Lambone Posted February 5, 2002 Posted February 5, 2002 Hey there folks! I'm working on a mini research project for a course in geographic research methods (Geo 326). I've decided to look at a sample population of climbers in the Seattle area to determine which local climbing areas are most popular, why, and what are some of the environmental impacts involved. Basically I am going to survey as many climbers as possible in the time frame allotted and analyze the data I obtain through statistical methods. I won't bore you with the details of that stuff. At the moment I am still in the brainstorming process, and am currently putting a list of survey questions together. That’s why I'm posting this...I am looking for more ideas from anyone who is interested in this topic, and I know that many of you are. The questions need to be closed ended so that I can use the data quantitatively (as opposed to qualitative), and they also need to be as unbiased as possible. This is a list of what I have come up with so far. If you feel like adding possible questions please do, if you feel like spraying about what a dork I am, please do that also. nevermind... This survey is still in a draft stage! I am still working on it, so please don’t answer any of these questions yet. I will post the completed survey to the boards in a couple of weeks or so, with a more detailed explanation of my project, and instructions on how to respond to the survey if you wish to do so. Right now I’m just looking for ideas on additional useful questions that I could ask. Any suggestions will be very much appreciated! Thanks -matt [ 02-07-2002: Message edited by: Lambone ] Quote
erik Posted February 5, 2002 Posted February 5, 2002 bone, i ain't gonna do your homework for you!!!! Quote
chucK Posted February 5, 2002 Posted February 5, 2002 I have suggestion. Always keep in mind that the people answering your questions are getting nothing out of this. They are doing you a favor. Keeping this important thought in mind, you should carefully create your questionnaire so as to be able to adequately research one or two important questions with the MINIMUM incovenience. Your survey posted is too long. Chuck Quote
freeclimb9 Posted February 5, 2002 Posted February 5, 2002 Since your answers need to be "closed ended", at least add options to cover all unforeseen circumstances. For example, add 6f) other, or for 12 have a) never b) sometimes c) frequently etc I don't understand 18; it's nonsensical (Are you asking if people test fixed pro, or some other question? just my unsolicited advice cheers Quote
RURP Posted February 5, 2002 Posted February 5, 2002 . Are you? a. Male b. femaleI am all male. How about you, Lambone?. 2. What age group are you in?a. under 10 b.10 – 15 c.16 – 20 d.21 – 25 e.26 – 30 f.31 – 35 g.36 – 40 h.40+ "H" as in "hardman". 3. How many years have you been rock climbing?a. 1 – 2 b. 3 – 4 c. 5 – 6 d. 7 – 8 e. 9 – 10 f. 11 – 12 g. 13 – 14 f. 15+ longer than you have been alive = f.. 4. What type of rock climbing do you participate in most often? a. top roping b. bouldering c. lead – traditional d. lead – sporttrad/big wall. bouldering and sport-climbing are for losers.. 5. What is your maximum difficulty level?a.under 5.9 b.5.10a–b c.5.10c–d d.5.11a–b e.5.11c–d f.5.12a–b g.5.12c-d h.13+ A-6. Nobody really climbs 13+ without practicing many times.. 6. What is your favorite climbing area near Seattle?a. Exit 38 b. Little Si c. Vantage d. Leavenworth e. Index Choices a) b) and c) are not climbing areas. So I guess that I am stuck with d. and e.. 7. Why is this your favorite?a. type of rock b. difficulty of climbs c. setting d. alldefault.. 8. What area do you climb at most often?a. Exit 38 b. Little Si c. Vantage d. Leavenworth e. Indexf. Yosemite. 9. Why do you climb at this area most often?a. it is your favorite b. closest to home c. less crowded d. better weathere) no sport climbers and only sporadic boulderers.. 10. Are you a member of the Access Fund? a. yes b. no c. what is the Access Fund???d) I have no access problems.. 11.Have you ever participated in any type of organized restoration, clean up, or maintenance of a rock climbing area? a. yes b. noa) Yes, but I had nothing to do with the restoration taking place at Vantage.. 12. Do you always stay on established trails at the climbing area? a. yes b. noDon't you?.. 13. Do you pick up trash at the climbing area? a. always b. sometimes c. neverI do not leave trash.. 14. How many people do you usually climb with? a. 1 b. 2 c. 3 d. 4 e. larger groupsOne, or two.. 15. Do you purchase any products in the town nearest the climbing area (gas, food, etc)?a. always b. sometimes c. neverYou do not eat food? Maybe that is why you are so skinny and work in a rock gym!. 16. Do you relieve yourself (pee, poop) other than in a designated waste site (porta-potty, etc.) at the climbing area? a. never b. sometimes c. usually d. alwaysI go discretely. I do not spray my manhood in public nor display my ass. You did not list puking which is common among many climbers. RURP does not puke.. 17. Do you discard food waste such as apple cores, banana peels, nut shells, Doritos, etc., at the climbing area? a. yes b. noYes. In little plastic bags in which I carry them. Doritos are bad luck on big walls.. 18. Do you use a hammer to pound pitons at the climbing area? a. yes b. noOnly when necessary.. 19. Have you ever placed a bolt at a climbing area? a. yes b. noYes. Rarely, shamefully and only when necessary. O.K., now that I have answered your questions, I require a big thank you. What kind of stupid school do you go to anyway?And that Chuck guy is right.= RURP has spoken Quote
