There is quite a bit of stuff to sift through here. But here is the current list of questions:

General:
* Who are you?
* What are you doing here on dA?
* What kinds of questions are you trying to answer?
* What do you actually do?
* Where do the results of this research appear?

More about interviews:
* I've heard that you ask people to sign some forms. What are those all about?
* What kind of interviews do you do?
* How long do interviews take?
* What are the benefits of that? Do I get paid?
* How old do I need to be to be interviewed? (and what about parents' permission?)
* What about confidentiality? Will people know who I am?
* Do you post these interviews on dA?
* Are there any costs or risks?
* Do i have to answer every question?

GENERAL QUESTIONS

Who are you?
My name is Dan Perkel. I am a graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley in the School of Information.

What are you doing here on dA?
I am doing a long-term research project on how artists and media makers use the web as a part of their art-related activities. A great deal of my research involves hanging out online, particularly here on dA. However, I am also trying to understanding more about what goes on offline as well. So I have been attending conventions, going to some devMeets, and hanging out with groups who organize offline as well as online.

What kinds of questions are you trying to answer?
The kind of research project I am doing starts with broad questions (see question: "How do you do your research?"). My hopes are to better understand some of the main issues that are involved when artists, particularly younger artists in their teens and twenties, put their work online and get involved in different activities. How did you get to where you are today? What do you do on an everyday basis? How do you go about improving and learning new techniques? How important is it to get your work seen by others? What kind of feedback do you want and do you actually get? Is your art a part of your career or career aspirations? These are just some of the questions that I have been asking.

I am also interested in how people interact with the sites and settings in which they work. So, I have been particularly interested in the features of dA and how those features change over time. Along these lines, I am always intrigued by how people come to use features and spaces on the site in ways that weren't necessarily "designed" by the the designers and administrators who work for deviantART, the company. These include ways that people think about how to comment, how to favorite, when to thank people, and so on.

Over time, as particular topics emerge as important, I try to focus my attention on them. You can see some of this in my previous journal posts.

What do you actually do?
I have seen a lot of things written about art, creativity, the use of technology, and other related topics that don’t really take the perspectives of people into account. I am trying to understand the worlds of artists and creators from their perspectives, as best as I possibly can. That’s not an easy thing to do, considering how many different perspectives there are.

This is a kind of research that involves hanging out with people in order to observe what they do and by getting involved, having a better understanding of their experience. Sometimes this is referred to as "ethnography." There are two main methods that I use: participant-observation and interviews.

Participant-observation
At one level, all this means is "hanging-out" but it's a hanging out that has some direction, some purpose, and usually involves taking notes about what I observe while I also participate. Most of this hanging out has been online, though I have attended a few devMeets, comic conventions, open-mic. nights at cafes with people I have met in my research.

By hanging out on dA I mean that I do many of the things that other people on the site do. I watch artists. Occasionally I might upload something of my own. I engage in conversations via comments on journal articles, deviations, news articles. I spend some time in the chat rooms. I also get into conversations in the Notes. Finally, I read a lot of what goes on here in people's journals and on the news, though of course can't possibly follow everything.

Interviews
Sometimes, I ask people if they'd be interested in doing a more time-intensive interview, in person, over the phone, via Skype, or over IM. In these interviews, I have questions that I want to ask but I also let the conversation and the person I am talking to help determine the topics. This makes it so that I don't predetermine the answers or even what the focus should be.

If you are interested in being interviewed, please let me know (though I can't promise that I'll interview everyone who asks). Either comment here or send me a note. For interviews with anyone under 18, I will need parents’ permission.

Below, I have a few specific frequently asked questions about interviews that you should read first.

Where do the results of this research appear?
Along the way, I will be writing about my experiences. Some of these thoughts will continue to show up in my journal, perhaps even in more deviations like my presentation on tutorials. I hope that these can generate some conversation, and I am happy to have people challenge any of my opinions and thoughts. This will help improve the research.

Aside from appearing here, I hope to publish papers academic journals and conferences. In the future, if I am lucky, I’ll be able to write for a wider audience (a book might be nice one day...).


