A video game survey

[decado]

It's basically a habit in the social sciences at this point to collect demographic data, whether you need it or not . If you don't need it you can simply toss it out, but since you are putting the survey out anyways you might as well ask. 

 

My primary interests are looking at the games people play, the amount of time they spend playing, and whether or not these factors can effect their reliance on professional reviews.  I'm also interested in why people read reviews to begin with.  Finally, I'm curious about what the differences between critics and users are, if any.

 

Also, it is worth pointing out that as of right now I have about 100 respondents to my survey.  By my estimation, less than 10% of those responses are from non-American gamers.  So I'm not really worried about the odd European or South American throwing off my results.  There simply aren't enough of those guys responding to my instrument to introduce a worrisome level of error with regard to level of income.  Even the most catastrophic answers from all of them wouldn't really throw me off much, and I'm betting that at least a few non-American respondents entered their income in American dollars because they know the amount anyways.

Edited June 25, 2013 by decado

[Tagaziel]

The fact is alien life can't be proven, does that mean you don't believe in extraterrestrial life? Also since religion can't be proven you must be atheist.

Actually, the existence of alien life is a perfectly falsifiable thesis. It poses a question with a binary answer, answer that will eventually emerge. It can be proven, but we lack the technology to do it, yet.

 

Religion, on the other hand, is fundamentally unscientific and irrational, so it cannot be compared.

[BruceVC]

 

 

Also, it is worth pointing out that as of right now I have about 100 respondents to my survey.  By my estimation, less than 10% of those responses are from non-American gamers.  So I'm not really worried about the odd European or South American throwing off my results.  There simply aren't enough of those guys responding to my instrument to introduce a worrisome level of error with regard to level of income.  Even the most catastrophic answers from all of them wouldn't really throw me off much, and I'm betting that at least a few non-American respondents entered their income in American dollars because they know the amount anyways.

 

How do you know that less than 10 % of the people who responded are not from America?

Do you know a poll was run on these forums to see where people lived  and the majority of people who responded are not from America.

Edited June 25, 2013 by BruceVC

[decado]

If this was the only place I'd come to for survey responses, it would be a problem.  As it stands now, the people gracious enough to take my survey on these forums still only make up around 20% of my respondents overall. Even if half of them are not American (which I doubt, just considering the distribution of population) that leaves me with 10%, which is still rather generous in my view.  I'm supposing it is even lower than that.  

 

Which, once again, may not even be relevant in the final analysis since I don't know if I'll even be using the demographic data I've collected, beyond the male/female stuff (which I will probably use).

Edited June 25, 2013 by decado

[Orogun01]

 

 

 

Also, it is worth pointing out that as of right now I have about 100 respondents to my survey.  By my estimation, less than 10% of those responses are from non-American gamers.  So I'm not really worried about the odd European or South American throwing off my results.  There simply aren't enough of those guys responding to my instrument to introduce a worrisome level of error with regard to level of income.  Even the most catastrophic answers from all of them wouldn't really throw me off much, and I'm betting that at least a few non-American respondents entered their income in American dollars because they know the amount anyways.

 

How do you know that less than 10 % of the people who responded are not from America?

Do you know a poll was run on these forums to see where people lived  and the majority of people who responded are not from America.

 

Could you maybe refer to the US as Hillbilly-Yankee land? I was always bothered by how they usurped the term used for the entire continent.

[Amentep]

 

 

 

 

Also, it is worth pointing out that as of right now I have about 100 respondents to my survey.  By my estimation, less than 10% of those responses are from non-American gamers.  So I'm not really worried about the odd European or South American throwing off my results.  There simply aren't enough of those guys responding to my instrument to introduce a worrisome level of error with regard to level of income.  Even the most catastrophic answers from all of them wouldn't really throw me off much, and I'm betting that at least a few non-American respondents entered their income in American dollars because they know the amount anyways.

 

How do you know that less than 10 % of the people who responded are not from America?

Do you know a poll was run on these forums to see where people lived  and the majority of people who responded are not from America.

 

Could you maybe refer to the US as Hillbilly-Yankee land? I was always bothered by how they usurped the term used for the entire continent.

 

 

You act like Canada and Mexico and places south on the two American continents matter.

 

I KID! I KID!

 

Sadly the United States of America doesn't lend itself to easy nationalistic references like "Canadian", "Mexican", "Belgium", etc does.

 

USAers looks wrong

USers looks ironic

Statesperson sounds like you're making a governmental speech

Citizen of the United States of America is accurate but wordy.  Abbreviation to CUSA sounds vaguely dirty.

[Orogun01]

I know, I know. Still it sort bothers me a bit considering how eager the founding fathers were to annex nearby territory and how that spirit carried on for quite a bit. It's like they had named their country after their expectations.
 

On the other hand US citizen could just go by what people in the rest of the world call them: ****

[Amentep]

I dunno, "asterisk, asterisk, asterisk, asterisk" doesn't really roll off the tongue, either...

[decado]

I know, I know. Still it sort bothers me a bit considering how eager the founding fathers were to annex nearby territory and how that spirit carried on for quite a bit. It's like they had named their country after their expectations.

