7.0284 Hypertext Fiction Survey (1/140)
Elaine Brennan (EDITORS@BROWNVM.BITNET)
Sat, 13 Nov 1993 19:52:23 EST
Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 7, No. 0284. Saturday, 13 Nov 1993.
Date: Wed, 3 Nov 1993 15:13:30 -0600
From: mhocks@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (Mary Hocks)
Subject: Hypertext Fiction Survey
Feel free to forward this survey to anyone who might be interested. My
apologies to those who belong to *every* list I'm cross-postings!
Mary
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HYPERTEXT FICTION SURVEY
Please Read the Following:
I would appreciate it if you would take some time to answer the questions
on this electronic form and return it directly to me (and not to the list)
through electronic mail. I am conducting these interviews via e-mail to
determine the practice of people who read and write hypertext fictions.
This survey is designed to discover your personal ideas and observations
about reading and writing in hypertext. It also aims to describe some of
the general social practices of those who read and write electronic texts.
Most questions can be answered with a "short answer" response (a few words
to several sentences).
I plan to follow up this preliminary survey with in-depth interviews
conducted over electronic mail over the next few months. Please understand
that your participation is completely voluntary, but I would appreciate if
you would tell me at the end of this survey that you don't wish to
participate. Thank you very much for your cooperation.
Mary E. Hocks
mhocks@uiuc.edu
Department of English
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
I. ABOUT YOU
What are your job(s) and vocation(s)?
Gender?
Ethnic Background?
Age?
When did you first begin using a computer?
How often do you write on a computer?
How much do you read on a computer?
What software programs do you most often use?
In regards to computer technology, put an "x" by any of the following that
describe you:
teacher
writer
critic
fan
worker
artist
cyberpunk
hacker
developer
phobic
novice
comfortable
expert
other:
II. ABOUT READING PRINTED FICTION
How much do you read for pleasure each month (excluding magazines and
newspapers)? Describe in whatever terms are appropriate, such as numbers of
books, articles, parts of books, numbers of pages, etc.
What kinds of *printed* narrative fictions do you read regularly for
pleasure? Feel free to name writers or styles that you particularly like.
How would you describe your reading style when you read printed fictions?
For example, do you often read in one sitting, skip around in the text,
skim the text, read three books simultaneously, and so on. Feel free to
use any terms that you like that help describe your reading style.
III. ABOUT READING HYPERTEXT FICTION
Where did you first hear about hypertext fiction?
What other kinds of texts and media does hypertext remind you of? Put an
"x" by any of the following:
novels
essays
verse
encyclopedias
dictionaries
paintings
films
performance art
museums
science experiments
other (please specify)
What was the title of the first hypertext fiction you read?
Where did you get it?
How would you describe your reading style when you read a hypertext
fiction? For example, do you often read in one sitting, skip around in the
text, skim the text, read three fictions simultaneously, and so on. Feel
free to use any terms that you like that help describe your reading style.
IV. ABOUT WRITING HYPERTEXT FICTION
(If you've never written in hypertext, go on to Section V)
When did you create your first hypertext fiction?
What software and system(s) do you use to create hypertext fictions?
How would you describe the reader or audience for your hypertext writing?
Do you write creatively in non-electronic forms? If so, what do you write?
Do you believe that your compositions receive adequate attention and
recognition, professional, popular or otherwise?
What responses do you receive from other people when they discover that you
write hypertext fiction?
Any other comments about reading or composing in hypertext?
V. ABOUT THIS SURVEY
I will be using this information to come up with a preliminary description
of hypertext reading and writing practices. Do you give me permission to
use the contents of this survey, including anonymous quotations, in my work
about hypertext?
Would you be willing to participate in an interview with me over electronic
mail?
Please mail this file *directly* back to me at mhocks@uiuc.edu.
Thanks for your participation!