 Poster: A snowHead
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Are people who get bored easily (or, at least, before concluding a long, repetitive questionnaire) more or less likely to wear a helmet? I suspect less likely.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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maggi, it's quite sweet when your kids get worried about you. My son (who is no sailor) was once quite anxious because his Dad and I were undertaking a long and hazardous voyage all the way from Chichester Harbour to Bembridge, on the Isle of Wight. He said "Please phone me when you get there; I'm always worried when you're out on that boat".
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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pam w, 
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Message from Mary
I’d like to say ‘Thank you’ to everyone who has completed this survey so far. I really appreciate it. I know just how long this survey takes and issues about the wording etc., as I went through it about 100 times when developing and testing it.
Just as a reminder about the survey, the background to the study lies in the high profile deaths from skiing in 2009 and the debates on whether helmets should be mandatory or not. There is research to suggest that helmets may help reduce the risk of traumatic brain injury, the primary cause of death, and there is research suggesting that helmet use does not help reduce fatalities. While there appears to be a healthy body of research into factors associated with snowsport injuries, I have not found anything to suggest why people wear or do not wear helmets when it is voluntary to do so. I am hoping to shed some light on this area through this project.
The survey has been developed to explore attitudes and beliefs regarding helmet use based on the theory of planned behaviour, which has been tested across many domains and found to be quite robust. The objective will be to explore whether there are any significant differences in the beliefs of those who wear and those who do not wear helmets whilst also looking at potential confounders such as experience, ability and risk propensity as there is no any clear evidence to suggest whether wearers are more risk-averse or risk-seeking.
To achieve a sufficient sample size for analysis, I have tried to publicise this study as widely as possible in order to reach as broad a snow sport population as possible in order to gather a broad range of views to include so strong opponents of helmet use as well as strong adherents. However, I am not aiming to necessarily gain a representative sample as the focus is on the differences between those who do and those who don't wear helmets rather than the prevalence of beliefs.
As to the possible outcomes and the extent to which I would be able to generalise the results, I am unable to comment any further until the data has been analysed, the sample profiled and compared with existing literature. The current timings are completion of the study and submission in September so a summary of the findings will hopefully be available by October. Sadly, these dates are provisional and subject to change owing to ongoing health problems.
I appreciate the feedback provided on the wording and questions, but hope you will appreciate that the study is tightly constrained by the theoretical model and its guidelines for operationalisation. FWIW the first questionnaire was more interesting, but I couldn’t use it as it was impossible to analyse it using the model and instead, developed a second questionnaire, based on expert guidance, which was then passed as ‘a good questionnaire’ for the job. The survey certainly has some limitations despite having been piloted among a handful of skiers and snowboarders, whose support and feedback has been invaluable to improving the questionnaire. However, it should still expand existing knowledge.
Thanks again to those who have participated in this survey to date. I shall be keeping the survey up for about another month for anyone else who may be interested (non-helmet wearers particularly welcome!!!).
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| miranda wrote: |
I used an established and well-tested questionnaire developed by a partnership of an eminent psychologist and statistician (that has spawned much interesting research and some respected books). I didn’t change a word of it and got very similar feedback from one or two people to that above (not quite “poorer than GCSE B-Tech” but the boring, repetitive, not specific enough here, too specific there, weird questions, ballache, etc.)... because easiski is partly right - the practicalities of psychological study can be dull and repetitive… you do have to check consistency in human response by repeating questions with alternative scaling, re-repeating questions across each and every condition, separating out distinct mediators rather than lumping them all together… have to disagree about psychological research being “fairly pointless” though!
Sampling is a problem for students and is acknowledged when discussing limitations of the findings. I hope the novel aspect of Mary's study turns out some useful results that suggest full research is warranted and, off the back of it, gets some funding to hang out at ski resorts around the world to access a better sample  |
Exactly, while Psychology itself is, as Stoatsbrother said, fascinating. the surveys, and study in academic terms are not. Having worked for many years at the University of Bath in the autumns, I've seen a lot of this.
Even a sports physio friend was complaining the other day that the academic biomechanists don't do any 'real' biomechanics!
