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What crises would dissuade you from your favourite ski resort?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Hi Snowheads, can you spare 5 minutes?

I know for a fine fact that skiers and snowboarders are some of the most fearless travellers out there, but now more then ever even we need to be extra careful about our travel plans. I'm a Master's student writing my thesis on crisis recovery in tourism hotspots, and I'm really keen to get the adventurer's perspective on what circumstances can sway travellers towards or away from certain destinations.

I'd be super grateful if you could fill out my survey at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/3F3T3SS - it's free and safe and really will only take 5 minutes - promise!

Thanks guys, keep making tracks!

Lisa Davison
Newcastle University, UK
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Done - Not really sure how helpful my responses will be, but that's your problem!

Generally good survey, but Q.12 seems a bit daft. Reminds me of 'Cake or death'


http://youtube.com/v/rZVjKlBCvhg
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
I've done it but found my answers fairly meaningless. Do I trust "radio"? Well, I'd be more likely to trust BBC R4 than the People's Voice of Scamthetravellerstan. Same with newspapers. Do I trust the Daily Mail? Not at all. Do I trust the better papers? Slightly more, but.....
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@pam w, +1
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
+another
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 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
I've filled it out, but like others say my responses might not be too helpful.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Done, good luck.

I don't understand why people think their responses won't be helpful Confused
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
I think your survey is so badly worded and constructed that it's meaningless.

For instance: "Would a natural disaster deter me from visiting a destination?" Well what does that mean exactly? I mean if I'm due to visit Rome, and it's just been hit with a magnitude 9.5 earthquake, then yes it would. But if I'm off to visit western Turkey and a city in the far east of Turkey has been hit with an earthquake, then no.
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Quote:

I don't understand why people think their responses won't be helpful

Because the significance of the data is determined by how well the questions discriminate - which in this case, they hardly do. So the data are not going to be significant at all, really.

Given such general questions, I could have given completely different, though equally honest, answers to nearly every question. As in my government website example above. Yes, I would absolutely trust the FCO website but some others? Not one bit.

However, I do realise that it's quantity not quality, of data which is important in these instances. wink

Survey design is a whole science in itself. We are about to survey members of our sailing club about what they want from catering services. I know enough about survey design to know that I shall need to consult somebody who actually knows something useful.
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Done.

While the survey isn't perfect, it's quite a bit better than many others I've be "invited" to participate.

Good luck with analyzing the result.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
pam w wrote:
I've done it but found my answers fairly meaningless. Do I trust "radio"? Well, I'd be more likely to trust BBC R4 than the People's Voice of Scamthetravellerstan. Same with newspapers. Do I trust the Daily Mail? Not at all. Do I trust the better papers? Slightly more, but.....

You're thinking of YOUR answer. But a good survey doesn't just look at one answer. It's the collection of data points. If you don't trust newspaper much because so many are useless but only a few are worthy, you can reflect that choosing the right level of trust base on your own favorite radio. (actually, if you think about it, how likely you will be reading the Daily Mail?)
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
PeDaSp wrote:
I think your survey is so badly worded and constructed that it's meaningless.

For instance: "Would a natural disaster deter me from visiting a destination?" Well what does that mean exactly? I mean if I'm due to visit Rome, and it's just been hit with a magnitude 9.5 earthquake, then yes it would. But if I'm off to visit western Turkey and a city in the far east of Turkey has been hit with an earthquake, then no.

Is that a typo?

If it isn't, then the proper comparison should be whether an earthquake hitting southern Italy would deter you from visiting Rome.
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So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Absolutely stultifyingly ambiguous survey. If I've booked a holiday in a town that gets overrun by ISIS I'm absolutely likely to cancel. If someone get kills in a lone terrorist attack in Paris I'm highly unlikely to cancel a ski holiday in the Haute Savoie.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
I think research into numbers of visitors, flights, immunizations, hotel room bookings etc would be more useful.

