Greek Ritual Survey!
 

Hey everybody!

I'm doing a case study on Greek rituals for my undergraduate thesis, and I would love your input!! I've made a two-part survey for Greek members that is pretty short and sweet, and I also made a survey for non-Greeks, if you would like to pass that along as well.

I would really appreciate it if you could take a couple minutes out of your time to fill these out.

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

Here are the links:

Greek survey, part 1: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/8C8VTMK
Greek survey, part 2: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/8CY88KT

Non-Greek survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5DLBNMV

Thanks! :)

Amanda

Took it.

I took it, but you do know that internet surveys are not considered to be a particularly legitimate means of data gathering? You might want to talk with your advisor before you hand this in.

Seriously. This is my industry.

Yep, took it.

I agree, but I took it anyway. I love Ritual - I don't pass up an opportunity to wax sentimental about how I feel about it.

Seriously, check your methodology. Especially since it's a senior thesis.

How would non-greeks know if sorority/fraternity rituals are irrelevant or fascinating? And why would greeks care about what non-greeks think about their organization's traditions? Also, some non-greeks don't even know what rituals truly are. Some automatically think of hocus-pocus, witchcraft type stuff. They don't even realize that a Baptism and a wedding ceremony for example are rituals.

In response to some comments, I do realize that this is not the most statistically accurate way to gather data, but I would also like to point out that by posting the survey on this forum and on social media sites, I have received multiple varied responses from greeks all over the country - not just the ones at my school - which is what I was hoping for. I realize there is a definite bias, but some bias is inevitable in a case study such as this. It is impossible for me to obtain a true representative sample, but I am doing my best to get as close as possible by reaching out to as many Greeks as possible. In terms of my thesis, I acknowledge the bias in it, and I state clearly that I am using forums and social networking sites as my means of acquiring data, and all of it (questions included) has been approved by a thesis committee. This is not some random questionnaire that I thought up just for kicks; I have put a lot of thought into formulating it, and so far I have received more than adequate responses that have a lot of interesting variations. I really appreciate those of you who have filled out the survey, and I do appreciate all the feedback I receive.

In terms of non-greeks, the responses may surprise you... They are pretty much across the board, and their comments are very interesting. Most seem to have a good grasp on all types of rituals, whereas some admittedly do not have a clue. The reason I am surveying them as well is to eliminate some of the bias and make sure that our generation as a whole (not just greeks) is represented in the case study. The study of rituals is just one part of my thesis, which is actually exploring a contemporary application of an old sociological theory.

I hope this clarified some things, and I hope you all continue to provide feedback as well as encourage your fellow greeks to fill out the survey! The responses have been very helpful.

Thanks!

Took it, but I agree with the others...I kinda question a committe that is willing to approve social networking sites as a means of acquiring data. It would seem that you might be better served sending these surveys to Campus Greek Advisors and asking that they be distributed to students, or something of that nature.
But hey, whatever works. Good luck!

I'm assuming you're not looking for alums to answer since your questions seemed aimed at collegiates (ie, they seem to assume one is still active in a collegiate chapter).

I have to agee with some others about the design -- some of the questions don't seem to be well thought out. Number 3 for example asks if one is in a local, national/international or service/professional (or other). Isn't that two different questions: (1) local or inter/national, and (2) social/general, professional, service or other?

The more I think about it, the more I think social networking sites for special interests (e.g., Greekchat) might be alright sources for these sorts of subjects. You have just as much chance of someone faking their answers here as you do on your average college campus. Further, unless you're actually conducting the survey on multiple sites across the nation (as Greek Life cultures vary greatly from place to place), Greekchat is probably a better cross section of the Greek community than the freshmen taking psych 101 who have to participate as subjects in someone's research.

Are we a pretty good cross section of Greek Life in the U.S. and Canada? I think we're better than most. There are folks here from every region, type of school, NPC, NPHC, NIC, etc., it's all here.

I know that in my academic career, places like GC could never be considered viable sources for anything, but is this just academic elitism? Or does this belief serve a truly legitimate purpose?

Great post.

If GC was a differently administered site, we might even have a standard process by which researchers can solicit participation. I moderate a yahoo group for LGBT members and aspirants of NPHC organizations and we have been solicited at least three times by researchers.

This survey is more directed toward collegians, yes, however I am inviting alums to participate as well since it is applicable to both. I want a wide range of responses, and it is interesting for me to distinguish the alum responses from the collegian responses.

For question #3, I am simply seeking to find out what type of organization they are members of so as to determine which one is predominant and take that into consideration for the responses I receive. Since most of the groups are national/international, the responses are more consistent with one another.

Also, in response to other comments, I realize that sites such as this one and Facebook are generally not considered "legitimate" sources of information, but I can't tell you how many surveys I have filled out on Facebook for other people's classes, theses, etc. It is becoming a viable option now, especially since businesses use Facebook/Twitter for research/advertising. It may just look like they are trying to get you to buy a product or become a fan of their compnay, but if you think they haven't done significant research already on the site, you would be mistaken. Why do you think targeted ads exist?