 

On the other hand US citizen could just go by what people in the rest of the world call them: ****

 

This is off topic, but your reading of history is not quite correct.  Most of the FF's did not want to "annex" nearby territory.  It was only when the French started selling off huge chunks of land to pay for their wars that it became an enticing proposition.  And even then, the Senate was bitterly divided over practically every land purchase the US ever made, and certainly divided over the ones we acquired by military force.  Plenty of US senators were opposed to the wars against Mexico.

 

Finally, the British are the ones who started referring to the colonists as "Americans."  So if anyone has a problem with that usage, go find a limey and let him know you don't approve.

Edited June 26, 2013 by decado

[Orogun01]

I dunno, "asterisk, asterisk, asterisk, asterisk" doesn't really roll off the tongue, either...

It loses something in translation, asterico, asterico, asterico, asterico, sounds better with a Spanish accent.

 

@Decado: We were just being facetious about the topic but thanks on the info. Still something has to be said for the US being consistently divided about going to war since the time of its conception until modern day.

[Amentep]

Hawaii was a bit of a bastard move, IMO, regardless of any hand-wringing the politicians did over it.

[decado]

 

I dunno, "asterisk, asterisk, asterisk, asterisk" doesn't really roll off the tongue, either...

It loses something in translation, asterico, asterico, asterico, asterico, sounds better with a Spanish accent.

 

@Decado: We were just being facetious about the topic but thanks on the info. Still something has to be said for the US being consistently divided about going to war since the time of its conception until modern day.

 

This happens with all super-powers/empires.  It usually ends in total destruction, or at least a significant reordering of society that is calamitous and painful.  We're probably due for some of that. 

[Gorth]

 

 

 

Also, it is worth pointing out that as of right now I have about 100 respondents to my survey.  By my estimation, less than 10% of those responses are from non-American gamers.  So I'm not really worried about the odd European or South American throwing off my results.  There simply aren't enough of those guys responding to my instrument to introduce a worrisome level of error with regard to level of income.  Even the most catastrophic answers from all of them wouldn't really throw me off much, and I'm betting that at least a few non-American respondents entered their income in American dollars because they know the amount anyways.

 

How do you know that less than 10 % of the people who responded are not from America?

Do you know a poll was run on these forums to see where people lived  and the majority of people who responded are not from America.

 

Could you maybe refer to the US as Hillbilly-Yankee land? I was always bothered by how they usurped the term used for the entire continent.

 

 

You act like Canada and Mexico and places south on the two American continents matter.

 

I KID! I KID!

 

Sadly the United States of America doesn't lend itself to easy nationalistic references like "Canadian", "Mexican", "Belgium", etc does.

 

USAers looks wrong

USers looks ironic

Statesperson sounds like you're making a governmental speech

Citizen of the United States of America is accurate but wordy.  Abbreviation to CUSA sounds vaguely dirty.

 

I'm a bit curious about the 10% too. Is that a result of IP tracking?

 

The demographic of this specific community is something like less than 50% being from the US.

[Orogun01]

Does it count if we reside in the US?

[Amentep]

I'm a bit curious about the 10% too. Is that a result of IP tracking?

 

The demographic of this specific community is something like less than 50% being from the US.

 

He's pretty much indicated its an estimate.

Edited June 27, 2013 by Amentep

[decado]

In case you guys are interested, I ended up using a lot of this data for my thesis.  I presented my findings back in December, and a few weeks ago got a bound copy of my thesis (along with my diploma!).

 

So, a sincere and heartfelt "Thank You!" to everyone who took the survey.  It really meant a lot.

 

Here's a blog post I wrote on the important parts (all the data, really).

 

http://thegwumps.blogspot.com/2014/01/respectable-men-and-women-have-polite.html

[Gorth]

Thanks for sharing decado. Reading now...   

[Orogun01]

Soooo; Decado, are you staying?

[decado]

Staying?

[Orogun01]

Staying?

Your project is done, now you have to go to bot afterlife.

Are you becoming an official resident of the Obsidian community?

[decado]

Yeah. I've been here a while.

I tend to split my time between here and RPG Codex.  But lately I haven't been posting much of anywhere, because of RL stuff.  But I always check in once a day, if only to get psyched for PoE updates.

 

ETA: Also, my primary interest is in following PoE, but I find I can only do that for so long (that is, follow a game that isn't released yet) before I get burned out.  That's partly why I stopped following WL2 after finishing up on the veteran's advisory panel.  I just want to play the goddamn game already.  So I have to be careful how many discussions I get into about this or that because I can get bored/frustrated.

 

Like, the last PoE thread I participated in was some OP along the lines of "Are we getting the game we were promised?!!" or something similar.  That's the kind of crap that only comes from people with over active imaginations. 

Edited May 13, 2014 by decado

[Orogun01]

Yay! we got our own resident bot   (note to self: change avatar, I can't imagine Mr. Smith emoting. Maybe if he was in his Priscilla costume...no, that would be creepier)