I know both Tom and Mary, so I'm sorry to have to say that I found it boring and repetitive myself, but why not complete it? 20 mins of your life isn't much to ask, and BTW it's pretty shameful to attack a new snowhead like this IMO. Perhaps if both of them were actually poor skiers it would help? 
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I really wonder why people moan and gripe so much, sometimes. they must have miserable lives.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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If anyone has followed this repetitive thread but complained about the repetitive survey wasting their lives, they might like to ponder the inconsistency.
PS to Mary
I took the question on chances of different injuries in relation to a lifetime of skiing several weeks per year - mostly off piste and often on steep slopes. On this scale a few injuries are likely. However, if the question was meant to refer to only a holiday (or even a few weeks) my answer would have been very different, when I go skiing I think injury is unlikely.
This is typical of some questions which we could read in different ways and give a quite different answer without having changed our opinions..
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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easiski,
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Perhaps if both of them were actually poor skiers it would help?
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That made me giggle as I have had the pleasure of skiing with/racing against them
Tom survey done.
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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.
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| slider_tom wrote: |
| Message from MaryJust as a reminder about the survey, the background to the study lies in the high profile deaths from skiing in 2009 |
you mean the ONE high profile death... Natasha Richardson... a low speed fall on the nursery slope... a complete freak incident. There was another newsworthy incident that year and it involved a ruptured aorta. Seriously, this survey is flawed from the outset.
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You know it makes sense.
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I had to put a helmet on half way through the survey as I was hurting myself hitting my head against the wall in frustration.
Gave up. Horrible survey.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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easiski, true... but I've chosen for my Summer pass for the lifts without snow...the pass also lets me up to Dachstein but only if one is not carrying any winter sports equipment... anyone got any telescopic skis/snowboards that can fit in my pocket?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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slider_tom, we all know there are lots of deaths on mountains but how many of them are the result of trauma to the head? And you're struggling there to find "high profile" ski deaths.
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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?
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Hi
| Bode Swiller wrote: |
| slider_tom, we all know there are lots of deaths on mountains but how many of them are the result of trauma to the head? And you're struggling there to find "high profile" ski deaths. |
Not sure where you think that it has been indicated that there are a lot of deaths?
In fact, the first sentence to the survey states that fatalities from snow sports are quite rare. However, the research shows that the primary cause of death in those instances tends to be head trauma. If you want the statistics, they vary in the range of 59% to 88%.
Not sure what your issue is with 'high profile'? The Haiti disaster was high profile without involving celebrities. The Tsunami was high profile without involving celebrities, etc.
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slider_tom, I did your questionnaire - but had a big problem with the sloppy use of the word 'injury'. It was not at all clear whether what was meant was nay injury at all, such as a cut or bruise, or trauma ranging from concussion upwards. I personally believe that helmets can reduce the risk of quite nasty cuts/grazing/bruising/ but almost no chance of reducing trauma injuries. Sloppily put together questionnaire, IMV, possibly with a desired range of results in mind. Probably worthless.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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achilles, I think that expressing an honest point of view, of the wrong sort, marks you down as 'miserable' in the eyes of some.
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Tiger2, Maybe you should do a poll?
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Tiger2,I frequently wear a helmet; I was frustrated with the questionnaire. I can't see that despair at slovenly work masquerading as academic research should be related to any particular viewpoint on helmet wearing. Can you?
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Quote: |
I think that expressing an honest point of view, of the wrong sort, marks you down as 'miserable' in the eyes of some.
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well in my eyes, it all depends. Where an honest opinion is sought, then even if it negative I wouldn't describe it as "miserable" if it is expressed without unnecessary bile or rudeness. But when the "honest opinion" (it's a free country, innit...) is neither called for, nor politely expressed, I think it can reasonably be described as such.
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| Dunk wrote: |
easiski,
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Perhaps if both of them were actually poor skiers it would help?
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That made me giggle as I have had the pleasure of skiing with/racing against them
Tom survey done. |
Many thanks!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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To be honest, someone who feels "despair" when confronted by a confusing questionnaire does sound a tad gloomy
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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.
