Chapter Text
For ease of reading, our FAQs have been split into multiple pages:
- Project FAQs - for questions about the project in general
- Survey FAQs - for questions relating to the survey writing or issues with the survey
- Question FAQs - for questions relating to individual questions within the survey
What is this Tumblr about?
The AO3 Demographics Survey 2024 is a planned survey of AO3 users which will ask about demographics, AO3 use, and other fandom behaviour. This project was inspired by the AO3 Census 2013, in which a similar survey received over 10,000 responses, and we hope to again achieve a large volume of responses.
What are the goals of the survey?
The aims of the survey are as follows:
- To collect data on the demographics, behaviours & preferences of AO3 users.
- To create and publish a database of this information for analysis by future researchers.
- To complete these tasks ethically, particularly by protecting the privacy and anonymity of all survey participants.
What is the timeline for the survey?
The current aim is to launch the survey officially in January 2024.
Who is running this survey?
The project lead is centreoftheselights, aka @centrumlumina on Tumblr. She has no formal background in sociology or statistics, but she has been producing independent fandom statistics for 10 years, most notably the AO3 Ship Stats project (an annual review of the site’s most popular pairing tags) and the AO3 Census 2013 (the original survey of AO3 user demographics which inspired this project).
A group of other people are helping via the project Discord. If others take leadership roles as the project progresses, their bios will be added here.
Is this an official AO3 project?
No! This is a fan-made project with no official backing from AO3 or the OTW (AO3’s parent organisation). Some of the people running the project are current or past AO3 volunteers, but they are in no way representing AO3 in an official capacity.
Why does this survey need a Tumblr?
The purpose of this Tumblr is to be an official public-facing point of contact for the project. Once the survey is close to launching, it will enable people to ask questions of the organising team, and follow updates on the project’s progress through to the data analysis phase. It also allows for anyone interested in helping with the survey to keep in touch (see below).
Can I help with the survey?
We anticipate a lot of interest once the survey launches, so we have temporarily paused new invites to the project Discord.
The most helpful way you can contribute to the survey is to share or promote it on social media. Our ability to get a broad sample of fandom relies solely on word of mouth, so every share helps. You can find resources to help with this on our sharing page.