QUESTIONS ABOUT INTERVIEWS

As mentioned above, I have been interviewing people as well as hanging out on deviantART. There are some additional questions to answer here.

I've heard that you ask people to sign some forms. What are those all about?
One of the things that just comes with doing research at a university is adhering to the policies of the university. The government requires universities to oversee the ethical treatment of all people involved in research. One part of this is "informed consent," which basically is a process by which I make sure that people understand the nature of the research and they agree to be interviewed and take part in it. This agreement usually involves signing the "consent" form. Not to get into the messy details, getting a signature isn't always required, but I usually ask for one.

What kind of interviews do you do?
The kind of interviews are what is sometimes referred to as "semi-structured" or "open-ended." This is academic-speak that is supposed to indicate that while I have a list of questions that I go into interviews with, they are all open for interpretation by the person being interviewed. The interviews are not surveys with only a few answers to choose from. The goal is to generate conversation and find out what is important to the person being interviewed. It is important to be able to ask follow up questions. This is why I usually don't do interview that are just questions "thrown over a wall" to be answered by someone and then thrown back over the wall to me. However, sometimes I do ask questions or ask follow-up questions in the Notes that are less interactive.

I let people decide how they would like to be interviewed. I have done face-to-face interviews, interviews over the phone, over Skype, and even over instant messenger (MSN, AIM, Yahoo!, Google, you name it).

How long do interviews take?
I have found that this greatly depends on the particular conversation and the technology/medium used. Face to face or phone calls (or Skype) can take anywhere from an hour to two hours. IM interviews always take longer because of the typing. I also think that there is a lot more editing that happens in IM interviews (by me and by the participants) so this may add to the time. In all cases, I am happy to split up the interview over multiple days.

Additionally, I ask permission to follow up and hope that you will let me!

What are the benefits of that? Do I get paid?
While there are no direct benefits to you (such as health benefits), people often enjoy being interviewed because it gives them a chance to talk about things that are interesting to them.

Having you participate in this study may benefit society because it will help us better understand the experiences and perspectives of the people involved in these kinds of activities. We will be able to develop a balanced and deep view of how these technologies may shape different generations of people and potentially the evolution of new technologies. We will be talking to other people, parents, community members, scholars, technology designers, and business people about this study, so your views may help shape their opinions.

But all of that "for society" stuff aside, I do like to give thank-you gifts. I have given people prints off their dA wishlists, subscriptions, items off their Amazon wishlists, or even other kinds of gift certificates. These are in the $10-15 range.

How old do I need to be to be interviewed? (and what about parents' permission?)
If you are old enough to be on this site, you are old enough to be a participant in the study. Those under 18, however, have to have parents permission. I realize that not every teenager wants their parents to know that they are on this site...or would just prefer for parents to stay out of their business, but I can't change that.

What about confidentiality? Will people know who I am?
This depends on what you want. This issue is one of the most important considerations in my research. I am ethically obligated to make sure, to the best of my ability, that my research doesn’t have any negative consequences on people. The most important thing is to protect people’s identities if that is what they want.

However, when I have interviewed people, I always give them the chance to also use their screen-name (deviant name). Obviously, if you choose to use your screen-name, people will know who you are. All that being said, I have done interviews where someone has asked me not to link particular answers, which is fine by me.

Do you post these interviews on dA?
While I do sometimes post papers or other material that quotes from these interviews, I do not guarantee that an interview will show up on deviantART. I know that a lot of people would like the exposure, I just can't guarantee it. I may try to figure out a way to get more interviews up on the site, but can't promise anything now.

Are there any costs or risks?
There are no costs to being interviewed.

There is a risk that you will not want to answer a question and will feel uncomfortable. It is okay not to answer any question and you can withdraw from the study at any time.

There is always a risk that the data collected could be stolen, thus affecting our commitment to confidentiality. However, we will be taking all necessary steps as required by UC Berkeley in order to protect the data, even in the event of theft.

Do i have to answer every question?
Nope! You should feel free not to answer any question you don't feel comfortable answering. Your participation in this interview is voluntary. Finally, you may stop the interview at any time and will still receive that thank-you gift I mentioned above in the question about benefits).

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Researching Creativity and the Internet (or, who I am what I am up to)


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