[RESEARCH] Steampunk Research and Survey

[JMeier]

Hello Brass Goggles Members,
      I'm a student at the University of North Texas and I'm currently conducting some research on the steampunk and dieselpunk subcultures for a chapter in a Music & Pop Culture textbook.  If anyone would be willing to answer a brief survey to help me with my research, I would greatly appreciate it!

If you are interested, please message me here or at my personal mail - jessiannemeier@gmail.com

Thanks!
Jessi

[Mercury Wells]

Good morning Ms(?). Jessi

Please do not take this the wrong way. But if you have to ask us to partake in a survey, please would you have the decency to at least take a look through the Fora or even use the search facilities referring to the many "Research & Survey" requests we get.

We honestly don't mind answering questions/helping with practical advice et cetera about the genre, aslong you are genuinely interested...I can not answer for everyone here, but I do not like being asked to parktake in a  "Research & Survey" request.

But I am sure some-one more intelligent, sophisticated and eloquent, than my goodself within these esteemed walls of The Palace Brass Goggles, might answer/submit to your request.

P.S. Good fortune in your future endeavors, whatever they may be. 

(I hope that I, an lowly member of this club, will not be chastised for speaking above my station.   )

[Siliconous Skumins]

I'm sure I speak for all of us here when I say - YAWN!....  

In the unlikely event the OP even reads this post, I will just say that the reason they get NO response is because we have seen this ALL BEFORE. MANY TIMES. REGULARLY!  Please do your own research, but feel free to join in with the forum / ask specific questions and read the previous posts on this forum (they go back years!), just don't expect us to do your work for you - use Wikipedia for that if that's your thing...



I promise not to post my answers to this one - not after the LAST one I did... (I'm being nice today).  


*edit* heh, beaten to the post button! 
SS

[J. Wilhelm]

Better yet, chap(ess), try to meet one of the various Texas Steampunk groups during their regular meetings...  There are some people closer to the "panhandle" of Texas, in the Dallas/FTW area, like Capt. Q. Hopkins.  Just a drive away!  With a little more determination you can even travel to Austin within a driving day of distance (for those intrigued look at the map so you can see big this territory is!).

I might suggest you start here: http://brassgoggles.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,21190.500.html

I promise not to post my answers to this one - not after the LAST one I did... (I'm being nice today).  

*edit* heh, beaten to the post button!  
SS

Indeed, you don't want this fellow answering any poll questions!

Att.

J. Wilhelm

[Dr Fidelius]

Thank you for your interest, but no.

[akumabito]

Jessi, from time to time, this forum is flooded with requests for surveys and the like. Basically students or marketeers wanting us to do their homework for them. It was fun the first couple of times, but over the years I must have seen dozens of such requests pass through. People who want us to partake generally open up a forum account just to ask us, then disappear never to be heard of again.

Like most people here, I am absolutely willing to answer any intelligent question, but I refuse to fill in yet another survey. If you have any questions please do participate on this forum! You're more than welcome to! Just open up a thread (or re-use this one), introduce yourself, and get some discussion started! Not only will you get more replies that way, they will also be infinitely more insightful and will help you a grea deal more to learn and understand than you ever would by using a multiple choice questionnaire of any kind..

I for one hope youll return, read our comments and join the fun here at Brass Goggles!

[Mr Addams]

Jessi,
      You state in your post that you are doing research for a "Music & Pop Culture textbook", yet you have given no indication that you have had any involvement with the Steampunk community beyond posting a request on this forum.
If you intend to become a writer, or even a researcher, you will very quickly learn that you have to get out of your chair and do a lot of work if you want to be good at your job.

I may be doing you an injustice, and this request may be the culmination of months of work. but we can only judge you by what we see. So far, you have joined this forum, and made one post, asking us to fill in your survey.

As has been mentioned above, we get a steady stream of  on-line questionares from students who have a "Project" about steampunk. Often these sites are either so badly constructed, that the composer clearly does not even have a basic understanding about what steampunk is, or they are starting from a preconception, and ask questions that are stilted to support an existing standpoint. That is not to say that you are in that category, but given our previous experience, we will make that assumption unless you offer us evidence to the contrary.

Generally speaking, Steampunks are a pretty friendly lot, and will do what they can to support a genuine interest. But please do not insult us. We will not do your work for you.
If you sincerely want to know about steampunk and the steampunk world, use this forum to ask a few intelligent questions, and to start a few debates. Find out about steampunk groups and events in your area, and take the time to meet people and to talk with them.
Once you have done the work, and have become known in these pages, then by all means, create a survey constructed from a position of knowledge, explain what you are doing, what you have already done, and what the object of your survey is, and you will find us more than happy to help you out.

Steampunks help those who help themselves.
   

[Mr. Boltneck]

On the off-chance that the original poster ever comes back to find out why nobody took the survey, I would like to observe that the following facts are suggested by the thread thus far:

• We are an international group;
• We are generally capable of providing thoughtful responses, written in longhand, unlike much of the Web;
• We are strongly DIY-oriented, which means that
• We do not respond well to requests for spoon-feeding.

[JMeier]

Thank you everyone for your responses. 

I genuinely understand your concerns regarding the growing interest in steampunk, and the resulting slew of survey requests many of you have been receiving.  To be honest, I was only vaguely familiar with steampunk and certainly not aware of how popular steampunk is becoming in academia and research before I was assigned this project.

I am not looking for anyone to do my work for me, my goal was to get some anecdotal, first hand responses about personal involvement with the subculture.  This is what the publisher (and my professor) have requested.

On a more personal note, I do understand the reluctance to complete surveys.  As a student in a research oriented department, I have to fill them out often and frankly, they can be a beating.  I’m just trying to reach out to anybody willing to share. 

Thanks for the helpful hints and my apologies if my request offended anybody – it was certainly not my intent.

Regards,
Jessi

[Mr Addams]

Welcome back Jessi,
To be honest, many of us, myself included, expected you to be true to your predecessors, and having posted the request, never return.
We are more than happy to help, if you show willing. But much of the information you want can be found by reading through the pages of this forum.
Take on board what we have suggested above. The rest is up to you.

[Tower]

I guess I'm one of those people that enjoys surveys, even bad ones. I'll do it.

[Major Willoughby Chase]

Hi Jessi,

Please take note of these new forum updates

http://brassgoggles.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,35267.msg766128.html#new

[Mercury Wells]

This is what the publisher (and my professor) have requested.

I'm curious to know why your Professor has decided to chose you to research Steampunk or was it a year wide request?

Plus where did the Esteemed Professor hear/learn about Steampunk?

Could it be that the Prof. is a cupboard Steampunk? Go on I dare you to ask her/him...

[CaptainMurra]

i'm guessing that if you want to do some research on this culture, spend a few hourse going through the forum itself. you might find that many of your questions would have been already answered!

good luck though