Study 1 Question 1:
Were some statements considered "gendered" (highly masculine or feminine)?
This question is the main research question of this study. If some statements are found to be "gendered" as feminine or masculine then this might suggest that perception of MOO statements are still gendered, even though they are from online discussions. This question was analyzed by the averaging of the answers for each question. Figure 1 shows the results of this analysis. As the table illustrates, the average answer for questions ranged between 1 and 3, but with clear differences. Some questions averaged much closer to feminine (1) and some closer to masculine (3). This suggests that some statements are considered more feminine or masculine by the participants.
Figure 1: The Averages for Each Statement
Averaging the answers shows how the average participant rated that statement. These averages determine the middle ground for each answer and suggest what the participants in general consider to be feminine, neutral, and masculine. The average may represent the cultural stereotypes of gender and how the statements fit into the stereotypes. But, the average is somewhat problematic. It does not show how much variance participants may have had on particular answers. For instance, one statement could have received many masculine and many feminine ratings, so the average was a neutral even though neutral may have been rarely chosen for the answer. Averaging hides this variance and suggest all ratings for one statement were about the same. This can lead to incorrect assumptions about the answers. However, for this question, averaging the rating does suggest that overall some statements were considered more feminine or masculine. Even with the variance, it is important to see what participants answered as a whole.
Procedure | Analysis and Results: Question 1, Question 2, Question 3, | Discussion