About the Survey

Hello. I'm studying for an MPhil degree. As part of my studies, I'm interested in establishing what various social and geographic groups consider to be the classics of literature.

If you read for pleasure and are at least 13 years old, then I'd be very grateful if you could spare the time to fill in the following form. It should take no more than about fifteen minutes, mainly thinking about your personal views about the classics of literature. A summary of the results will be published at this site. If you are interested in receiving a copy, please include an address where I can reach you.

This survey isn't designed for under 12s. If that describes you, then you are still welcome to fill in the questionnaire, but you may find some of the questions are hard to understand, or aren't relevant to you. Just skip any questions you don't understand, or that you don't feel comfortable answering.

All information supplied will be kept in confidence and will not be published, except in an anonymous aggregate format. I'm not trying to sell anything!


How did you reach this page?

 

List or newsgroup (please specify)

 

Personal recommendation (eg e-mail from colleague or friend)

 

Random surfing or search engine

 

Advertisement

 

Other (please specify)




Part 1: Personal Information

Please supply as much of the following information as you are comfortable with.

Age:

Sex:

Highest education level completed:

Main area of education or interest: (select one choice only, but feel free to add a comment under the question 'any other details' below if this misrepresents you)

Region of origin: (if more than one, please select the region where you spent the majority of time when aged 5--21 years)


First language:


I am interested in investigating how important personal characteristics, such as gender, sexual orientation, race, and religious and political beliefs, affect people's responses to literature.

Which of the following personal factors, if any, do you feel strongly colours your view of the world?
(please select all that apply to you, and feel free to skip this question if you would rather not answer it)

 

My gender

 

My sexual orientation

 

My race

 

My religious beliefs

 

My political beliefs

 

Other personal factors (please explain)   

 

None

Please supply any other details about yourself that you consider important:

Do you read books for pleasure?

 

Never (please go straight to Part 2)

 

Occasionally

 

5--19 books per year

 

20--49 books per year (one every week or two)

 

50--100 books per year (one or two per week)

 

100+ books per year (more than two per week)


What sort of books do you mainly read for pleasure? (select as many as apply)

Contemporary fiction

Detective fiction

Romance

Science fiction

Fantasy

Historical novels

Classics

Poetry

Biography/history

Non-fiction


Part 2: About Literature

What, for you, are the classics of literature? (This is an entirely personal response, there are no right answers)

I cannot identify any works of literature I would call classics

Select up to ten classics (in no particular ranking order):

Title

Author (if appropriate)


Comments (Optional. You might like to attempt to define what classic means for you, and/or use this space to make a few extra suggestions)

If you are interested in receiving a summary of the results, please supply an e-mail or postal address (Optional)

   



Please contact me at tavia@fireflyuk.net if you experience any trouble filling in this form, so that I can try to fix the problem.

Many thanks for your participation

Tavia Chalcraft

v1.3 viragene