP-like tattoo on his back.
...
Link please?
longer than I expected I ended it up doing it though since I got too far in to give up.
ReplyDeleteI really didn't like the religion and spiritual sections of this survey. Being Atheist, most of the "do you feel MLP is easier to understand" questions left me wondering what kind of teachings were for Atheists. The spirit section really confused me simply on wording. They said things in such a way that I kind of thought they were assuming I was high.
ReplyDeleteLong survey... A few parts didn't really have answers clear for me, so I ended up spending quite a bit more time on this than expected. :\
ReplyDeleteIt says that I have to be 18< to participate... Dammit.
ReplyDeleteWelp time for us to break science lol
ReplyDeleteWell I took the survey. Some of the answers were weird. But I think I did it to the best of my ability. :D
ReplyDeleteThat suevey was intense! A lot of the questions were out there and felt a little silly for the subject of ponies, but some of it can really put into perspective how the show and fandom has affected you. While i tend to agree with some of the other posts about this just being a fun social and creative outlet for most, i am definitely looking forward to seeing the results, especially the part focused on non-bronies.
ReplyDeleteI don't know. I haven't finished my doctorate yet and it's not in Phycology but I think there are large parts of this survey that I could do better:
ReplyDelete1: Get an English professor to go over it.
2: There are questions asking about fans that also participate in the online community but the bulk of people taking it got there from Equestria Daily. When it turns out 97% of MLP fans participate in the online community, I'm going to be suspicions. There needs to be a question asking how you ended up at the survey.
3: Some of the questions are too leading while others are too ambiguous. It's way too obvious what correlations the researches are looking for and the answer I wanted wasn't there for quite a few of the questions.
4: The rating system for questions is confusing and I'm pretty sure it contains double negatives.
Was a little tiring but am glad to help
ReplyDeleteWHAT? 18 and older? I wasted 30 minutes! D:
ReplyDeleteI guess once the results of this get published, other researchers may pick up the topic and say "I can do better" or "I call BS on that" and give us better worded, less confusing surveys to fill out.
ReplyDeleteSo even if this is not the best questionaire, it may lead to better ones once some kind of "competition" around the topic starts.
FOR SCIENCE!
ReplyDeleteWell there goes a good hour of my Sunday night, FOR SCIENCE!
ReplyDeleteI didn't see any problems with tiny mistakes; I deal with correcting my math teachers on actual problems on a daily basis, so I know that professionals can't catch them all.
Anyhoo, I'll be patiently waiting for the results now.
I demand questions about clopping. This survey was supposed to look at the dark side of the fandom.
ReplyDeleteAmazing survey, could have split some questions up more efficiently. Took a long time to do it, and I left a small novel in the final comment box. I'm also a Christian, and I did appreciate the plethora of questions that allowed me to relate the balance between spirituality, life, religion, and fandom.
ReplyDelete@all of the atheist bronies, I'm also an atheist. Obviously, those questions were targeted at non-atheists and not us. That section even opened with a question that asked if we subscribed to a religion or were atheist, etc. No real reason to get bent over it. Also, being atheist refers to not believing in a deity. It doesn't necessarily mean a lack of faith or spirituality from someplace else. So some atheists still might find those questions relevant.
ReplyDelete@Caerdwyn Valid points, but self-selection is going to be largely inevitable. The only real places you're going to be able to recruit bronies from is the Internet or a meetup like BronyCon (both of which are biased groups). If there's a means of polling that introduces less bias, I'm sure they'd be interested to hear it :) FWIW, something like 40% of bronies in their first poll fell into the "Hidden Brony" quadrant (socially introverted, doesn't even really participate in the online brony communities), so at least they're getting represented.
Also, I just noticed that their front page is mentioning they'll be looking for "Research Associates... who wish to join our research efforts in a more formal manner". That sounds... intriguing to say the least.
@reclaimedvalor
ReplyDeleteTBH this disappointed me too. There's always Survey #3 I guess.
Pfft, screw you guys, I took it for magic!
ReplyDeleteThe only question I thought was really weird was "do you dream about the internet"?
I'm not sure these guys realize that there's becoming less and less of a distinction between "internet usage" and daily living. Everything is on the net now.
Honestly, I think that's a good thing. I have a personal theory that the internet is a big step towards world peace. Think about the simple fact that we can communicate and develop friends in almost any country in the world. Would you support your nation going to war with a country you had people you cared about living in? Communication is key to understanding and tolerating other cultures, and that's exactly what the internet allows us to do.
...
WOW I got off topic!
Maybe they need to accept user submitted questions, organize them into a preliminary survey sample. Then post it to be evaluated (clarity of questions, completeness of options, suggestions per section, to refine a final survey that DOES encompass everything. It could go back and forth several times, with the final survey posted here, maybe as a permanent link. Results of new submissions could be periodically tallied and incorporated into the total average, as well as keep track of growth of the fandom and follow trend changes through time.
ReplyDelete*Phuh* that took a while, I must say I'm very interested in what the results and conclusions of the survey might be.
ReplyDelete@Don't Call Me Brony (Please)
ReplyDeleteI called them pseudo scientists because their social scientists who are doing research on a somewhat unoriginal topic. My referring to them as pseudo scientists is based heavily on prejudiced and should be dismissed.
I lumped the members of the community who create and who observe because that is the community. A community by definition is the interaction between living organisms within a specific medium. The Brony Community's interactions is creating and observing. The medium ranges from various websites to real world conventions.
Source Material (such as MLP) is not limited to just one community. If there interactions taking place on two mediums that do not cross over, then they are two separate communities. Such as what would happen if Site A barred new members, and they formed Site B as a result. As a result, a person who only interacting with the Source Material is not interacting with any specific community. Also keep in mind that there are many words used to describe community members such as, but not limited to, active and inactive.
For a community to form, they need a medium to interact through. Various sites on the internet allow for that. The Source Material needs to be open ended allowing for individuals to add their own original content to the Source Material. Simply changing things to suit their needs does not count. Tools need to be provided to enable individuals to easily add their own original content. In the case of video games, we have MODDING TOOLS. In the case of MLP, we have photo editing tools, video editing, peer reviews for fanfic, ECT! Yet, somehow the Brony Phenomenon is not obvious?
There are some "not immediately obvious" aspects such as; why we grew so fast, and why were bonded so tightly (IE, one single community rather then several). Those are not immediately obvious but a little bit of investigation can easily explain it. This survey however doesn't claim to seek to explain any of that. It is trying to understand the individuals who make up the Brony Community as if to say that were not linked by the Source Material, but rather something else.
I'm really glad they let you add comments, so that when this comes out there'll be a thread full of "Alright, which one of you said X?" It'll be like that party game where everyone has a secret note with their character on their forehead.
ReplyDeleteThat was fun. Reminds me of scientific surveys I've done in the past. I'm a fraternal twin, and as such am involved through a local university in a twin study that sends me questionnaires every so often. I also did a few for credit in my undergrad psychology classes.
ReplyDeleteProtip: for those of you not accustomed to these scientific surveys, they are a great deal more involved than, for example, the Bronyland personality test that was posted a few weeks ago. So you might wanna grab a glass of water to sip on while you take it.
As for the questions about God and religion and so on, I just substituted "worldview" for "faith". In my experience, they are largely interchangeable.
Only now does it occur to me that they should have had a few questions about involvement in other fandoms. I'm pretty sure that my enjoyment of Star Trek and Star Wars has affected my involvement here.
In closing, it was an intriguing survey, albeit somewhat iffy in spots and in need of a copyeditor, as noted by other commenters. I'll have to be sure to check out part 3 when it comes around.
Good survey, painless, just time consuming.
ReplyDeleteI do want to get the "Dark Side" stuff out of the way, but maybe they're holding back on those so that they can think of better-worded questions and the like. After all, anything remotely sexual with anything - not just this fandom - is a taboo in the majority of society, so it's important that they don't tread on any landmines
Did the survey, took a long time. But it will be worth it in the end :).
ReplyDeleteI filled it out proudly. :) I hope the surveys will help out!
ReplyDeleteUm, didn't I just leave a massive post here? Was it too long or something? I don't think I said anything wrong, and I didn't link to anything.
ReplyDeleteWell, can't hurt to test to see. The survey had a lot of problems, but it wasn't bad. It just seemed rushed, and a lot of parts seemed to be copy and pasted from other surveys. That's good in the sense that you know the validity and reliability of those tools/items, but the translation into a new questionnaire (even if it's not for pay) could have been done more carefully.
Huh...is there a post somewhere saying why a comment might be removed or what comments aren't allowed? Considering I spent so much time on the previous one, I'd like to know why it was removed (or if it wasn't that, what glitch happens. I refreshed a few times to make sure it was there, so my guess is that a mod took it down.)
I partake in several surveys already, so why not
ReplyDeleteOh Sethisto... your picture choices for posts are an anomaly sometimes.
ReplyDeleteStatistical analyses do not require bunsen burners and chemicals.
@Mike
ReplyDeleteBy the way, it looks like twilight's making very inefficient use of that bunsen burner... forget magic kindergarten, Celestia ought to send her to lab-equipment kindergarten.
@Mike
ReplyDeleteAND she's using the pipette wrong!
ಠ_à²
" We will be launching an "Academic News" page, which will detail news stories and academic publications (two manuscripts are currently in preparation) relating to the Brony population. "
ReplyDeleteI approve:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKUOB8MN4Kc
I'd love to read those when they're done.
