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Participate in my PhD Research into Geocaching


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sigh..l This thread is getting more and more vicious and controversial; witness the past ten posts. I give it only 200,000 more posts before the moderators shut this thread down for the rampant of-topic stuff and the blatant hostility.

 

 

 

 

you suck.

I think everyone needs a hug.

 

hug3.gif

 

I know I could use one.. :anitongue:

okay . . . hug3.gif

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sigh..l This thread is getting more and more vicious and controversial; witness the past ten posts. I give it only 200,000 more posts before the moderators shut this thread down for the rampant of-topic stuff and the blatant hostility.

 

 

 

 

you suck.

I think everyone needs a hug.

 

hug3.gif

you forgot the other thing flask really hates in forum posts MUGGLE! :anitongue:
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sigh..l This thread is getting more and more vicious and controversial; witness the past ten posts. I give it only 200,000 more posts before the moderators shut this thread down for the rampant of-topic stuff and the blatant hostility.

 

 

 

 

you suck.

I think everyone needs a hug.

 

hug3.gif

you forgot the other thing flask really hates in forum posts MUGGLE! :anitongue:

 

it's sweet of you to remember.

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sigh..l This thread is getting more and more vicious and controversial; witness the past ten posts. I give it only 200,000 more posts before the moderators shut this thread down for the rampant of-topic stuff and the blatant hostility.

you suck.

 

Flask, Vinny is notorious for his - how shall I say this? - dry wit and warped sense of humor. I'm sure he meant no harm in his post. He's just that way...

 

But we love him!

Hmm... I thought it was his warped wit and dry sense of humor...

 

OBTW, did the survey a day or so ago.

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Just did our entry. As I used to work in the "survey dept" of a college to help out with these kinds of surveys ("a million years ago"....OK no, from 1991-93, before the Internet and certainly caching), I can appreciate the need to get responses. Good luck!

Edited by HaLiJuSaPa
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Got halfway through and quit. Methodological problems galore, among other things.

 

This is not a flame just a constructive observation that hopefully a few will benefit from. I'm a little disappointed in this response. It's somewhat indicative of how the old skool tends to deal with the newbies in this forum at times. FM has certainly has my respect by proving his prowess with numbers and statistics and I would think most folks here feel the same way if they read his posts. How about a private email to OP with some suggestions to improve his survey instead of vaguely dissing his effort out in the open like this?

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How about a private email to OP with some suggestions to improve his survey instead of vaguely dissing his effort out in the open like this?

Because I am extremely busy these days and didn't have time for the detailed responses required in the survey in the first place. Fastest thing to do was shoot a quick note letting the guy know that at least one didn't finish the survey, and why.

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How about a private email to OP with some suggestions to improve his survey instead of vaguely dissing his effort out in the open like this?

Because I am extremely busy these days and didn't have time for the detailed responses required in the survey in the first place. Fastest thing to do was shoot a quick note letting the guy know that at least one didn't finish the survey, and why.

 

Thanks for the response and not taking offense. If there was one person's input that carries a little more clout subject matter like this, it would be yours. I am sure it is appreciated from the OP too.

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Got halfway through and quit. Methodological problems galore, among other things.

As someone who has also completed part of the survey, and as one who did a LOT of stats while in grad school, and who worked for two years as an on-campus statistical consultant for the grad students in the sciences (hard sciences and social sciences) at my university who were in the midst of their thesis and dissertation research, I must agree with fizzymagic's obsrvations. I kinda want to ask the OP: was your survey instrument checked/reviewed by any kind of on-campus research methods/conformance committee before you went ahead and distributed it?

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How about a private email to OP with some suggestions to improve his survey instead of vaguely dissing his effort out in the open like this?

Because I am extremely busy these days and didn't have time for the detailed responses required in the survey in the first place. Fastest thing to do was shoot a quick note letting the guy know that at least one didn't finish the survey, and why.

 

If you don't have anything good to say, why say it at all. Especially for a "busy" person like you.

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Got halfway through and quit. Methodological problems galore, among other things.

As someone who has also completed part of the survey, and as one who did a LOT of stats while in grad school, and who worked for two years as an on-campus statistical consultant for the grad students in the sciences (hard sciences and social sciences) at my university who were in the midst of their thesis and dissertation research, I must agree with fizzymagic's obsrvations. I kinda want to ask the OP: was your survey instrument checked/reviewed by any kind of on-campus research methods/conformance committee before you went ahead and distributed it?

 

You agree that "there are methodological problems galore, among other things?" That's akin to my doctor telling me that I have health problems. if you are going to pile on, at least be specific.

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Got halfway through and quit. Methodological problems galore, among other things.

