| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 03 Nov 2006 : 13:50:38
There's a new readers survey Wizards is doing... You can get to it by clicking on the link below.
http://ww2.wizards.com/Books/Wizards/?doc=main_bookssurvey1106
It took me about 15 minutes.
It asks a lot of questions about how much fiction you read, how many books you buy, etc. It eventually gets to asking about shared settings, allowing you to give opinions on a bunch of them -- including, specifically, the Realms. There's also a place you can comment on why shared settings appeal to you.
I'm making this thread sticky, for now, to make sure everyone has a chance to go tell Wizards that we love FR novels!  |
| 27 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Besshalar |
Posted - 14 Nov 2006 : 17:50:46
quote:
Originally posted by Sian
well ... instead of limiting they should just look more at the once they have as target group, (looking on what this and that group wants
whats funny though is that they first ask for birthdate ... and then two questions later ask for age :D
They're trying to trick all those people who try to lie about their age to affect the demographics.
Managed to complete it but didn't ask too many questions.... |
| Sian |
Posted - 14 Nov 2006 : 16:56:20
well ... instead of limiting they should just look more at the once they have as target group, (looking on what this and that group wants
whats funny though is that they first ask for birthdate ... and then two questions later ask for age :D |
| ElaineCunningham |
Posted - 14 Nov 2006 : 16:22:10
quote:
Originally posted by Kalin Agrivar
from the WotC link...
I am a natural resource tech...I do alot of differnt kind of surveys, including "people" surveys
to already limit your survey to a certain demographic defeats the purpose of the survey in the first place...to limit the demographic when you ask for a general, widespread opinion to "improve" your material is misleading and gives the whole notion and spirit of their "opinion" survey a spin that would do a politician proud
the results would be misleading and conclusions made are biased and I'd bet their announced "survey results" would be deceptive
Well, yes and no. If the purpose of the survey was a desire to give the target audience what they want, then the survey should focus on responses by the target audience.
Look at it this way: do you really want the direction of the Realms determined by people who primarily read mystery, romance, or inspirational novels? Does it make sense for books written for a 12-30 demographic to be shaped by the opinions of eight-year-old girls or 65-year-old women?
The Realms books are not mainstream books; they appeal to a niche audience. Gathering data from an undifferentiated readership and weighing all responses alike would not be particularly informative. The fact that the survey is on the WotC website would define the sample to a large degree, but I've taken enough statistics courses to realize that the result of any survey is only as good as the sample.
Let's assume for the point of argument that the New York Times bestseller list represents an undifferentiated sample of readers. In any given week, the fifteen top-selling fiction books, paperback and hardcover, will be dominated by romance and thrillers, with three or four mainstream and the occasional literary fiction. Science fiction and fantasy books do appear on these lists, but not every week. Should WotC assume from this that they should be publishing romantic intrigue, thereby blending the two most popular catagories?
People who read shared-world fiction do so for a number of reasons. The survey was designed to gather data on what those reasons might be. I took it again, using my younger son's age, interests, and reading habits, and this was very informative. They asked how many books Sean reads each year, how much he spends on them, where he buys them (or who buys them for him), what format he prefers and which formats he buys (hardcover, paperback, ebooks) what influences him to buy a book (cover, back cover copy, reviews, advertisement--and if so, in what magazine, recommendations from friends), what he likes in the books (continuing characters, the world itself, lots of magic vs less magic), and whether he thinks the books have enough action, humor, and adventure. Does he think the books are well written? Which settings is he familiar with, and which does he read? What games does he play, including CCG, RPG, and video? What other types of activities does he enjoy?