OMG that took ages for me to finish, but I still finished it and it's all worth it
ReplyDeleteYou know, those here who see the obvious problems with the survey should just drop these researchers a line. They'd probably be grateful for the input.
ReplyDelete>14-page survey to cover the whole of the fandom.
ReplyDelete>Completely ignore clop/grimdark-community.
Way to go, sir.
Pretty straightforward, but I wasn't really sure on how to answer a few of the questions like whether my family and peers accept different gender preferences/identities. We have certain beliefs about issues related to that which some people would define as non-accepting, but its not like we hate, shun, or devalue persons.
ReplyDeleteAfter completing it, i feel drained down. 14 pages of numerous questions 'bout relations and faith. Need to take a walk.
ReplyDeleteWhat is your current Marital Status?
ReplyDeleteI always hate this question... I'm a steady relationship, but I'm not married. So I HAVE to say I'm Single. So in the next question, I obviously have to answer I am NOT interested in dating (because I have a girlfriend). But this feels like I'm feeding wrong data into the survey...
Somehow, I feel like I entered a lot of inaccurate info into that survey, but a lot of it was accurate. I dunno what the big deal other bronies have with the length of the survey. I didn't think it was too long at all.
ReplyDeleteI took the non-brony questionnaire purely because I hate "brony", "broseph" or any other "bro-" neologisms.
ReplyDeleteI now realise I'm addicted to the internet. :-(
@acksed
ReplyDeleteAnd then I sent him an entire essay with my theories about how the fandom exploded.
Done.
ReplyDeletePhew just finished it, it took longer than I thought it would. While some of the questions and answers did have errors and phrased weirdly, it was pretty straight forward, and glad to have done it.
ReplyDeleteLook forward to checking out the book!
@Maggotpulse
ReplyDeleteMaybe someone should put this into the post.
After submitting you get this WTF quote from the survey generator company.
ReplyDelete---------
We no longer have to involve our technical people or HTML programmers to produce a survey. Instead, our marketing team can do it independently, which is a huge advantage in terms of time savings."
Senior Vice President of a
major eCommerce Website
-----------
I wonder if this post will get lost in the flood of comments, but although the survey was pretty poorly worded at some points, and was definitely looking for certain correlations, I feel at least better that the researchers doing this are Ph.Ds. Both of them are Ph.Ds in psychology and one of them teaches research design and methodology, so I'm confident that they know what they're doing in the very least.
ReplyDeleteWow that was one hell of a long survey! Also some of the questions seemed rather weird and out of place to me, like the one that asked you if you ever felt like you were floating whenever you listened to organ music or heavy music.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, i feel like i was more or less faithful, even if some of the questions were a bit weird!
@PlanckEpoch
ReplyDeleteHehe, yeah i was quite surprised at the amount of poorly worded english in there, either they typed created it in a rush, or they cant type!
It is quite obvious to me that the darker side / clopfics is a natural symptom. After all the majority of viewers are men in their teens - early twenties.
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing wrong with expressing our desires in this manner. It is healthy exploration. >,.,<
Some parts of the survey were worded in an almost (or fully) absurd manner, I found it to be entertaining. xD Anyways, took me awhile, but it has been completed and sent! OuO
ReplyDeleteDon't have time right now, I guess science will have to wait till tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteFor science. Some questions were expected. Forms like this typically ask questions in a roundabout way and repeatedly to get confirmations. Some were still downright weird.
ReplyDeleteEh, psychologists. But may Celestia protect us from psychiatrists.
@Beta-Carotene 'The only question I thought was really weird was "do you dream about the internet"?'
ReplyDeleteIt's an addiction question, like the others in that section.
'I'm not sure these guys realize that there's becoming less and less of a distinction between "internet usage" and daily living. Everything is on the net now.'
I suppose that's why they ask addiction questions along with usage of the Internet questions. I'm personally on the Internet for about 80 hours a week between my job and my home life, as the Internet's almost completely supplanted both my TV and my phone and therefore the time I used to spend on those. (If I'm having trouble sleeping because my mind doesn't want to settle down and keeps thinking of things, I'll put a boring podcast on loop and let the wash of words occupy my mind and knock me out. Does that count as being on the Internet an extra 8 hours that night?)
And even worse, if you ask how many hours a day I *use* the internet, that's 168 hours a week: I have a low-power PC I built to be an always-on box that handles downloads, Echo Bazaar, etc. It's either running or undergoing maintenance/in the middle of a power outage. So I'm using the Internet even when I'm nowhere near a PC.
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ReplyDeleteSo Twilight, wish to be treated with some delicious cake?
ReplyDeleteSo Twilight, wish to be treated with some delicious cake?
