Demographic survey research

This wiki page contains the draft of questions used for a Fedora contributor / demographic survey. Most of these questions were extensively discussed and revised during the FAD Diversity 2017. More details about this can be found in Pagure ticket discussions and in Etherpads. The questions in this wiki page are not finalized unless otherwise stated.

Objectives

The primary objectives we identified for the demographic survey were…

  1. Gather baseline demographics about the contributor community

    • Why is this objective important?

      • Better allows us to focus on groups who are underrepresented and try to improve the user experience for new contributors in the community

    • Examples of target criteria:

      • Numbers for underrepresented groups (race / gender / sexuality / etc.)

      • Age of contributors

      • Gender

      • Race/Cultural background

      • Location

      • Disability

      • Family / kids / Motherhood ?

      • Non-English speaking community

  2. Determine contributor knowledge about project components that ease contribution

    • Join SIG

    • Mentoring Programs

    • Onboarding programs

    • Classrooms?

    • Code of conduct / diversity and inclusion team

Other comments and thoughts

Other questions, comments, and ideas from our raw notes…

  • @bee2502’s musings - some questions

    • How were you introduced to Fedora?

      1. By another Fedora contributor

      2. At a Fedora event (e.g. FAD / workshop / meetup / release party)

      3. Conference

      4. Hackerspace

      5. Red Hat

      6. Web / online

    • What makes it difficult contributing to Fedora for you?

We also wanted to identify how the data will be used and clearly communicate how the data will be used (ideally, this outline or information being available for participants in the survey to review).

Relevant resources

Survey questions

Below are the "ver. 1.0" version of the survey questions. Our last plan for these was to submit them to Fedora Legal for feedback, which I believe @bex and @marinaz were going to work on. These questions will also be updated in the Survey wiki page.

Fedora and free and open source software usage and contributions

  • How long have you been a Fedora user?

    • I have never used Fedora

    • Less than 1 year

    • 1 to 3 years

    • 3 to 6 years

    • 6 to 10 years

    • Over 10 years

    • Prefer not to say

  • How long have you been a Fedora contributor?

    • I have never contributed to Fedora

    • Less than 1 year

    • 1 to 3 years

    • 3 to 6 years

    • 6 to 10 years

    • Over 10 years

    • Prefer not to say

  • Please select types of contributions that you make to Fedora:

    • Community (community leadership, new contributor outreach and onboarding, diversity and inclusion work, marketing, event organization)

    • Technical (packaging, programming, infrastructure, operations, release engineering, testing / QA, language-specific SIGs)

    • Other non-technical (design, documentation, localization, translation)

    • Prefer not to say

    • Other (please specify)

  • Do you contribute to Fedora as a volunteer or as an employee of a company? [select all that apply]

    • Volunteer (student)

    • Volunteer (unemployed)

    • Volunteer (retired)

    • Volunteer (outside regular job)

    • Employee (work-related contributions)

    • Prefer not to say

    • Other (please specify)

  • On average, how many hours a week did you spend on Fedora contributions in the last three months?

    • 0, I have not contributed in the last three months

    • Less than 2

    • 2 - 5

    • 6 - 10

    • 11 - 20

    • 21 - 40

    • More than 40

    • Prefer not to say

  • What are the top reasons you contribute to Fedora? Please check a maximum of 4 answers.

    • To participate in a global cooperative project

    • To participate in a free and open source software project

    • To improve a free and open source software project

    • Because I think that software should not be proprietary

    • To solve a problem that could not be done by proprietary software

    • To get help in realizing a good idea for a software project

    • To learn and develop new skills

    • To share my knowledge and skills

    • To improve my job opportunities

    • To get a reputation in the free and open source software scene

    • To meet other people in the free and open source software community

    • Because I enjoy working with other people in the community

    • To get funding to travel internationally

    • To earn a living

    • Prefer not to say

    • Other (please specify)

  • Think of the time you made your first contribution to Fedora that was incorporated. What best describes your experience?