And just to clarify some possible confusion, this survey is for an UNDERGRADUATE thesis. I am in the honors program at my school and a thesis is a requirement to graduate with an honors degree. I am also an English major, so statistics isn't exactly my specialty. Please bear that in mind, and just know that this isn't an end-all be-all research project. This is a case study that comprises one chapter of my thesis, and I am simply trying to obtain as broad a sample as possible for that.

Thanks for continuing to fill out the survey! And I appreciate all your feedback.

No, I see what you were getting at and why. My point was just that the question mixes apples (local or non-local) and oranges (focus of the organization --social, profession, service, etc.).

Ah, I see what you mean now. Good point. I guess I could have left off professional/service and included them in the "other" category. I just know some of my respondents are in those organizations, and I wouldn't want them to choose the wrong option since they didn't see theirs listed.

Not necessarily, because there are local professional/service orgs and inter/national professional/service orgs. I think it's two different questions: (1) Is your organization local or inter/national, and (2) Is your organization a social GLO, service, professional, etc.?

Anyway, water under the bridge for now.

Took the survey. Any chance you'll share with us what you find out?

Only if everything is academic elitism. :) The "greater purpose" of everything is debatable.

On that note, I see where you are coming from:

If the committee approved of the survey design and methodology, they are agreeing to the limitations of it. This is not masters or doctoral research** so pardon me if I'm not moved by the fact that a college is allowing undergraduates to use the Internet for a thesis. The Internet has essentially been in collegiates' lives since birth, so it was inevitable. The OP will hopefully include a discussion of the limitations of using Greekchat.com as one of (assuming not the only) source of distributing the surveys and getting an appropriate response time.

I assume I don't have to lecture the OP about the joys of re-distributing surveys to get better response time. :) But, I do wonder whether the committee had the OP pre-release for a trial run to see whether the questions are truly asking what they think they are asking. Maybe Greekchat is the trial run. :) I kind of hope so.

**I have seen small-level surveys distributed via email and in-class where college students are directed to websites to complete a survey. The selection process is only slightly more rigorous than releasing the surveys to a public unrestricted site.

Took the survey and gave somewhat long answers. Hope it's helpful.

I took it, I`m happy to help out an Alpha Gam whenever I can!

I`m taking Into Psych this year as a filler class, and we have had to do countless online surveys to fill our research participation credtis for what it`s worth.

Thanks so much everyone! I'm getting great responses, and the results are very interesting. I'll be happy to share my findings later.

For now, though, I am definitely looking for more collegiate responses, since my responses are starting to weigh more heavily on the alum side (though I definitely appreciate the alum involvement! :))

Also, my responses to the Greek survey exceeded the amount I am able to see with a free account (haha), so I made copies of the survey, which should work fine.

Here are the new links:

Part 1: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/8C8VTMK
Part 2: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/8CY88KT

Thank you everyone for your responses! Keep them coming!!

I too would be very interested in hearing the findings.

Regarding the legitimacy of online surveys... I get why they would make some people discredit them, but in many ways it's the best way to get targeted responses. Now, if this were posted in a reality TV or car forum, those would be crappy responses at best. But since this is by far the most comprehensive, inclusive, and popular Greek site- I think it only makes sense. Especially since the OP is trying to get beyond one particular school. And the more people that fill it out, the better the chances are of not being fake.... since there are crazies out there everywhere who like to ruin other people's fun, apparently.

Good luck getting more collegiate responses- since obviously membership is for a lifetime, there are more alumni than actives... but there are plenty of those here too.

Oh well, just when I was going to do the survey, she doesn't want anymore alum. :p

I took the survey and I'm a Non-Greek. In my religion we practice rituals and ceremonies and I definitely know what they are! They are a very important part of what I believe and are precious to me.

took it =]

good luck!

Are you in college? Judging by your post in a different thread, I'm thinking no. This survey is for college non-greeks. If you've never been to college than you would have no or very little knowledge of the culture of GLO's on college campuses. And no, watching School Daze and/or Stomp the Yard does not qualify.

I took it.

That was my point, really... particularly the point where I said the OP should talk to her advisor. If they're willing to accept this methodology, what's it to me?

Done. I can't turn down an opportunity to gush about how much I love ritual. I figured the personal responses are more helpful than the actual stats.

Yes, GC does feature Greeks of all ages, councils, school sizes, cultures, regions, etc. However, you might want to acknowledge that GC features much more involved members than a random sample of all the Greeks in North America. If our membership meant nothing to us, we wouldn't be on GC talking about it.

Very good point. I will be sure to mention that, though I think that kind of bias is inevitable in most surveys like this, since the only people taking the survey are opinionated in the first place. Wish I could do it another way, but time restraints won't allow for it. Plus this way I'm getting more varied responses from across the country!

Thanks for your feedback, everybody!! If you haven't filled out the survey and want to, PLEASE make sure you refer to the NEW links I posted! I can't access any more responses on the old links. Thanks!

You may want to edit your original post with the updated links. I honestly don't know which ones I responded to.