Elk County Forum survey for anthropology project --Please Read!

[flo]

  Tobina, in common language, I think that is what her title was, she just used "uptown" words to impress her professor. 

[indygal]

Thanks, Teresa...I couldn't have done it without your help, you know! LOL...I like your title, Tobina! You're right, Flo. The title does sound "uptown" but that's how it works with this sort of thing. It has to have a "serious" and "academic" title for it to be taken seriously. That's too bad, as I think more people would be interested in reading scholarly research if it didn't sound so off-putting. The good news is the paper is written in easy-to-understand (and hopefully enjoy!) language .... with most of it provided by all those who agreed to participate.

[Roma Jean Turner]

Congratulations Indygal, I would love a copy of the report.  Just for the record, for those of you who have an e-mail address for me it is changing to  romaj1@sbcglobal.net.  The one ending in mchsi.com will be turned off shortly.  Thanks

[Fire Elk]

   Hello, everyone! As some of you may know, I'm majoring in cultural anthropology at WSU. This semester, I'm working on a special research project as part of an independent study course. I've chosen the Elk County Forum as my topic. I'm curious how people in rural areas are finding ways to stay in touch with each other, to share news and helpful information, to socialize and stay connected within the community. I think we all agree this forum provides those vital services for many of us.
   Teresa and Kjell have kindly allowed me to post a survey on this forum, and to seek your participation. I invite each of you to share your thoughts about the forum, the various types of news-gathering venues, and other means of communication in our area.
   Posted below are 25 questions. This is survey is completely voluntary. You are welcome to answer any or all of the questions, providing as much or as little detail as you feel comfortable doing. Only your forum nickname or handle will be used for this paper. Your identity will be kept confidential; although I will likely use passages from the site, in your own words, to provide a general description of each participant.
   Based on the survey responses, I may contact a number of you for further interviews, either by email, phone or in person. If you are interested and wish to share more information for this study, by all means include your email address and telephone number with your survey responses.
   Each one of you has one or more reasons why you visit the forum, and each person's perspective is important for my research. This is not a test; there are no right or wrong answers. Everyone may participate, from daily posters to occasional writers to lurkers just enjoying the many good stories.

   Here are the questions, listed in no particular order of importance:

1.   What is your age?
2.   What is your sex?
3.   What is your marital status?
4.   For Elk County residents, how many years have you lived here? For those with ties to the county but are living elsewhere, please describe those ties.
5.   Approximately how many years have you been using the Internet?
6.   Estimate the time you spend using email each day.
7.   How long have you been a member of the Elk County Forum?
8.   Estimate the time you spend visiting the forum – reading and/or posting – each day.
9.   What time(s) of day or night do you most often visit the forum? (For example, early morning, late night, before leaving the house in the morning, after the evening meal, etc).
10.    The following are a number of forum discussion topics. Please indicate which ones you read most often and why.
a.   Coffee Shop
b.   Genealogy
c.   Politics
d.   Religion
e.   Word Games
f.   The Good Old Days
g.   Recipes and Home Remedies
h.   Announcements and Special Events
i.   Greetings, Birthdays & Anniversaries
j.   Classified ads
k.   Obituaries

11.   Do you work outside the home? If so, how many hours a week? For those who are retired or self-employed, please share that information here.
12.   How many hours a week do you spend socially outside the home (for example, church attendance, club meetings, evening get-togethers, regular lunch dates, visiting family members, etc.)
13.   Do you have daily or weekly visitors come to your home? (This could be family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, etc.)
14.   Do you subscribe to any newspapers? If yes, which ones?
15.   What are your other sources for community news?
16.   How much time each day do you watch television?
17.    How much time each day do you talk on the telephone?
18.    How much time each day do you listen to the radio (at home, in the car, at work, etc.)
19.    Why did you decide to join the Elk County Forum? (Please be as detailed in your response as possible.)
20.    What benefits do you find in membership and/or participation in the forum?
21.    What drawbacks do you find in membership and/or participation?
22.   Do you have social contact with forum members offline as well? Please describe the relationship (family member, friend, former classmate, etc.) with other members and how you interact with them offline (for example, by telephone, in person, at work, etc).
23.   What is your favorite aspect of forum participation?
24.   What is your least favorite aspect?
25.   In what ways has your participation on the forum affected your life?

   For those who would like to participate in this study, here's how it will work:

   This is important: Please DO NOT answer the survey questions and post them on the forum.
Instead, email me at the address below and I will send you the questionnaire as a Word document.
Open the document, add your responses below each question, and add any additional comments you'd like to share at the end of the question list.
   Then do "Save As" and insert your nickname (forum identifier) at the beginning of the document file name.
For example, my nickname is indygal, so I would Save As "indygalforumquestionnaire.doc"  This way you will have a copy of the questions and your replies for documentation.
Then attach the new Word document in a return email to me. Please remember to include your forum nickname or other identifier either in the subject line, message, or at the top of the questionnaire.

   Your response serves as consent to participate in this study. Due to the public nature of the forum itself, I also may use passages that have been previously posted on the forum. I will provide upon request a pre-publication draft of the study to those who wish to verify the accuracy of their comments.
   Please send your completed survey by March 14.
   Thank you all in advance for your help!

Lynne Thompson (aka Indygal)
PO Box 1118
Howard, KS 67349

Please email me at:

marythompson5308@sbcglobal.net

Indygal I sent you an e-mail at the above e-mail address. I would love a copy of your thesis paper. I know this is an old post. I hope you see this post.

[Patriot]

Hey, Fire Elk.  How's Pennsylvania?

[Fire Elk]

Hey, Fire Elk.  How's Pennsylvania?

Leave tomorrow. I'll let you know. Thanks, for asking.

[Fire Elk]

Thank you, Indygal for the copy of your thesis paper. I have read it with great interest and am trying to relate it to the current forum.

Fire Elk

[Diane Amberg]

Where are you?