ReplyDeletei did it:)
ReplyDelete@ysalamiri
ReplyDeleteI do wish they put in celibate too. Obviously I'm in a reeaally small minority, but it would be nice.
Wow! Big survey! What's with those obvious internet-addiction suggestive questions?
ReplyDeleteI've just glanced through the comments, but there seems to be several about how pointless some of the questions are. I've taken my fair share of these survey studies as part of experiments being run at my university. A lot of psychology survey questions do come across as random. The best we can do is hope that they know what they are doing.
Questions could seem pointless on purpose too - they might not want you guessing at the true purpose of what they're indirectly trying to measure as it was skew their results.
I would gladly do anything for science. I would even donate my corpse if i knew it would benefit others.
ReplyDelete@PixelTwister
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking perhaps this is sort of like a pilot study or something. They're looking to recruit research associates, which imply that they're going to do more serious study at a later date.
@acksed
ReplyDeleteWhoa, I got a reply. Rereading, what I wrote's kind of confused. It was 7AM, but... :-( I wonder whom they mean by "posturing".
[name], thank you for this narrative. Excellent observations. We do see the us vs. them posturing.
The second survey is up. Please help us by completing it.
Best regards,
Dr. Redden
----
On Mon, Feb 27, 2012 at 1:08 AM, [email deleted] wrote:
When I think about how it ballooned, my mind goes to one of the chapters in "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman", where he repaired the radio. In it, the guy is dismissive of the little boy trying to fix a radio, berating him for all he's worth. Then, by simple deduction, he works out what's wrong and fixes it.
The key part is Feynman's observation of how the attitude of the man immediately flip-flops once it happens; he starts praising him for his genius at doing something simple because he hadn't seen its like, being just as positive as he had been negative, as if the man's brain had run some motor in reverse. The same kind of flip-flop of opinion may have occurred when /co/ discovered MLP: FiM. Each positive first contact was the same: dismissing became gushing, or disbelief that they liked it. In this case, the negative force is informed by a whole mess of male gender roles that were and are endemic in American society - 4chan mirrored this. But it also prides itself on being counterculture, joined in anonymity.
Now phase two of community growth kicked in. Once they discovered that, "hey, this GIRL'S SHOW is good", becoming part of the club of people who were in on the thing lent 'recruiting' extra impetus. They delighted in their growth, and enjoyed seeing others 'get it' and join them. So far, so good. Any board where a quality new work is discovered sees these flashmobs - Avatar: The Last Airbender was an especially notorious one for dominating /co/. A fandom was forming.
This time it was different. Some of the fans seemed to take on the message of the show seriously; newcomers were half-jokingly told to "love and tolerate". Trolls and shitposting of the level that would have caused frothing at the mouth in other fandoms were met with a deep breath and a smile. This is where the gender roles come in again - there is covert and overt pressure to act masculine all about us. (A good account of this is "Self-Made Man" by Nora Vincent.) Part of that is found in the adversarial nature of 4chan.
Meanwhile, the pony posters were busy having fun. The expressive nature of the show lent itself extremely well to memes and reaction images. The shared culture in the threads emphasised welcoming and kindness, celebrating the spread of Lauren Faust's message ("Girl's cartoons can also be for everyone!") whenever there was a mention of their show on some site or other. Plus, the new members had to face external disapproval from friends and family, and nothing causes a subculture faster than a "them" to oppose "us". Such disapproval was/is part and parcel of being a fan of comics and cartoons anyway; they found no shortage of sympathisers. Even the creators stopped by to chat. This combination of flip-flopping of opinion on initial contact, defying general laws of gender, welcoming environment, resistance to trolling, delight in its spread and hearing outsiders give props to the show's quality despite themselves meant there was little to stop it from growing and growing.
Once it escaped onto the wider internet, these qualities served as a potent force multiplier. Our delight in our growth only grew. That the creator of the show knew of us and approved made us feel appreciated and special. Any hostility for liking a girl's program only made the fandom close ranks and... love and tolerate.
Fuggin eh, that page 4 was quite gay. I don't want religion in my science!
ReplyDelete@Damhoof
ReplyDelete"There is nothing wrong with expressing our desires in this manner. It is healthy exploration. >,.,<"
... as long as the pony involved is in on it.
@Phantom240
ReplyDeleteIts psychology its what they do!
@Bowregarde
ReplyDeleteDamn I hope those guys aren't devout Christians who want to twist this information to show that MLP is converting people to some sort of satanic faith. You know what I mean? That's the worst possible outcome I could predict, mostly based on your spiritual questions. That would be ironic for the love and tolerance that the brony community holds so dear, though our reaction to such an act of discord.
Just a thought. I stopped agreeing with that as soon as I finished typing.
Gotta love psychology.
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