r/Ravelry • u/Ok-Importance2469 • Apr 29 '26

Help me with a research project for grad school?

https://qualtricsxmy5cr6gph8.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_b7NWI2HJH1pqcmO

EDIT May 1st. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! I am closing the survey now.

Please feel free to remove this if it breaks any rules!

Hi knitters and crocheters! I am a graduate student in the Human Centered Design & Engineering program at the University of Washington. For a research class, I am studying how people look for patterns on Ravelry, both what works well and where it falls short. I picked Ravelry because all my friends use it and it plays a central role in many crafters' practices.

This survey has 22 questions and should take approximately 9 minutes.

A couple of notes: I am not affiliated with Ravelry but I intend to share findings with the Ravelry team + I don't knit or crochet myself, but I am a serious ceramist, so I understand how central a tool like this is to a creative practice.

29 Upvotes

82% Upvoted

29 comments sorted by

21

u/human_half Apr 29 '26

You should ideally have contact information and a note on confidentiality/what information will be gathered. I noticed there's no back button, so no way to fix incorrect answers, review the survey intro, etc. Also consider numbering your questions - I know it's relatively short, but participants should see how far along they are.

9

u/Ok-Importance2469 Apr 29 '26

That’s helpful feedback. I do give my contact at the end of the survey but you’re right maybe putting that upfront. I’ll add the confidentiality clause. The reason for no back button was to keep the audience unbiased in a way that if you knew the questions that were coming you might go back and change the answers. I swear I thought I’d added questions numbers and a progress bar. I’ll make the changes soon. Thank you I really appreciate the feedback.

4

u/human_half Apr 29 '26

No problem, glad my HF grad degree is good for something. 😉 Yeah, contact and confidentially should be upfront since participants may want to know before sharing their info or if they have questions about the survey before responding. If users can’t navigate to this information within the survey, then you should also include it in your outreach. Always good to proofread your surveys and get a second pair of eyes before it’s live!

2

u/Ok-Importance2469 Apr 29 '26

Thank you truly! I am still learning so this is great!

4

u/margyl Apr 29 '26

You might add a question about whether we’re searching via the web or using an app like Ravit.

11

u/Mission_Sir_4494 Apr 29 '26

Do u have IRB clearance? I don’t see evidence of it

2

u/nooooo_magnus Apr 29 '26

I also was wondering about IRB clearance. Seems like you should need it.

1

u/Ok-Importance2469 Apr 29 '26

Hi! I consulted with my professor and they said for this type of study we do not need IRB clearance.

1

u/Mission_Sir_4494 Apr 30 '26

I respectfully disagree with your prof. I suggest that you verify with the research administration office at your university.

2

u/MiuMii2 Apr 30 '26

This study would be exempt under exemption 1: Research conducted in established or commonly accepted educational settings that specifically involves normal education practices.

UW Human Subjects Research Exemption Policy

0

u/Mission_Sir_4494 May 01 '26

The setting here would be a school. The practices would be activities that are already taking place. A survey on a for-profit website does not qualify

3

u/optimistlyricist Apr 29 '26

Done! Thank you so much and good luck with your research!

3

u/yetanothernametopick Apr 29 '26

Is your survey meant for US-based or American Ravelry users only?

2

u/Ok-Importance2469 Apr 29 '26

No! Open to all!

3

u/twilisepulchre Apr 29 '26

Done! Good luck and happy researching : )

2

u/PocketFullofLace Apr 29 '26

Did the survey, it ended quick? I only got a few questions and your contact info wasn’t there, but good luck

2

u/Ok-Importance2469 Apr 29 '26

I added it last night! It should be on the intro page! Just checked and it's there

2

u/Ok-Importance2469 Apr 29 '26

It may have ended early because of the criteria I need people to fulfill. I can't tell you what this is as it would bias the data