I'm not sure I agree with the idea that skiing is particularly adventurous. Take a look around here and I think you'll find it's really mostly like a beach package holiday on snow.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
I started to fill it out, but lost the will to live...."Certainly likely" is a meaningless expression and makes no sense You also need a box for the not sure category..
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
abc wrote:
PeDaSp wrote:
I think your survey is so badly worded and constructed that it's meaningless.

For instance: "Would a natural disaster deter me from visiting a destination?" Well what does that mean exactly? I mean if I'm due to visit Rome, and it's just been hit with a magnitude 9.5 earthquake, then yes it would. But if I'm off to visit western Turkey and a city in the far east of Turkey has been hit with an earthquake, then no.

Is that a typo?

If it isn't, then the proper comparison should be whether an earthquake hitting southern Italy would deter you from visiting Rome.


Yep — when things are badly worded it's annoying eh? Very Happy
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
It's really easy to pick a million holes in all of these surveys, but, come on - would you go to a destination if there had been a terrorist attack there in past 6 months? Answer on a scale of 1-5 with 1 being NO and 5 being YES. Are you more, less or equally likely to be influenced by friends and family/social media/mainstream media/FCO website in deciding? Whatever extra elements you want to add to it yourself (if there were a terrorist attack in London would I still want to go to Edinburgh? etc.), Lisa doesn't need to know - just do someone a favour and go with your gut instinct on a really small number of questions that are asking you to rank things on a 1-5 scale.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
the problem with such surveys, is that the participants try to decipher the purpose etc. and what the question is that the thesis is trying to (dis)prove.

if I do one, 9 of those questions will be totally fake and not form part of the survey. only one question will be the one of interest, hidden amongst those 9. so try to decipher away Wink

i have seen worse surveys.
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Done.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
a nuclear or chemical attack with a nerve agent would do it, and erm, that's about it really.
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miranda wrote:
It's really easy to pick a million holes in all of these surveys, but, come on - would you go to a destination if there had been a terrorist attack there in past 6 months? Answer on a scale of 1-5 with 1 being NO and 5 being YES. Are you more, less or equally likely to be influenced by friends and family/social media/mainstream media/FCO website in deciding? Whatever extra elements you want to add to it yourself (if there were a terrorist attack in London would I still want to go to Edinburgh? etc.), Lisa doesn't need to know - just do someone a favour and go with your gut instinct on a really small number of questions that are asking you to rank things on a 1-5 scale.


The actual problem is that participants see questions that are so bad they give up trying to answer properly and either abandon the survey or just tick down the middle or on one side or at random in frustration. So if the intent is to measure how people behave when presented with poor or ambiguous questions then she probably catches reliable data - if it's intended to be for the purposes she claims it is I'm not sure how reliable the data is

Yours

A 25 year old female who only believe what she reads on Snapchat.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@Dave of the Marmottes, doesn't matter. If you cba to finish it because questions are bad (it's really short to be fair and we're all prone to write a lot of drivel in response to totally shite points on here) then don't, but she's not going to change her survey on the back of these comments. Just answering down the middle etc. still gives the student something to work with.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Quote:

The actual problem is that participants see questions that are so bad they give up trying to answer properly and either abandon the survey or just tick down the middle or on one side or at random in frustration.


This - I'll do surveys if they're quick and easy. Most of the questions were, so no problem. But 8 and 9 are very difficult to answer, so I closed the survey - I can't be bothered to put that much thought into deciphering it/working out my answer.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Done Lisa - good luck with your thesis Very Happy
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miranda wrote:
@Dave of the Marmottes, doesn't matter. If you cba to finish it because questions are bad (it's really short to be fair and we're all prone to write a lot of drivel in response to totally shite points on here) then don't, but she's not going to change her survey on the back of these comments. Just answering down the middle etc. still gives the student something to work with.