    • My co-worker, who was paid to work on Fedora, helped me prepare the contribution

    • A person I already knew socially helped me prepare the contribution

    • A person I did not know before helped me prepare the contribution at an in-person event

    • A person I did not know before helped me prepare the contribution via electronic communications

    • A mentor for a third-party program (e.g. Google Summer of Code, Outreachy, etc.) helped me prepare the contribution via electornic communications

    • A mentor identified by the Fedora Project helped me prepare the contribution via electronic communications

    • A person whom I identified as a mentor helped me prepare the contribution via electronic communications

    • I submitted my contribution electronically for review and it was reviewed by my co-worker, who was paid to work on Fedora

    • I submitted my contribution electronically for review and it was reviewed by someone I already knew socially

    • I submitted my contribution electronically for review and it was reviewed by someone I didn’t know before

    • Prefer not to say

    • Other (please specify)

  • Do you routinely use software that is not free and open source on Fedora?

    • Yes, but only web-based applications like Google Docs

    • Yes, but only locally installed applications (including hardware drivers)

    • Yes, both web-based and locally installed applications

    • No

    • Prefer not to say

    • Other (please specify)

Demographics

  • What is your gender?

    • Male

    • Female

    • Non-binary

    • Prefer not to say

    • Other (please specify)

  • Do you identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer?

    • Yes

    • No

    • Prefer not to say

  • What is your age range?

    • 17 or younger

    • 18 to 24

    • 25 to 34

    • 35 to 44

    • 45 to 54

    • 55 to 64

    • 65 to 74

    • Over 75

    • Prefer not to say

  • Do you have any disability, including, but not limited to any of the ones listed here?

    • Yes

    • No

    • Prefer not to say

  • Do you have a partner?

    • No, I am a single

    • Yes, although we do not live together

    • Yes, I live together with my partner

    • Yes, I am married

    • Yes, I am married, but we do not live together

    • Prefer not to say

    • Other (please specify)

  • How old is your youngest child?

    • I don’t have children

    • Less than 2 years old

    • Between 2 years and 5 years old

    • Between 6 years and 10 years old

    • Between 11 years and 17 years old

    • 18 years or older

    • Prefer not to say

  • What region of the world do you reside in?

    • Asia and Pacific Countries (APAC)

    • Europe and the Middle East (EMEA)

    • Latin and South America (LATAM)

    • North America (NA)

    • Prefer not to say

  • What is your country of residence? [FAS Country List - Divided by Region]

  • What is the highest level of education you have completed?

    • Less than secondary (High) school

    • Secondary (High) school graduate or equivalent

    • Vocational / trade program or apprenticeship

    • Some college (working towards a first level university degree)

    • Some college (not pursuing a degree anymore)

    • Associate degree

    • Bachelor’s degree

    • Master’s degree

    • Doctorate (Ph.D.) or other advanced degree (e..g M.D., J.D.)

    • Prefer not to say

    • Other (please specify)

  • If you are employed, what organization do you work for?

    • I am not employed

    • Employed (please specify organization name)

    • Employed, but prefer not to specify the organization

    • Prefer not to say

  • If you are employed, what do you work on? [select all that apply]

    • I am not employed

    • Software development

    • System administration

    • Testing / QA / QE

    • Technical writing

    • UX/UI design

    • Marketing /communications

    • Community and event management

    • Prefer not to say

    • Other (please specify)

Perception of, experience with, and attitudes towards diversity and inclusion

Should we use headers / categories for questions, we will want something easier to read for a "production" version of this section.

The following questions can be presented as a table, with the same set of answer options. Questions about diverse perspectives, comfort with contributing ideas, valuing best ideas, and feeling respected were adapted from Red Hat Associate Survey.

  • Please indicate how you feel about the following statements.

    • Diverse perspectives are valued in the Fedora community.

    • I feel comfortable contributing my ideas (in meetings or online forums), even when my views differ from other contributors.

    • The people I collaborate with value the best ideas regardless of their source.

    • I feel respected when I share my ideas and opinions in the Fedora community.

    • Having greater diversity of contributors will positively impact the Fedora Project.

    • I’m appreciated for the contributions I make.

  • Information about Fedora processes, policies or guidelines is easy to find.

    • Strongly agree

    • Agree

    • Slightly agree

    • Neither agree nor disagree

    • Slightly disagree

    • Disagree

    • Strongly disagree

Please do not put any identifying information about yourself or others in either text box.

  • Is there anything you believe would improve the inclusivity of the Fedora community?

  • Do you have any feedback on this survey and are there any additional questions you believe it should have asked?