|
For the past several years I have used my "down time" while visiting family or while relaxing and watching football with my wife during the holiday and bowl season to create my Annual Tandem Owners Surveys. I use these surveys as a way of gaining some insight into the demograhics, habits, and interests or tandem enthusiasts who belong to Internet-based discussion forums while, at the same time, giving tandem enthusiasts a chance to anonymously share and compare information about themselves and other tandem enthusiasts. These are highly unscientific surveys developed using a free survey tool that has a number of technical limitations and constraints that tend to influence the scope and content of the survey. However, the most important thing to keep in mind is that these types of surveys are on par with the Iowa Caucasus in terms of representing anything more than views of an incredibly skewed population. After all, to be a participant someone must: a) have a computer with internet access, b) belong to either the Tandem@Hobbes listserver, BikeForums.net tandem subforum, the PEACHES mailing list, or the DoubleForte mailing list, c) have seen the poll announcements, d) be willing to invest the time and energy to take the poll, e) be completely honest and candid in their replies, and f) understand what the questions were actually looking for.... which can sometimes be the biggest barrier given that I usually know what I meant, but may not have clearly conveyed that to others. The first few items are always the biggest problem with Internet surveys, i.e., let's face it, people who hang-out in internet forums are different from folks who don't. However, that all said, big number theories sometimes play out in intersting ways and I'd say that the results I've seen in these surveys do seem to represent what I see in the real world. In closing, please remember that these surveys are intended for entertainment purposes only and responses are not collected for commercial purposes. Additionally, no names or identifies are collected or associated with the completion of the surveys.
|
|
|
Winter 2008: Two 10-question surveys (Part I & Part II) that look at tandem riding riding experience, tandem ownership, riding habits, accessories, apparel, a few non-tandem specific topics, tandem discussion interests, and personal income. You'll find a link to my analysis of the results as they were received on 27 January. As usual, once I posted the results renewed interest was created in the survey so some of the percentages and numbers that you will see in the live data will be different from what I cite in my analysis. If the ratios change significantly I may need to revisit my analysis... but don't bet on it. |
My Analysis of Results Received as of 27 January Part I - Results (Live) Part II - Results (Live) |
| Winter 2007: A series of questions that looks at what tandem enthusiasts have in their livery as well as questions pertaining to travel tandems, frame material, wheels, and carbon forks. | |
| Winter 2006: A series of questions that look at the tenure, disposition, likes, and dislikes of the folks who subscribe to the Tandem@Hobbes Mailing List | Graphed Results (.jpg), Comments (.html) |
| Winter 2005: A series of questions that compare tandem teams in terms of experience, riding habits, physical characteristics, and involvement in tandem activities. | Graphed Results (.jpg) |
| Winter 2004: A series
of questions regarding how many, what types, and what brands of tandems people own. |
|
| Winter 2003: A series of general questions regarding TheTandemLink.com and comments submitted by respondents. | Graphed Results (.jpg), Comments (.xls) |
Background: