Need Help from those 50+!

[redbox04]

I am a graduate student at the University of Tennessee and I love eBooks, eReaders and all of the new technology that we are seeing. I am working on some research on the subject and I need some help!

The research focuses on the viability of this technology for those in their 50s. We are trying to hear from this demographic - hear how they are or are not using this media. What I need, is for those in the 50s age range to answer a very brief survey that should take no more than 5 minutes to complete. Your help would be greatly appreciated and put to good use!!

Here is the link to the survey!


Thanks again!

[TaureanBull]

Hehe does it mean 50 at heart or what?

[TallMomof2]

Done!

[FizzyWater]

Done. I refused the last question, and I wished there'd been a place for details on a few (for example, after asking how many Readers you own, it asks when you purchased your Reader - which one?!).

[redbox04]

Thanks so much for taking the survey and for the feedback! All of it is very much appreciated!

[Asawi]

Done
Remark: When answering "no" to if I planned to purchase a reader I still had to answer what brand (I did not plan to purchase??)...

[jezebel]

Originally Posted by Asawi

Done
Remark: When answering "no" to if I planned to purchase a reader I still had to answer what brand (I did not plan to purchase??)...

yes, I noticed it too. I answered with what I would buy if I had the extra cash. Which I don't have, so the point is moot.

[cfrizz]

Done. Some of the questions do contradict themselves.

[FF2]

Hmm. It is labeled "Kindle Questionnaire"

[FatDog]

Done - but it asked if I was planning to purchase an ebook reader but I own 3 so I answered NO.

[SensualPoet]

Done. The survey logic was a bit goofy and weird not to ask demographic info like what country are you resident of ... do you read in more than English on an e-reader or in print ... the branching based on answering a question doesn't appear to work.

Do please provide a summary of results once the suvey closes. Thanks!

Done but . . .

I am puzzled about the fact that your survey seems to have an underlying premise that the respondent does not read ebooks. Also that respondent does not already own a reader. Also for the question - “How do you usually obtain your books?” you should include a selection for sites like Mobileread.

[Worldwalker]

The Kindle is only one of many brands of ebook reader. If you are surveying only Kindle owners (or, it would appear from some previous comments, prospective Kindle owners) you should make that clear.

Your answer options seem weird -- for instance, what is the difference between "moderately important" and "important"? Is there a good reason why someone who thinks dog-earing pages is important should have to decide from four possible choices exactly how important it is? I doubt if most people have ever really considered it.

Personally, I'm a bit peeved that you distinguish "books" and "ebooks" as if ebooks were somehow not books at all. For those of us who read them, they most certainly are books.

I'm a little confused as to why you have a very large, multi-line text box for entering how many books one has read in the past year, but a very small one for "other" in the question about when one reads.

The question about obtaining books leaves out a lot of options. For example, what about people who get their books from sources like Project Gutenberg? Or is this another case where you're assuming that ebooks are not "real" books?

And for that matter, why are "purchase from bookstore" and "purchase online" separate options? Are bookstores that are online somehow not bookstores? What if someone orders a book from the Dover catalog -- if the means of ordering (walking in versus via a computer) makes a difference, then there needs to be some accounting for people who snail checks to vendors, order by phone, etc., because those are neither.

I have to assume that a used bookstore counts as a bookstore, but what about a charity book table at a grocery store? What about a library book sale? What about books sold as incidental items in another sort of store, such as a gift shop that carries a book about glass paperweights? What about free books from a "put and take" box at work, church, or where I used to live, in a little shed at the town dump?

What should someone who reads 3 books a year answer for "how often...?" They read more than yearly, less than monthly.

Why are tabloids specified as a source of news, but not entertainment? Why can't newspapers provide education or a means of learning new things? Many have columns devoted specifically to that (I used to write one, in fact).

How is vacation time not leisure time?

You define the term "ebook" in question 14, but you've used it repeatedly before, in questions 1, 2, 3, and 4, and referenced 4 in 5.

And that's just from quickly skimming the first page of your "Kindle Questionnaire Survey" (or maybe that should be the first page page). I'm seriously wondering, at this point, if you actually are a graduate student, or if you're a middle-school kid working on a project for the science fair, because I think a grad student would have written a much better survey.

[Valkrider]

Done, but you need to look at some of the questions. If you already have an eReader and don't intend to buy another why are you forced to answer the question which one will you buy? Also Most of my paperback purchases were from s/h stalls in local markets rather than new so you should have a question for this rather than assuming all purchases will be new.

Just my thoughts

[orlok]

Done! I wasn't as bothered as some by the contradictory questions - just filled them in as best I could