I need your help, please.

[gnhrtg]

For the many who do not know, I'm a fifth year PhD student at INSEAD (in the Organizational Behavior department) and my dissertation is on the sources and dynamics of status among free/avant-garde jazz musicians between the years 1989 and 2004. I have been listening to this music for nine years and it was the first context to spring to mind, and certainly the only one I thought would not bore me tears over the course of my dissertation, and I have spent more than a year coding personnel and reviews for 3400 discs.

I'm thinking of designing an on-line survey to supplement the data I have and it would help to have a sense of how many responses I can expect (I hope to get more than 50). The survey will ask your assessments of two, at most three, characteristics of 150 musicians and 70 labels (you'll circle a number that corresponds to your subjective assessment of these characteristics). The rest will be equally simple questions like the mags you follow and your role with regard to this music (one of a listener/fan, reviewer, editor, dj, producer, concert organizer, or musician). It should take about half an hour to complete the survey.

There might also be some open-ended questions - which you can either fill in your answers to then or drop me a mail, or pm here, to give your opinion or discuss. I would not expect all respondents to be experts of the genre but some level of familiarity will make your responses, and time, more valuable for me (and there are questions about how well you know the work of a particular musician, as with others, just a subjective assessment where you circle a number).

If you know of fellow fans, reviewers/critics, editors, musicians etc. please notify them of this and pass along my e-mail address, below, so I can add them to the list. Also of great help would be any such musician, label owner/producer, or reviewer who would not mind learning more about my dissertation and perhaps giving his opinions on my ideas, the measures I'll be using and the like.

(e-mail removed, please pm me)

Unfortunately, I do not have much of a budget left to speak of so I cannot guarantee remuneration for your participation. What I can say is that apart from its own value, the survey data will also allow me to do more with the what I already have and I will be very grateful. I will include a field where you can enter your e-mail address (should you wish) and the minute I can find funds, I will buy as many cd-credits as I can from either a label or a distributor.

If there are enough potential respondents, I will get to work on this and should have it ready in the next 2-3 weeks. It won't be later than that as I am on a tight and strict schedule.

Thanks,

(apologies for the multiple posting)

Edited September 20, 2007 by gnhrtg

[gnhrtg]

Thanks to all who took the time to read my post and, of course, to those who have offered to help (via pm or e-mail). My apologies if you have already seen my post on Jazzcorner and AAJ forums - and have had enough - but if you have the knowledge or interest and would like to help please contact me (post here, or send me a pm or e-mail). I have almost completed designing the survey. It will be 7 pages long and I should be ready to send you the links (as this will be an online survey) on Friday.

I won't push this thread up again so please do contact me now if you can make some time for this.

Thanks,

Gokhan

Edited November 14, 2006 by gnhrtg

[Aggie87]

I'm thinking of designing an on-line survey to supplement the data I have and it would help to have a sense of how many responses I can expect (I hope to get more than 50). The survey will ask your assessments of two, at most three, characteristics of 150 musicians and 70 labels (you'll circle a number that corresponds to your subjective assessment of these characteristics).

...

There might also be some open-ended questions - which you can either fill in your answers to then or drop me a mail, or pm here, to give your opinion or discuss. I would not expect all respondents to be experts of the genre but some level of familiarity will make your responses, and time, more valuable for me (and there are questions about how well you know the work of a particular musician, as with others, just a subjective assessment where you circle a number).

Gokhan -

Would you mind posting a sample question or two here? This might help me gauge whether I feel I (and maybe others as well) am knowledgeable enough to be willing to participate.

Edited November 14, 2006 by Aggie87

[gnhrtg]

Gokhan -

Would you mind posting a sample question or two here? This might help me gauge whether I feel I (and maybe others as well) am knowledgeable enough to be willing to participate.

Sure. Let me not post them verbatim but there are questions about which magazines and guides you follow, your level of familiarity with the field of free-jazz (which, for convenience, encapsulates avant-garde jazz, free-jazz, and European free improvisation, if the distinction is at all meaningful for you), how much new music you buy/listen to per month as well as questions on how familiar you are with the output of a musician and then asking you to gauge this musician's status. There is also a question, for example, on the factors you consider when making the decision to buy an album.

I will include enough instructions so that all questions will be clear to you and thus you won't spend your time unnecessarily trying to understand what I had in mind. You should not have to do this and I hope to succeed in making everything sufficiently clear.

Another thing is that except for three questions, which are optional, you won't have to do any typing. These are all closed-ended items, in the vein of "select the appropriate number" or "all that apply".