I'd argue it gives her something to work with but equally she might as well fill it in multiple times herself with her mates down the pub. Now I know that is academic fraud but it probably isn't much lower quality data than giving it to people who just get frustrated by how bad the questions are. Davidof has the best answer here - the questions IMV would be far better designed as specific case studies e.g. following last years beach attacks would you consider a beach holiday in Tunisia? Here's some stats on norovirus incidence on cruises - what effect does it have on your intention to take a cruise?
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Done snowHead
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
davidof wrote:
a nuclear or chemical attack with a nerve agent would do it, and erm, that's about it really.

...or total lack of snow?
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
musher wrote:
davidof wrote:
a nuclear or chemical attack with a nerve agent would do it, and erm, that's about it really.

...or total lack of snow?


Yes, that's normally a bit of a downer and has certainly impacted the last two seasons for me.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Dave of the Marmottes wrote:
e.g. following last years beach attacks would you consider a beach holiday in Tunisia? Here's some stats on norovirus incidence on cruises - what effect does it have on your intention to take a cruise?


Interesting point about the beach attacks. They wouldn't make me less likely to visit the area because I was already not hugely keen and already concerned about the security - although admittedly there is more likelyhood of dying in an RTA. Certainly the attacks in France have had no impact on me visiting the cities but I'm slightly more cautious than I was in places like big railway stations.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
re the beach attacks I'd be equally likely to go to Tunisia but that's because I was extremely unlikely to want to go on a North African beach holiday even if terrorism didn't exist - so my answer wouldn't really reflect my attitude to increased risk just a minute probability remaining unchanged. That to my mind illustrates the difficulty of designing questions and responses which measure the right thing.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I guess this is evidence in the debate of whether we should have referenda - I really didn't struggle to fill out this student's questionnaire and am confused on the question of why the rest of you are finding it so difficult.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
davidof wrote:
a nuclear or chemical attack with a nerve agent would do it, and erm, that's about it really.


Gerry and Mihaid sharing a room in my chalet might take the edge off. Otherwise ISIS and Ebola would be other considerations.

A combination of the above might be a good thing.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Really you don't have trouble ascertaining how such a broad term as terrorism would affect your holiday plans?

When under terrorism the spectrum might be a single knife attack in a very large city 6 months earlier to terrorists crashing a plane into your intended hotel the day before you travel?

Natural disaster - Earthquake destroying the entire city or a bit of flooding damage to a road so you'll have to detour?
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it's only difficult if you're trying to second guess the reason for a question. or interpret the question to decide how to answer it.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Ha, rocket scientists have an answer for every thing.
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andy wrote:
it's only difficult if you're trying to second guess the reason for a question. or interpret the question to decide how to answer it.


No I'm trying to quantify what is meant by terrorism or natural disaster in order to decide how much it would affect my intended behaviour. If I make the assumption that terrorists blow up the entire resort then the question answers itself - if a country has raised its terrorism threat level from green to low amber - completely different.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
It is easy to fill in.

But a selfselected, small-scale, small-sample, limited-demographic, underdefined, unquantified survey ain't gonna win any research awards...
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
How true, we need the Kray super computer program you used to show Brexit was never going to happen.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Dave of the Marmottes wrote:
andy wrote:
it's only difficult if you're trying to second guess the reason for a question. or interpret the question to decide how to answer it.


No I'm trying to quantify what is meant by terrorism or natural disaster in order to decide how much it would affect my intended behaviour.

What do people think surveys are for? Do you really believe it would have any impact on policy, whatever that is? Your exact answer isn't as important as you think. But your participation is 100 times more important.

When dealing with a crowd, you really don't want to delve into the individual, nor the specific. You're looking at "the average". So if most people are not fazed by earthquakes, it's important to know than if most people are turning away with any mentioning of terrorist act.

If the survey questions are too specific, it totally loses its purpose of getting some "trend" on a topic. It only covers the specific case included in the survey. Who needs that?
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abc wrote:
Your exact answer isn't as important as you think. But your participation is 100 times more important.


If only my school exams had worked like that — I would have ended-up at Oxford University! Smile
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