By selecting this box you acknowledge that you have read and understand the conditions of this survey and understand that all participation is voluntary.

Survey Questions for Astronomy Picture of the Day study

Thank you very much for your interest in Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD). We very much appreciate the minutes and hours you have given us viewing our images and reading their captions - your dedication drives us to keep doing the site. This survey is our way of trying to understand what motivates you and what else interests you. Your response will help us better understand viewers like you, and will allow us to improve what we do for you. Thanks!

Some Basics

1. What is your age?  (please select age) under 13 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 over 80 Required
   
   
2. What is your gender?
   Male
   Female
   Prefer Not to Answer
   
   
3. In what country do you reside? $sel=""; //value attribute given by the two-letter ISO 3166 country code (please select a country) United Kingdom United States Prefer Not to Answer Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegowina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Cook Islands Costa Rica Cote d'Ivoire Croatia (Hrvatska) Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic East Timor Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France France, Metropolitan French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Haiti Holy See (Vatican) Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran (Islamic Republic of) Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco Mongolia Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Reunion Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint LUCIA Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain Sri Lanka St. Helena St. Pierre and Miquelon Sudan Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United States Minor Outlying Islands Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Viet Nam Virgin Islands (British) Virgin Islands (U.S.) Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Yugoslavia Zambia Zimbabwe
   
   
4. US: What is your zip code?
   UK: What is the first part of your postal code?        
   
   

The Astronomy Picture of the Day

When you started visiting, on average, how difficult did you find it to understand APOD?

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	NA
very easy			very difficult				Prefer not to answer


Now, on average, how difficult do you find it to understand APOD?

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	NA
very easy			very difficult				Prefer not to answer



6. Where did you first hear about APOD?
   
   
7. From where do you most often view APOD?
    From home
    From work
    On the go
    From a computer in a public place (such as a library)
    Other:
   
   

What are your reasons for viewing?

10. We're trying to understand why you view our images compared to why people participate in other projects. How motivating are these reasons to you? Please choose a response to indicate how much of a motivating factor that reason is for you, on a scale from 1 (not at all motivating) to 7 (very motivating).
    
    
11. What are your reasons for looking at Astronomy Picture of the Day?
    
    I want to see things previously unknown to researchers.

    1	2	3	4	5	6	7	NA
    not motivating to me			very motivating to me				Prefer not to answer

    
    I am excited to see the results of current research.

    1	2	3	4	5	6	7	NA
    not motivating to me			very motivating to me				Prefer not to answer

    
    I find the site and forums helpful in learning about astronomy.

    1	2	3	4	5	6	7	NA
    not motivating to me			very motivating to me				Prefer not to answer

    
    I can see things few people have seen before.

    1	2	3	4	5	6	7	NA
    not motivating to me			very motivating to me				Prefer not to answer

    
    I can meet other people with similar interests in the forums.

    1	2	3	4	5	6	7	NA
    not motivating to me			very motivating to me				Prefer not to answer

    
    I find it to be a useful resource for teaching other people.

    1	2	3	4	5	6	7	NA
    not motivating to me			very motivating to me				Prefer not to answer

    
    I enjoy seeing the beautiful images.

    1	2	3	4	5	6	7	NA
    not motivating to me			very motivating to me				Prefer not to answer

    
    I am amazed by the vast scale of the universe.

    1	2	3	4	5	6	7	NA
    not motivating to me			very motivating to me				Prefer not to answer

    
    I am interested in astronomy / space science.

    1	2	3	4	5	6	7	NA
    not motivating to me			very motivating to me				Prefer not to answer

    
    I find science really interesting.

    1	2	3	4	5	6	7	NA
    not motivating to me			very motivating to me				Prefer not to answer

    
    
12. Which of the reasons above is MOST important to you when looking at Astronomy Picture of the Day? Select the radio button next to
    your most important reason:
      I want to see things previously unknown to researchers.
      I am excited to see the results of current research.
      I find the site and forums helpful in learning about astronomy.
      I can see things few people have seen before.
      I can meet other people with similar interests in the forums.
      I find it to be a useful resource for teaching other people.
      I enjoy seeing the beautiful images.
      I am amazed by the vast scale of the universe.
      I am interested in astronomy / space science.
      I find science really interesting.
    


13. What other image sites do you go to?
    
    
14. What was your attitude toward astronomy before looking at Astronomy Picture of the Day?

    1	2	3	4	5	6	7	NA
    no interest			much interest				NA

    
    
15. What was your attitude toward astronomy after looking at Astronomy Picture of the Day?

    1	2	3	4	5	6	7	NA
    no interest			much interest				NA

    
    
16. Do you participate in the Starship Asterisk forum at http://asterisk.apod.com/?
      Yes   No
    
       b) If no, what are your reasons for not participating in the forum available?
          No interest       Nothing to contribute       I was not aware there was a forum.
          Other:
    
    
17. Which emotion do you feel most often as you use or think about Astronomy Picture of the Day?

    Excitement

    Informed

    Pleasure

    Contentment

    Intelligent

    NA

    
    
18. Do you tell others about Astronomy Picture of the Day?   Yes   No
    
19. Please check the box next to any science-related activities that you enjoy:

    	Before using APOD	After using APOD
    Reading popular science magazines (such as New Scientist or Scientific American)
    Reading popular science books
    Amateur astronomy or stargazing
    Other science hobbies (birdwatching, etc.)
    Model building (model airplanes, rockets, etc.)
    Reading or writing science fiction
    Watching science television shows or specials
    Other

    
    
20. Please check the box next to any online collaboration projects you have participated in:

    	Before using APOD	After using APOD
    SETI@Home
    Stardust@Home
    Clickworkers
    Cornell Birdwatching Public Science Project
    Amazon Mechanical Turk
    The ESP game
    Wikipedia (As a reader)
    Wikipedia (As a contributor)
    Astronomy Picture of the Day (As viewer)
    Astronomy Picture of the Day (As contributor)
    YouTube, Flickr or other media sites (As a viewer)
    YouTube, Flickr or other media sites (As a contributor)
    Other

    
    

Demographics

21. Does your occupation or course of study primarily involve science, technology, engineering or mathematics?
      Yes
      Somewhat
      No
    
    
22. What is the highest level of education you have completed?
    (US and US-like school systems) Student: In High School Student: Technical / Vocational School Student: Undergraduate Student: Postgraduate Program Student: Graduate School Student: Professional School (Law, Medical, ...) No High School Degree / Not a Student High School diploma or GED Some College / Not a Student Technical/Vocational Certification Associates Degree Bachelors Degree (BA, BS, ...) Postgraduate Professional Certification Masters Degree (MA, MS, ...) Doctoral Degree (Ph.D., D.Phil., ...) Professional Degree (M.D., J.D., ...) Prefer Not to Answer (UK and UK-like school systems) Student: In Secondary School Student: In degree program Student: Postgraduate Study Student: Graduate School Left school at 16 (GCSE / O levels) Left school at 18 (e.g. A levels, highers, ...) Some University / Not a Student First degree Masters Degree Doctoral Degree Prefer Not to Answer
    
    

One Final Thing...

23. Do you do any of the following?

    Prefer Not To Answer
    Participate in other online citizen science (e.g. Foldit@Home, Clickworkers)
    Submit observing data to research projects (e.g. AAVSO, Minor Planet Center)
    Do astrophotography
    Observer / stargaze for fun
    Listen to Astronomy Podcasts
    Read Astronomy Blogs
    Look at Astronomy Picture of the Day sites
    Attend astronomy lectures or belong to an astronomy club
    Subscribe to paper astronomy magazines or newsletters

    
    

Thank you for answering!