June 4, 2007

Survey: Almost 60% Say Sasquatch Unsnatchable

The Anomalist today published their analysis of the survey results from 449 people who filled out a web-based questionnaire that took 15 to 30 minutes to complete in March.

You can read “Anomalists Are No Longer An Anomaly,” by clicking here. (Note to the survey’s author: In strict research analysis protocol, the questions that were the basis of the analysis should be published as part of the article. The survey, per se, is not visible as an appendix or attachment to this analysis.)

First and foremost, these kinds of surveys make me uncomfortable. The survey number is small, and the author of the survey, apparently, and certainly the author of this analysis lives in the realm of proving “belief” much too much, it seems to me.

This bias in the direction of examining “true believers” is apparent in the reaction to one survey respondent. The survey article author noted: “One respondent wanted to know why we didn’t have an “I don’t know” option. We purposely left that out as we felt that a forced choice was a better indication of a respondent’s belief characteristics.”

Needless to say, I was interested in what the survey had to say about cryptozoologically-oriented subjects. With my researcher’s hat on, I understood the options for answers may have felt limited because of being forced into restricted answers, and thus the choices would be artificially pigeonholed. Nevertheless, here’s some high points:

ANOMALISTS ARE AN ADVENTURERIOUS LOT

When asked if they would actively participate in a particular investigation, the following percentages said YES:
UFO Investigation – 71.1%
Ghost Hunt – 54.2%
A Bigfoot Stakeout – 50.5%
Sea Monster Expedition – 41.9%
Crop Circle investigation – 37.7%
A Séance – 35.3%

This was a multiple answer question; so many respondents choose several options. Either way, an army of field investigators seem to be stand by, ready to go at a moment’s notice.

* * *

“THE SMELL WAS OVERPOWERING!”

We now arrive at the smallest reported category, Bigfoot sightings. Apparently, these encounters are extremely rare. Only 3% reported a Bigfoot sighting. Of those, 1.7% felt it was more human than animal, 1.1% thought it was an unknown species of animal with animal instincts, and 1.1% didn’t know what they saw. 0.3% felt that whatever it was, it had intelligence equal to a human. No one felt it had intelligence greater than a human. (The slight discrepancy is due to the fact that several people did not answer the question.)

The reported after effects were almost negligible. 0.3% claimed heighten psychic abilities and the identical number, 0.3% claimed unusual dreams. 2% of those who did have a Bigfoot sighting had no noticeable after effect whatsoever.

As for seeing another Bigfoot, 6.9% of the respondents stated yes, they would like to see it again. Oddly enough this sentiment is over double of the reported 3% who said they had a Bigfoot sighting. Perhaps the wide variable here is that some folks were too shy to report seeing one in the first place. Additionally 6.2% claim they know someone who has seen a Bigfoot. In the general survey, 59.3% believe that a Bigfoot will never be captured.

* * *

TOPICS OF INTEREST ON ANOMALIST.COM

Cryptozoology news and UFOs tied at 23.8%. Science items followed with a 16.4% share of audience. Maverick archeology got 12.3%, parapsychology news garnered 10.8%, and 13% choose “other.” Bernie O’Connor, author of the survey analysis.

I am still pondering why the interest level among the 449 is so elevated, seem to “believe” in Bigfoot and cryptids (and revealed on an attached chart), but then a majority go on to feel that Bigfoot will never be caught. That reaction appears counter to the other Bigfoot-related answers.

Who filled out the survey? The anaysis says, “A little over three quarters of our audience is male, with the remainder female. The majority of Anomalists live in the U.S.A. They are college educated, some with degrees. Age-wise they skew to middle-age or later. The majority hold executive positions are self-employed or retired. They do not belong to any major organized religions or political parties. They did however vote in both the past mid-term and Presidential elections.”

The more interesting indication of demographics was this part of one paragraph of the write-up: “There were a few humorous requests for naked pictures of women, one request was for ‘Anomalous Porn,’ whatever that is, and one request for ‘Naked chicks watching UFOs.’ Such replies no doubt reflect our primarily male audience and the small percentage of our readers being young teens. The strangest request for additional subjects to be covered on the site was ‘Clint Eastward.’ Yes, Eastward.”

Almost 5000 people are presently registered at the Cryptomundo’s site to leave comments, and some postings are being read, in one day now, by 2,000,000 people. I wonder if answers to the same Anomalist questions would change if the survey was given to a more cz-specific population versus a generalist anomalistic one?

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