All of these things have a purpose. If they find that many people are buying books because they saw them advertised in Dragon, this lets them know that advertising dollars are well spent in that magazine. If people are influenced by reviews on a particular online website, it's probably worth their while to send advance reader copies to the reviewers on that website. If people say that cover art is a big influence, and if these people are also very interested in Manga, this might suggest a move toward Manga-influenced cover art. If more people want dark novels than humorous ones, this may well influence how the line is balanced. I can see reasons why it would be valuable to know how many FR readers are also gamers. I can also see why it would be helpful to know how many FR readers are reading ebooks, and how (computer, specially designed device.) My husband just got the new Sony e-Reader, and he was surprised to learn that none of my WotC books are available electronically. I would love to see FR books available for the e-Reader and other e-book formats, but before a publisher decides to make books available in a new format, it is reasonable to ascertain whether or not there is any interest in this new format.
quote:
I was amused and suspicious that the survey kep crashing, but to hear they are limiting their demographic actually disgusts me (as crooked politics disgusts me)...that survey isn't for improving anything, it is to give the illusion Hasbro actually cares about their customers
I don't know why the survey crashes for some people. It's not run by WotC, and it's held on an off-site website. But it makes perfect sense to me that the survey would be designed to gather different kinds and amounts of data from different types of readers. Market research generally isn't motivated by an altruistic love of gamers and readers, but a desire to produce games and books that will appeal to these gamers and readers and that, therefore, will sell. There's nothing wrong with this. Questions should be geared both to the interests of the consumers, the buying habits, and the most effective promotions. The best FR novel ever isn't much good to you if you never hear about it. |
| Mace Hammerhand |
Posted - 14 Nov 2006 : 15:11:43
Do not trust a statistic you haven't manipulated yourself |
| Kalin Agrivar |
Posted - 14 Nov 2006 : 14:25:26
from the WotC link...
quote:
Tell Us What You Think!
Tell us what you think! Help us publish the best books for you by telling us a little about yourself and the books you read.
I am a natural resource tech...I do alot of differnt kind of surveys, including "people" surveys
to already limit your survey to a certain demographic defeats the purpose of the survey in the first place...to limit the demographic when you ask for a general, widespread opinion to "improve" your material is misleading and gives the whole notion and spirit of their "opinion" survey a spin that would do a politician proud
the results would be misleading and conclusions made are biased and I'd bet their announced "survey results" would be deceptive
I was amused and suspicious that the survey kep crashing, but to hear they are limiting their demographic actually disgusts me (as crooked politics disgusts me)...that survey isn't for improving anything, it is to give the illusion Hasbro actually cares about their customers |
| ElaineCunningham |
Posted - 14 Nov 2006 : 14:04:55
Surveys and statistics are only as good as their samples and controls. If you're trying to ascertain what appeals to a particular audience, it makes sense to limit your data collection to that audience. No arguments here. |
| Zimme |
Posted - 14 Nov 2006 : 13:12:51
quote:
Originally posted by Mace Hammerhand
quote:
Originally posted by ElaineCunningham
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Well, with the number of problems people are having with this, I think I should unsticky it. It's just not reliable enough to warrant keeping it here at the top, I guess.
I tried the survey, and it had only two questions for me. Once I typed in my birthdate and filled in the types of books I read, I established myself as "not the kind of household we wish to survey." It would seem that my age doesn't fit the demographics, and my reading is too ecclectic.
Apparently this survey is targeted at the perceived core of WotC readership: young males who primarily read fantasy.
At least their target group isn't young males who lock themselves up in the bathroom reading erotica 
Kinda silly really 
But there are alot of those! .....their new demografic..ey!    |
| Mace Hammerhand |
Posted - 14 Nov 2006 : 12:56:39
quote:
Originally posted by ElaineCunningham
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Well, with the number of problems people are having with this, I think I should unsticky it. It's just not reliable enough to warrant keeping it here at the top, I guess.
I tried the survey, and it had only two questions for me. Once I typed in my birthdate and filled in the types of books I read, I established myself as "not the kind of household we wish to survey." It would seem that my age doesn't fit the demographics, and my reading is too ecclectic.
Apparently this survey is targeted at the perceived core of WotC readership: young males who primarily read fantasy.
