Do you read fanfiction? Are you queer? Well then I’ve got the perfect survey for you!

Hi! I’m a student writing a research paper on the prevalence of queer couples and lgbtq+ representation in fanfiction and need participants for my survey. This project will be entered in a national Norwegian research competition and will be judged by an academic jury. The more answers I get on this survey, the more accurate my research will be, so I'd really appreciate it if you would take the time to answer!

https://forms.gle/Tcoafs9dU627PNcn8

The survey is now closed! Thank you to everyone who participated!

Now, some of you might be thinking “Hey, I’ve seen this survey before.” And you’d be correct. I have a full explanation as to why here [https://at.tumblr.com/mariathechosen1/queer-participation-and-representation-in/i689fhq3b2vn], but the short explanation is that the original survey was meant for a much smaller sample size and after getting 8000 (!!!) answers on the past survey we decided we had to redo it in proper compliance with the GDPR. If you have any questions about this decision, or about the past survey, please read the FAQ post before contacting me or the project supervisor.

In contrary to the former survey, this research is specifically aimed at queer individuals who read and/or write fanfiction. Both people who answered and didn’t answer the last survey may answer this one.

Here are some reasons to participate:

Science and stuff

Force a highly prestigious academic jury to read more than 20 pages about gay fanfiction

Better my chances of winning real-life money by writing more than 20 pages about gay fanfiction

Help expand a largely ignored academic field (fandom studies)

It’ll only take like 8 minutes (5 minutes if you’re quick)

Uhhmmm…

Please?

Queer participation and representation in fanfiction: An update

Hello! 

Some people might be aware of the fact that last week I posted a survey I was doing as part of research project for a Norwegian research competition. I was expecting about 50-80 answers, but instead got about 8300…this is a lot of answers. For quite some time this was more ‘Maria’s silly little fanfiction project’ and so, due to the nature of the competition and the expected sample size, official university requirements weren’t prioritized. Since then, me and my research supervisor have been in contact with the university organizing the competition to ask them “What the hell do we do?” and after much discussion we’ve decided to redo the study.

The survey itself can be found here: https://forms.gle/Tcoafs9dU627PNcn8

Update: The survey is now closed!

 FAQ:

‘What does this mean?’

The main differences are that we’ve had to remove the two questions asking the survey taker about their gender identity and sexuality as these are considered to be sensitive information. We’ve also decided that to participate in the current study, you have to be over 16 and we’ve changed the requirements so that this study is only for queer individuals. There’s an added ‘terms and conditions’ page that one must consent to before taking the survey to confirm this.

  ‘I participated in the past study, what happens to my answer?’

Any past data from the former survey will be deleted. I know that some people might be a little frustrated over this (A big thank you to all those who wrote 800 word essays in the original survey), but the past data would simply not be valid. I apologize for any inconvenience this might have caused, but that’s what we’ve been recommended to do. If you want, you send in a new answer to the updated study.

 ‘I didn’t participate in the past study, can I still answer?’

Yes! Anyone who is 1) queer, 2) over 16 years old, and 3) familiar with fanfiction, whether that be through reading or writing it, can participate in the new study.

 ‘Why didn’t the original survey follow these new criteria?’

The simple answer is that getting 50 answers is very different from getting 8000. Getting this much engagement made us realize that this was actually a topic that a lot (and I mean A LOT) of people are engaged about. The research competition is, for the most part, designed to introduce younger students to proper research and study methods, and so requirements weren’t as strict as they would be for a scientist with years of experience. Now that we’ve realized the potential of this study, though, we’ve decided to try and conduct it befittingly.

If it weren’t for the fact that the competition deadline is in April, we probably would have applied for special permission to ask more specific questions about sexuality and gender, but alas.

 ‘Will I be able to read the project after it’s done?’/’Will you post the survey results?’

This is still under consideration, but if the project does manage to win the competition, the organizers will publish it on their website. If it doesn’t, we will most likely decide to publish it on our own. I also feel it’s relevant to mention that even though it’s slightly frustrating to have to do the survey all over again, the positive side is that after many emails with the organizing university, they’ve gotten very interested in this project and has, along with us, realized that the potential for fan studies is a lot bigger than what one might have thought. The future is still unknown, but they have inquired about doing something more with the research in the future, so who knows?  

 ‘I have a different question about the survey questions/project/research.’

If (and this is a big if) you have a casual question or inquiry about any of the survey questions or the project details, you can send me either a message or an ask (Though I would prefer a message). I get that some people feel a little awkward sending a full email if they have a small informal question about how something is phrased, for example, but please send any serious questions about methodology, data privacy or our qualifications to the study’s research supervisor. Preferably in a respectful manner.

The Queer Fanfiction Project: Another Update

As December turned into January, our young hero did not know there existed something harsher than the winter, but as timetables turned into outlines and outlines turned into drafts, she knew there was more ahead than the usual bitter winter air. When faced with thousands of GDPR documents to read through, she persevered. When fighting 80k words of data to analyze, she prevailed over the darkness. And, when confronting a vicious hoard of enemies (a 15 page paper with only 5 pages, sudden bouts of writer’s block, an unfortunate cold, a pretty intense latin assignment and 1,5 weeks until the project deadline), she gathered her weapons, braced herself, and advanced. Historians will say that she set out with barely any weapons in her arsenal: A spiteful determination, a fuckton of advil and a playlist consisting mostly of angry swing music, but somehow, she triumphed over evil. Probably because of the power of friendship or something idk Anyways- I’ve finally sent in the final draft for my project! Wooooo!!! There’s still a lot of revision and stuff so people probably won’t get to read it til the begining of April, but we’re getting there, folks!