What makes a (human) e-reader?

[Uncle Robin]

I've long been interested in the demographics of e-reading, especially in the context of a specialised forum like this one. I thought it could be interesting to get some idea of exactly how much MR is a subset of a subset as it were. So, if anyone would like to participate, I've created a short, anonymous surveymonkey poll just to get a sense of the user base here
MR user demographics.

For any questions users would rather not answer, there's an "other" option, with space to tell the survey creator what he can do with his data-gathering, and some potentially contentious categories are listed in strictly alphabetical order, to offer at least a semblance of neutrality.

In both design and sample size, this poll has the sort of scientific rigour and statistical validity that could only be exceeded by a game of rock paper scissors played solo. It's quite literally intended as "infotainment", and so I hope that many will participate in that spirit.

[leebase]

First time I've seen "European" for "White".

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

I've long been interested in the demographics of e-reading, especially in the context of a specialised forum like this one. I thought it could be interesting to get some idea of exactly how much MR is a subset of a subset as it were. So, if anyone would like to participate, I've created a short, anonymous surveymonkey poll just to get a sense of the user base here
MR user demographics.

For any questions users would rather not answer, there's an "other" option, with space to tell the survey creator what he can do with his data-gathering, and some potentially contentious categories are listed in strictly alphabetical order, to offer at least a semblance of neutrality.

In both design and sample size, this poll has the sort of scientific rigour and statistical validity that could only be exceeded by a game of rock paper scissors played solo. It's quite literally intended as "infotainment", and so I hope that many will participate in that spirit.

I’ll be interested to see the results.

[hildea]

I wasn't sure what the education options meant, so I picked the one I believe fits. I'm guessing "Primary" is obligatory education (~10 years), and "Secondary" is ~3 years after that, but what's the difference between "Tertiary" and "Postgraduate"?

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by hildea

I wasn't sure what the education options meant, so I picked the one I believe fits. I'm guessing "Primary" is obligatory education (~10 years), and "Secondary" is ~3 years after that, but what's the difference between "Tertiary" and "Postgraduate"?

It's just a question of degree (ha!) - "tertiary" includes non-degree courses, postgraduate is education after having obtained a degree. So far "postgraduate" is the most common response to that question.

[HLS]

Some questions made no seance . last question had a 1,2,3 choice with no explanation. And why not a white option? I am not European and European does not translate to white necessarily

[issybird]

Originally Posted by HLS

Some questions made no seance . last question had a 1,2,3 choice with no explanation. And why not a white option? I am not European and European does not translate to white necessarily

I didn't think it was difficult to figure out, nor do I have an issue with a categorization that looks at origins rather than color.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by HLS

Some questions made no seance . last question had a 1,2,3 choice with no explanation. And why not a white option? I am not European and European does not translate to white necessarily

Where did your ancestors come from? You could always have used the Other option.

As for the last question, I would have preferred a 4th choice -- audiobooks -- only in a zombie apocalypse

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by HLS

Some questions made no seance . last question had a 1,2,3 choice with no explanation. And why not a white option? I am not European and European does not translate to white necessarily

The question asked for a personal definition of ethnicity/cultural identity, not the colour of one's skin. "European" covers those whose ethnic and cultural origins are from Europe, which is true of all who would say "I'm white". It is also the standard demographic label used for that group of people by the market/social research companies I worked for over more than 30 years.

Also, because it is a matter of personal identity, there was an "other" answer option, with the possibility of entering whichever descriptor the respondent preferred. So far, it does not appear that anyone availed themselves of that opportunity.

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Where did your ancestors come from? You could always have used the Other option.

As for the last question, I would have preferred a 4th choice -- audiobooks -- only in a zombie apocalypse

Hah! A kindred spirit, I see

[Uncle Robin]

I'd like to thank everyone for their interest and participation. So far, the survey has had 40 responses. I'm going to leave it open to see it it can reach 50, a pleasing round number nearer the mean age of respondents and nearer the age of the mean designer.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

The question asked for a personal definition of ethnicity/cultural identity, not the colour of one's skin. "European" covers those whose ethnic and cultural origins are from Europe, which is true of all who would say "I'm white". It is also the standard demographic label used for that group of people by the market/social research companies I worked for over more than 30 years.

Using skin colour can be very misleading as to origin. One of my friends at university was born to parents who migrated from Kerala (it's been a few decades but I think that is the right place). He was born with very dark skin being one of the few people I've met whose skin colour could be described as black in comparison to most of the Afro-Canadians I've met who could be described as ranging from light to dark brown. So I'd have to agree that your questions were more informative than asking "what's your skin colour, preferably when you haven't spent the whole summer working on your tan".

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by DNSB

So I'd have to agree that your questions were more informative than asking "what's your skin colour, preferably when you haven't spent the whole summer working on your tan".

I just paid for a month's access so that I could see the "other" responses, and I see one respondent used "Caucasian", which has the same basic connotation as European, since the term was created using the Caucasus as the border between Europe and Asia.

The majority of "other" responses conflate nationality with ethnicity, an understandable and widespread practice but one that can be problematic in health surveys especially, given that some conditions have a strong genetic link and disregard the socio-political concept of "nationality"

[Uncle Robin]

One thing I have been reminded of from the responses so far is the way different variants of English describe the same concept. For example, I had assumed that "tertiary education" as a catch-all descriptor for "post-secondary" was more or less universal. On that, I was mistaken. Wikipedia may use the phrase, but several MR respondents were totally unaware of it. When I share the results, the "other" responses to that question will have been folded into the "tertiary" results. The richness and diversity of the family of Englishes is a constant source of delight. Vive la différence😁

[Ekaros]

Originally Posted by issybird

I didn't think it was difficult to figure out, nor do I have an issue with a categorization that looks at origins rather than color.

I kinda do. Even "European" is very diverse group from English to Russians... And skin color doesn't even have to do anything with that. And difference between Europeans and Americans with ancestry from Europe isn't exactly small. Both in language and culture... Which for reading isn't exactly inconsequential thing... Then again this is English language forum...