As someone who has also completed part of the survey, and as one who did a LOT of stats while in grad school, and who worked for two years as an on-campus statistical consultant for the grad students in the sciences (hard sciences and social sciences) at my university who were in the midst of their thesis and dissertation research, I must agree with fizzymagic's obsrvations. I kinda want to ask the OP: was your survey instrument checked/reviewed by any kind of on-campus research methods/conformance committee before you went ahead and distributed it?

 

You agree that "there are methodological problems galore, among other things?" That's akin to my doctor telling me that I have health problems. if you are going to pile on, at least be specific.

It is difficult to respond without specific details. However I'll try to clarify things a little. I'm doing qualitative research, not quantitative. I do not currently plan to do an enormous amount of statistical analysis because my sample is not representative of any sector of the population other than those who go geocaching. I will be able to say things like "Of those who responded, 75% felt that they had learned something as a result of geocaching, and 35% had found a new interest as a result of geocaching" but I'm really using these figures as indicators rather than as an end in themselves.

 

What I am hoping to do is use the data to operationalise the components of Wenger's social theories of learning as expressed in Communities of Practice, Learning, meaning and identity (1998). I would then like to use them to analyse how these components are instantiated in the distributed and mobile community of geocachers. I intend to use the survey to select case studies and then focus in on the key factors that have emerged from the initial survey.

 

Questionnaires and surveys are traditionally associated with statistical analysis, and they are not ideal for qualitative analysis. However I have found that when I ask a group of enthusiasts to fill in a survey that has some free-text answers, I get good data. The enthusiasm they feel for their activity is something they want to share. Coming across so many free-text questions will be a shock for those accustomed to the traditionally designed surveys, and I'm sorry if you feel I've taken too much of your time. I expect a percentage of respondents to drop-out of the survey, but in fact the response rate from the geocaching community has been about 30% (responses as a percentage of views of the original post).

 

I'm really pleased with that so thanks to all who have taken the time to respond.

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Filled in the survey, and put myself down for if you want further contact. However, it would likely have to be through email.

 

Although, I tend to go into a fair amount of detail when talking about... well... anything (average cache log is 245 words, according to itsnotaboutthenumbers.com), so if you ask any detailed question, expect a fair amount of reply :ph34r:

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... What I am hoping to do is use the data to operationalise the components of Wenger's social theories of learning as expressed in Communities of Practice, Learning, meaning and identity (1998). I would then like to use them to analyse how these components are instantiated in the distributed and mobile community of geocachers. I intend to use the survey to select case studies and then focus in on the key factors that have emerged from the initial survey. ...

As I was speed-reading your post, I read "disturbed" and not "distributed". For a split second I was insulted, but then figured that you really had the pulse of the geocaching community!

 

:rolleyes:

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Did the 'survey', hope it helps!

 

Can't imagine what you might derive from this... aside from some serious flaws in the logic and construction of the survey itself, if it is limited to those of us who read the forums regularly and whom would answer such a thing then it represents but a select microcosm of geocachers indeed!

 

I hope that you have run this survey mechanism by your professor for review first.

 

That's said not to ridicule your effort but to encourage you to seek advice and re-evaluate the methodology.

 

Nevertheless, I wish you luck and would be interested in seeing the conclusions you derive from this effort.

 

If you have not done so I would suggest that you put a link to this effort in all of the national, regional and local geocaching association websites to at least open your respondent base to a more representative group.

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Did the 'survey', hope it helps!

 

Can't imagine what you might derive from this... aside from some serious flaws in the logic and construction of the survey itself, if it is limited to those of us who read the forums regularly and whom would answer such a thing then it represents but a select microcosm of geocachers indeed!

 

I hope that you have run this survey mechanism by your professor for review first.

 

That's said not to ridicule your effort but to encourage you to seek advice and re-evaluate the methodology.

 

Nevertheless, I wish you luck and would be interested in seeing the conclusions you derive from this effort.

 

If you have not done so I would suggest that you put a link to this effort in all of the national, regional and local geocaching association websites to at least open your respondent base to a more representative group.

Thanks for your constructive comments, AlabamaRambler. Criticism is never pleasant, but it is important to be open to it and, hopefully, learn from it. I did go through my survey with my professors first, together with my plans for analysis and follow up case studies. However, I shall to go through the critiques I have had from this forum with them as well.

 

I would very much like to post an invite to the survey in all the national forums as well. I didn't because I did not with to be accused of cross-posting and abusing the permission I had been given by Bryan of Geocaching.com. However in view of your comment I shall email Bryan to see if it would be acceptable to post invites in the other forums.

 

Regarding the flaws in the logic and construction of my survey - I'd be really grateful if you could give me some specifics, but by PM maybe rather than filling up the thread. Hey, there's only a certain amount of criticism a person can take in one go :rolleyes:. I did respond some similar critiques about the statistical validity of my survey in this post: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...t&p=2910691 . Does this help?

 

What I want is a sample of the most enthusiastic and active geocachers - so those who read the forums and are kind enough to respond to my invitation are exactly the group I am looking for.

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