At least their target group isn't young males who lock themselves up in the bathroom reading erotica
Kinda silly really |
| ElaineCunningham |
Posted - 14 Nov 2006 : 12:51:48
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Well, with the number of problems people are having with this, I think I should unsticky it. It's just not reliable enough to warrant keeping it here at the top, I guess.
I tried the survey, and it had only two questions for me. Once I typed in my birthdate and filled in the types of books I read, I established myself as "not the kind of household we wish to survey." It would seem that my age doesn't fit the demographics, and my reading is too ecclectic.
Apparently this survey is targeted at the perceived core of WotC readership: young males who primarily read fantasy. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 13 Nov 2006 : 17:56:56
Well, with the number of problems people are having with this, I think I should unsticky it. It's just not reliable enough to warrant keeping it here at the top, I guess. |
| quajack |
Posted - 13 Nov 2006 : 17:17:26
I was up to 93% complete until it crapped out on me. Hey, I tried. |
| Lord Nemes |
Posted - 07 Nov 2006 : 01:45:16
It crashed 2 times at the beginning... fine not so much time wasted.
The third time I was near the end and had typed a couple of long answers (can't copy the text) then it crash again.
Sorry, three strikes...Out!
|
| Kajehase |
Posted - 06 Nov 2006 : 16:28:19
It worked fine for me with IE7. |
| Kalin Agrivar |
Posted - 06 Nov 2006 : 15:08:55
sounds like a conspiracy!  |
| Ergdusch |
Posted - 06 Nov 2006 : 13:37:51
same here!
Edit note:
I tries it wth IE7, Opera and Mozilla - same result: crash
|
| Zimme |
Posted - 06 Nov 2006 : 13:13:40
crash here too, frustrating as h... |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 06 Nov 2006 : 03:25:10
'Tis odd that so many people are having trouble with it... I did it at work, on IE7, and it wored fine for me.
I got the link from the page linked below; for some reason, it's listed 5 different times. The last one didn't work for me, but it or other ones may work for those who are having problems.
http://ww2.wizards.com/books/Wizards/Archives/default.aspx |
| hammer of Moradin |
Posted - 05 Nov 2006 : 02:48:30
I tried. No luck here either. |
| Mkhaiwati |
Posted - 05 Nov 2006 : 02:19:36
I tried with two separate browsers, and it crashes at the exact same point after it asks how many fantasy novels I read, the same problem others were having. I usually use Firefox, but I tried IE after it crashed twice at that page. IE didn't work, either.
I'll try later, maybe it is just busy.
|
| Kentinal |
Posted - 05 Nov 2006 : 01:49:08
I could not get that far, it appears I do not read the "correct" types of fiction to complete the market survey. |
| Reefy |
Posted - 05 Nov 2006 : 00:59:24
I just pulled some random figures from my posterior - I genuinely have no idea how many books I buy or read a year. Lots is about as far I get. |
| acro |
Posted - 04 Nov 2006 : 20:22:00
Same thing for me too.
|
| Victor_ograygor |
Posted - 04 Nov 2006 : 08:42:54
LOL i know the feeling, so many books, so little time. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 04 Nov 2006 : 06:14:40
quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
I managed to do it earlier in the day but I couldn't give truthful answers on some of the questions because the boxes weren't big enough for me to put my answers in, since some of them only went to 99. I buy more then 99 books a year. :)
Indeed.
It's frustrating, specifically, because 99 books is nowhere near the actual amount I purchase in one year.
|
| Kuje |
Posted - 04 Nov 2006 : 05:11:13
I managed to do it earlier in the day but I couldn't give truthful answers on some of the questions because the boxes weren't big enough for me to put my answers in, since some of them only went to 99. I buy more then 99 books a year. :) |
| KnightErrantJR |
Posted - 04 Nov 2006 : 04:02:10
Same for me . . . |
| Rinonalyrna Fathomlin |
Posted - 04 Nov 2006 : 03:58:46
For some reason, the test keeps "crashing" for me after asking me how many fantasy novels per year I read. |
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