Sally asked to have this posted here
INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH ON THE FILK COMMUNITY
Dear Filk Folk,
I am putting on my ethnomusicologist’s hat and conducting research on how the filk community interacts and communicates both face-to-face (at cons, house filks, etc.) and online (listservs, FaceBook, blogs, websites, YouTube, online concerts, etc.), and the values community members hold about each of these modes of interaction. Is one mode more valuable to you than the other? Why? Further, I am researching how these two modes interact and influence each other. I’ll be looking for differences primarily among generations, but also by region, gender identity, etc. The results will be published in an upcoming Journal of Fandom Studies and is significant because there has been very little work done in this area, and because there are many fan communities that began as traditional face-to-face groups but are moving to both face-to-face and online interaction. Our community has been an early adopter of online interaction and digital technology, and can make a large contribution to understanding how face-to-face and online interactions shape voluntary avocational groups and the values they hold about each form of interaction.
You will have three different ways to participate (only people 18 or older may participate).
•First, you may elect to fill out the attached questionnaire and consent form (contact Sally for the form), and return it to me by email.
•Second, you may elect to participate in an interview with me in person, by phone, Skype, or email. Depending on your responses, interviews can last from 15 minutes to an hour or longer-your call.
•Third, you may fill out a Survey Monkey survey (I’ll send and post the link soon). The Survey Monkey survey will be totally anonymous unless you want to identify yourself.
The survey should take about 15-25 minutes to complete, but you may take longer since most of the questions are open-ended. I will ask you to complete a consent form (except for the Survey Monkey because it’s already totally anonymous) and you may elect your level of anonymity. I may also ask permission to record phone or Skype interviews to better capture direct quotes, but recording is not necessary. All interviews and recordings will be stored in ways that ensure confidentiality. All aspects of anonymity and confidentiality will follow professional ethics and best practices and this research has been vetted by my university’s institutional review board. If you would like to schedule an interview, please contact me at schildsh@butler.edu, or at 317-940-9265. I will get back in touch with you to make arrangements. All questionnaires and interviews and surveys should be completed by August 15.
Thank you for considering participating in this research. Our community has much to offer the still young field of fandom studies, and I’d be most appreciative of your participation. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Please feel free to suggest to me people who will be good participants in this study since you are in the first wave of requests! I’ll also be posting this to FaceBook pages, etc., so please also suggest other places to post. Thanks--
Sally C-H
Sally Childs-Helton, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Special Collections, Rare Books, and University Archives Librarian
Irwin Library, Butler University
4553 Clarendon Rd., Indianapolis, IN 46208
317-940-9265 / schildsh@butler.edu
Dear Filk Folk,
I am putting on my ethnomusicologist’s hat and conducting research on how the filk community interacts and communicates both face-to-face (at cons, house filks, etc.) and online (listservs, FaceBook, blogs, websites, YouTube, online concerts, etc.), and the values community members hold about each of these modes of interaction. Is one mode more valuable to you than the other? Why? Further, I am researching how these two modes interact and influence each other. I’ll be looking for differences primarily among generations, but also by region, gender identity, etc. The results will be published in an upcoming Journal of Fandom Studies and is significant because there has been very little work done in this area, and because there are many fan communities that began as traditional face-to-face groups but are moving to both face-to-face and online interaction. Our community has been an early adopter of online interaction and digital technology, and can make a large contribution to understanding how face-to-face and online interactions shape voluntary avocational groups and the values they hold about each form of interaction.
You will have three different ways to participate (only people 18 or older may participate).
•First, you may elect to fill out the attached questionnaire and consent form (contact Sally for the form), and return it to me by email.
•Second, you may elect to participate in an interview with me in person, by phone, Skype, or email. Depending on your responses, interviews can last from 15 minutes to an hour or longer-your call.
•Third, you may fill out a Survey Monkey survey (I’ll send and post the link soon). The Survey Monkey survey will be totally anonymous unless you want to identify yourself.
The survey should take about 15-25 minutes to complete, but you may take longer since most of the questions are open-ended. I will ask you to complete a consent form (except for the Survey Monkey because it’s already totally anonymous) and you may elect your level of anonymity. I may also ask permission to record phone or Skype interviews to better capture direct quotes, but recording is not necessary. All interviews and recordings will be stored in ways that ensure confidentiality. All aspects of anonymity and confidentiality will follow professional ethics and best practices and this research has been vetted by my university’s institutional review board. If you would like to schedule an interview, please contact me at schildsh@butler.edu, or at 317-940-9265. I will get back in touch with you to make arrangements. All questionnaires and interviews and surveys should be completed by August 15.
Thank you for considering participating in this research. Our community has much to offer the still young field of fandom studies, and I’d be most appreciative of your participation. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Please feel free to suggest to me people who will be good participants in this study since you are in the first wave of requests! I’ll also be posting this to FaceBook pages, etc., so please also suggest other places to post. Thanks--
Sally C-H
Sally Childs-Helton, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Special Collections, Rare Books, and University Archives Librarian
Irwin Library, Butler University
4553 Clarendon Rd., Indianapolis, IN 46208
317-940-9265 / schildsh@butler.edu