Study 1: Procedure

I selected 48 statements from two student MOO logs to put on a survey. These statements were selected from the MOO logs with a certain criteria in mind:

• Statements that had some substance to them, not simply "yes" or "no" replies or other short, fairly contentless phrases or sentences. Shorter statements are common to both sexes and would not add information to my studies.
• No long responses that consisted of several sentences because these may have had too much content for the participants to analyze and also because they were atypical of the MOO and most MOOs I have participated in.

Participants read and completed a one page (front and back) survey with 48 statements (Appendix A) selected from two student MOO sessions from the prior semester. The surveys were handed out in the participants' second semester English Composition classes. The survey began with an introduction that thanks the participants, then discussed how I would use the surveys, explained the survey, and gave students an example of gendered language. Students were given space to write down their name and contact information if they would like to be included in the second study. They were asked to circle their sex and write in who their instructor is. In the body of the survey the students were asked to rate the statements to be "masculine," "feminine," or "neutral."

The surveys were handed out, with one exception, by the participants' instructors. The one exception was a class that I was substituting in; I handed out the survey to this class. When instructors hand out surveys to their own classes, it may increase comfort or it may have made the students worry that their instructor would use the surveys against them. Either way, this could impact my results.

Study One:

Procedure | Analysis and Results: Question 1, Question 2, Question 3, | Discussion