Lambone Posted February 5, 2002 Author Posted February 5, 2002 quote: Originally posted by chucK: 'Cause you wrote this: If not, than they won't...no big deal. I only need twenty people to fill it out in order to fullfil the course requirement, Don't forget the second part, "the more people that participate the better." That is the only reason why I am considering posting the survey on this web site, maybe it's not such a good idea after all. This isn't a masters thesis, it's a course mini project, my resources for data collection (ie, time and money) are limited. What I ment by that statement was that I won't be upset if people don't want to contribute. RURP, your a funny dude. Quote
Bronco Posted February 5, 2002 Posted February 5, 2002 18 seems like a trick question. What the hell else are you supposed to use, a rock? your hand? your #5 camalot? Quote
Matt Posted February 5, 2002 Posted February 5, 2002 Lambone, Here are some more questions you might consider. I'm sure you can think of the appropriate a.b.c.d. answers for each one. 10.1 Are you a member of the American Alpine Club? 10.2 Are you a member of any organizations? Sierra Club? Earth First!? NRA? John Birch Society?10.3 Do you own a gun? 10.4 Are you now or have you ever been a member of the military?10.5 Have you ever traveled overseas?10.6 Do you speak any foreign languages? 16.1. Have you ever used a “blue bag”?16.2. Have you ever had giardia? 20. Have you ever climbed a first ascent?21. Do you drink alcohol when you climb?22. Do you smoke marijuana when you climb? 23. Do you use other recreational drugs when you climb?24. Have you ever been injured when climbing?25. Have you ever had an unplanned bivouac?25. Has climbing ever caused you to loose your job?26. Has climbing ever caused you to end a relationship?27. Has climbing ever been the most important thing in your life? [ 02-05-2002: Message edited by: Matt ] Quote
Lambone Posted February 5, 2002 Author Posted February 5, 2002 Yeah, good point... I just kinda threw that one in there to find out if people nail pins at local crags. I will revise that question. Some folks have already responded to this survey though e-mail. Thanks alot for your help, but as I said up top, this isn't the finalized survey! I posted this first draft to see what kind of response I'd get. Just looking for feed back and feedback and ideas. And I thought it'd be fun to give people something to spray about! If you are interested in participating in the survey please hold off. I need to meet with my TA about it first. I'll try to have the finished version up, with a better explination of the project, by the end of this week. I am also trying to figure out how people can email me responses, yet still keep it anonymous. Any ideas? Thanks [ 02-05-2002: Message edited by: Lambone ] Quote
Lambone Posted February 5, 2002 Author Posted February 5, 2002 Matt, NICE! I particulary like the one about owning a gun, along with the last three. It'd be interesting to study the correlation between these variables! Quote
miker Posted February 5, 2002 Posted February 5, 2002 As to the pee/poop question. I will generally poop in the recommended facility, but generally pee willy-nilly as I am to lazy to go back to the porta john(watch out below!) so maybe the question(16) could reflect that option? Overall looks good.miker Quote
Matt_Anderson Posted February 5, 2002 Posted February 5, 2002 regarding the injury question, you'll have to find a way to determine if it was a real injury or just a ripped ring finger tendon. Quote
Dwayner Posted February 6, 2002 Posted February 6, 2002 Yes, "peeing willy nilly" should be on the survey. Lambone...you answering to a T.A.? Are you some sort of undergraduate taking a massive lecture hall statistics course taught by a semi-absent professor and a few of his sycophantic, semi-educated minions (graduate students)? I pity the fool! Mr. Professor be overpaid,arrogant, and doing as little work as possible; or underpaid, cynical, and doing as little work as possible. That's what you get for going to one of them big fancy state schools which I assume is where you be going. I've always taught my own classes and graded my own papers, but maybe that's just me. - Professor Dwayner ...and a lot of T.A.'s will tell you that they know more than the professor. ..it's like nurses badmouthing the M.D.'s. Quote
Dru Posted February 6, 2002 Posted February 6, 2002 6e) Squamish 21) How long have you been dry tooling?a) 5 minutes nowb) since pubertyc) since my girlfriend left me Quote
Zenolith Posted February 6, 2002 Posted February 6, 2002 Noone has yet mentioned that you should get an F if you think that this site is going to give you a "representative sample". Also, "unbiased" means, in part, that your respondants don't have a stake in the results of your survey. Clearly, some of the people on this site think you're a dork and would skew the results just to mess with you. But, if you're just trying to pass the course, you're doing fine. Quote