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miranda, despair is something i save for watching videos of my skiing 
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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I tried to fill in the questionnaire but didn't finish. I persisted with the questions until I got to the bit about estimating how likely I was to injure my, head, face, arm, leg, teeth etc next time I go skiing. Hubby who was sat next to me had a strop at the line of questioning and said it was tempting fate to talk about how unlikely/likely I was to hurt myself seeing as the next time I will be on skis I will be GS race training. I still hadn't completed 30 mins after starting so bailed. Karma and all that!
Don't think I'd have been a good sample anyway as I tend to only wear a helmet when I have to i.e. race training or if a ski school insists on instructors wearing a helmet for certain classes. Don't care what anyone thinks if I don't wear one, and doubt my perception of high risk is the same as yours. I'd be amazed if you get meaningful answers for a lot of that survey but then, it might not be the content of the answers that you are actually interested in.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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?
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| abc wrote: |
| Thornyhill wrote: |
The survey is so tedious that many of the the people who don't really care either way won't bother to complete it. Only the people on a mission will complete it.
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You don't KNOW that! You just assumed it. That's the exact opposit of scientific work.
The whole purpose of the survey was about what people THINK ABOUT helmet itself. So "people on a mission" would have their basis of believe exposed. It wasn't about WHETHER it should be made compulsory.
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I think you will find that my proposed question would cover the scientific aspect of the research, in that it would identify those with extreme beliefs. The survey as I see it is not biased, but its structure will encourage a biased response. Put on your Theta-hat, have a think about it and tell me why you don't believe me.
This is for an MSc. If it was an MA, anything with loads of words will do, but for an MSc, someone with a very sharp mind will try to take your research to pieces. I am merely pointing out that if someone with a fairly fuzzy mind that only thinks in white and steep can see a flaw, then one of those sharp minded lecturers might rubbish it completely. Would it not be better to refine it now rather than wait for a few old guys with beards to make you feel stupid.
p.s. - OP - The beardy guys will try it anyway, so it might be an idea to have a survey about the survey, before she does the survey?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| slider_tom wrote: |
Message from Mary
... developed a second questionnaire, based on expert guidance, which was then passed as ‘a good questionnaire’ for the job. .... |
It is only a good questionnaire to allow you you fully analyse the result of those that have completed it. If the questionnaire itself discourages a portion of the respondents from completing it, then you can draw no statistical analysis from the results. To do this efficiently you either need a closed sample with no "quit because I am bored option"or a questionnaire that holds the attention. This is neither.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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One of the concerns expressed several times here on Snowheads is the number of people who abandoned part way through the survey. They were willing to try but for various reasons gave up; many have stated their reasons here. So the survey appears to be excluding a whole lot of people. I wonder whether the survey package used records details like:
* how many people failed to complete and, if so, how far they got.
* how long people took for the whole survey, or even for individual questions.
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I don't really get all these moans - I found it boring but just whizzed through it, giving my initial reactions and not stopping to think too much. I would leave it to the psychologists to get what they will from the results - the main focus of the study is probably people's attitudes to surveys, aren't they normally after something totally different to what you expect?? 
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If you would like the answers to the questions you are welcome to contact the researchers.
Last edited by Then you can post your own questions or snow reports... on Fri 23-07-10 12:25; edited 3 times in total
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| cathy wrote: |
| I don't really get all these moans - I found it boring but just whizzed through it, giving my initial reactions and not stopping to think too much. I would leave it to the psychologists to get what they will from the results - the main focus of the study is probably people's attitudes to surveys, aren't they normally after something totally different to what you expect?? |
Hi Cathy,
Many thanks for 'whizzing' through the survey - your initial reactions are exactly what is needed.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Likewise, I found the survey fine, I have completed more of these than I care to recall including the psychometric testing types and was not at all put off by the repetitive questions etc. Will be very interested to see the results.
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Having reflected on it a bit although the survey seemed to be a bit annoying yet superficial at the same time I suspect that quantitative analysis wasn't really the point but rather the variance in an individual's answers is the real point - so if an individual votes down the middle for lots of non pertinent factors for them then is violently pro or anti a particular point its those spikes that are of most interest. I suspect there is something clever in the guess how many people wear helmets questions to filter your intrinsic bias. I'd guess the numbers exceed 50% for a N American freeride focused resort and are significantly lower for a sunny Italian mellow piste posing resort.
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FAQ
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