Gamers: Myth or Man?

In this science fair project, you will survey people to determine if there is a difference between the public perceptions of who a gamer is and the demographics of people who actually play video games. You can tailor your survey to get at the specific aspects of the gamer stereotype you're most interested in; for example, appearances, social interactions, behavior, or gaming preferences. Or design a more general survey that broadly covers many of these aspects. The way you design your survey will determine the exact direction of your research.

Designing the Surveys

Before you start designing your surveys, make sure you've read the guide on Designing a Survey.

1. To start this science fair project, you should first decide whether you are going to ask structured (fixed-response) questions or non-structured (open) questions.
   1. Structured responses are easier to tabulate later for data analysis, but limit the responses to a predetermined list of options you've already thought of.
   2. Non-structured questions are more challenging to categorize during data analysis, but gather the most specific data, since each volunteer writes his or her own answer without preset limits.
   3. It is fine for your survey to have a mixture of both structured and non-structured questions if this best fits your data-collection needs.
2. The aim of Survey 1 is to discover what the stereotype of a gamer is. Write questions that address aspects of the gamer stereotype that you are interested in exploring. Some ideas for areas to focus on are:
   1. Personal details
      • Age
      • Gender
      • Employment
   2. Physical description
      • Hairstyle
      • Clothing choices
      • Body build
   3. Social description
      • Personality types, such as outgoing or shy
      • Number of friends
      • Hobbies (besides games)
   4. Gaming details
      • Types of games played
      • Average number of hours spent playing games per week
   • Make sure your questions are clear and concise.
   • Try to limit the number of questions to 12 or fewer. If your survey is too long, people might not be willing to take the time to complete it.
3. The aim of Survey 2 is to find out how people who self-identify as gamers describe themselves in relation to the same questions.
   1. The questions should be personal questions that address the same aspects of the gamer stereotypes as you queried in Survey 1.
      • For example, if Survey 1 asks, "Most gamers are: 1) Male, 2) Female, or 3) Equally likely to be male or female", Survey 2 should ask ask: Your gender is: 1) Male, or 2) Female.
      • Each question on Survey 2 should have a related question on Survey 1.
      • When writing the questions, be aware that some words have connotations that people don't like and they may be reluctant to use them to describe themselves (or others), even if they think it's the truth. For example, someone might be reluctant to say they are a "picky" eater, but be comfortable stating that there are "many foods I prefer not to eat."
4. When you are done creating your surveys, have one or more people proofread them to make sure they are easy to understand and accurate.

Collecting and Analyzing Survey Responses

1. Have as many volunteers as possible (a minimum of 50) fill out each of the surveys.
2. To obtain the large number of volunteers, you could distribute the surveys in a public place, like a mall or outside of a library. Alternatively, collect responses from friends, classmates, teammates, family members, and other groups of people you know.
   1. Make sure to have plenty of copies of your surveys on hand, as well as clipboards and writing utensils to make it easier for people to fill out the surveys.
3. Ask each volunteer if he or she plays video games or not. Have people who do not play any video games fill out Survey 1 and people who do play video games fill out Survey 2.
4. Create a bar graph or pie chart representing the answers given for each question on each survey.
5. Compare the results between paired questions on Survey 1 and Survey 2.
   1. Is the distribution of the results similar? Which questions were answered most similarly by video game players versus non-gamers? Which responses were most disparate?
      • Optional: To analyze the data in a statistical manner, try using the Pearson's chi-square test for each question. The goal will be to use the test to assess the fit between the stereotype data from Survey 1 (which will be the theoretical distribution) and the real data from gamers from Survey 2 (the observed frequency distribution). For more information on Pearson's chi-square test, consult a statistics book or try http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pearson%27s_chi-square_test&oldid=239481267.
   2. What do your results indicate about the accuracy of the gamer stereotype?