hakioawa Posted February 6, 2002 Posted February 6, 2002 Interesting how the same people who are complaining about the survey being too long are argueing at length about that fact. Quote
Lambone Posted February 6, 2002 Author Posted February 6, 2002 quote: Originally posted by Dwayner: Lambone...you answering to a T.A.? Are you some sort of undergraduate taking a massive lecture hall statistics course taught by a semi-absent professor and a few of his sycophantic, semi-educated minions (graduate students)? I pity the fool!That's what you get for going to one of them big fancy state schools which I assume is where you be going. Yeah, so...what's your point old timer? I fucked around for a while and now I'm giving it another shot, gimme a break. You would'nt give a recovering drunk shit for quiting the 12 step for a sixer of Mickeys would ya? It'd be nice to be able to afford some ritzy private school, but I'll take what I can get... Zenolith- I've got other sources in mind. I'm just looking for an efficient way to boost my numbers. If people want to lie on the survey than so be it, it won’t throw things off very much, plus I pretty much know who will help me out and who is full of shit (ie. it won't be to hard to figure out if cavemans sending one for each of his avatars). What are they gunna say, “no I climb at Little Si and shit on the trail.” Duh…doesn’t everyone! [ 02-06-2002: Message edited by: Lambone ] Quote
chelle Posted February 6, 2002 Posted February 6, 2002 Matt - definately keep your survey to under 5 minutes (less than 25 q's including the demographic stuff). To ChucK's point if there is a way to give people an incentive do something like a drawing for some free climbing passes at VW. You should be able to get a good deal. As for enhancements to the questionnaire, you may want to add Washington Pass to the area options and also focus or eliminate the human waste/trash q's. If people aren't using facilities (bathroom or trash cans), understanding disposal is more meaningful than whether or not they are using facilities. Quote
Lambone Posted February 6, 2002 Author Posted February 6, 2002 Good point Chuck, I may or may not use all these questions. Erik,I am not looking for people to do my homework for me. I chose this topic because I thought it'd be a fun way to utalize the analytical tools that we are learning in class. This isn't a project that is going to save the world, or climbing in the Northwest. It's meant to be a fun exersize in research techniques. If people think it is fun to spend five minutes filling out this survey, then great! If not, than they won't...no big deal. I only need twenty people to fill it out in order to fullfil the course requirement, but the more people that participate the better. Who knows, maybe I'll send the finished product to the access fund or something. Anyway, thanks again. Quote
specialed Posted February 6, 2002 Posted February 6, 2002 Lambdog, I think you should add these questions to yer survey. If you are a climber, what kind of rig do you drive?: a) Subaru wagon b) Toyota truck c) aging cargo van. How long have you been climbing?: a) .05 times as long as Fred Becky b) .15 times as long as Fred Becky b).25 times as long as Fred Becky. How long have you been ice climbing?: a) 1-2 yrs. b) 3-5 yrs c)5+ yrs. (Trick question, everyone knows ice climbers can't read) [ 02-05-2002: Message edited by: specialed ] Quote
chucK Posted February 6, 2002 Posted February 6, 2002 quote: Originally posted by Lambone:[QB]This isn't a project that is going to save the world, or climbing in the Northwest. [...]Who knows, maybe I'll send the finished product to the access fund or something.QB] Why would the Access Fund be interested in some data that were worthless because the researcher didn't really try very hard to do a competent job?If you just want to fulfill the course requirement why don't you just make up a bunch of answers from phony people? Like I just wrote in another thread. Don't you just hate it when you try to give a serious answer to a question then the asker just blows you off? Quote
Lambone Posted February 6, 2002 Author Posted February 6, 2002 Easy there chucky, I thanked you for your suggestion. And I wasn't being sarcastic when I said that you made a good point. I plan to keep the survey a resonable length. Once again, I may very well omit some of these question as I narrow my focus. This is a work in progress, and as I mentioned previously, I am just looking for ideas... What makes you so sure that I am not going to try very hard to do a competent job? [ 02-05-2002: Message edited by: Lambone ] Quote
chucK Posted February 6, 2002 Posted February 6, 2002 quote: Originally posted by Lambone: What makes you so sure that I am not going to try very hard to do a competent job? 'Cause you wrote this: If not, than they won't...no big deal. I only need twenty people to fill it out in order to fullfil the course requirement, Quote
Cpt.Caveman Posted February 6, 2002 Posted February 6, 2002 quote: Originally posted by specialed: How long have you been climbing?: a) .05 times as long as Fred Becky b) .15 times as long as Fred Becky b).25 times as long as Fred Becky. Sweet Quote
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