Kava Census 2 Brainstorming

[Butch]

Some ideas for demographic data collection:

These are mostly yes/no questions. I think most will go into depth individually, which is fine. I'm trying to keep these as straightforward and unbiased as possible.

Located in U.S?
Race
Gender
Age (in categories)
Drink (kava) regularly?
Use other substances recreationally
Use other substances medicinally
Use kava with other substances
Kava prep method(s)?
Use non-traditional products
Only use traditional kava
Use an actual shell?
Use for stress?
Use for relaxation?
Used primarily for recreation
Used primarily for medical purposes
Do you feel like people judge you for kava use?
Do people around you know what kava is?
Have you successfully gotten others to try kava?
Do they tend to dislike it?
Do they tend to like it?
How often do they stick with it and pursue it individually?
Are you happy with the current state of kava?
Is the taste bad?
Is the taste too bad?
Do the negative effects overpower the positive?
Do you drink tudei?
Do you drink noble?
Do you look for a specific chemotype?
Do you prefer heavier kava?
Do you prefer headier kava?
Do you prefer sedating kava?
Do you prefer anxiolytic kava?


I can go on, but this is what I came up with on the spot. I look forward to data.

 

[kavadude]

Thanks for the suggestions.

Read last year's results. I covered a *fair* amount of that although not necessarily in that format.

http://bit.ly/kava-census-results

 

[Butch]

Ah, thanks for sharing that. Do you think the trends will have changed since the last survey?

 

[kavadude]

Composition of the forums, probably not. Skews younger and male.

I will also be adding questions about the consumption of instants, micronized and extracts which I foolishly didn't think of at all on the last one.

 

[nhoeg]

"If not located in any of the listed countries, which country are you from?"

And then create a textbook

 

[blindy107]

is this a new one or combining the results? i filled it out last year but have since been erased...

is that what you think of me @kavadude ?

i get a few moments of ringing as well. usually with tongans....the TONG! i think more variance in side effects is a great idea. i get dry hand and eyes and chapped lips much more than i ever did. thats usually the extent of it though.

 

[kavadude]

New one entirely.

I'm not sure why you're not in the last one, it's all done by Google Forms and I didn't erase anyones results so

"If not located in any of the listed countries, which country are you from?"

And then create a textbook

There actually was that option, but I erased all the countries people didn't answer in the form software stuff after it was over because that was the easiest way to make it look nice.

 

[kavadude]

It's going not at all. Mainly I have to figure out how to account for no-prep consumption (instants, extracts etc). Maybe this weekend I will sit down and put together a rough draft.

 

[TheKavaSociety]

It would be great to know how many people drink kava with other people and how any prefer to drink it alone...

 

[kavadude]

Solid idea, Henry. What questions should I ask? I'm thinking of (1) Have you ever consumed kava with other people? and (2) Do you regularly consume kava with other people? (just yes/no questions)

And I'm also sitting down and making the form for this, finally. My first thought is to have separate sections. One for powdered root, one for micronized and instant. The powdered root will carry over the prep. questions and the micronized/instant will simply ask for a dosage in tablespoons. There might also be some questions about extracts, but I don't think those are anyone's primary method of consumption, although I have been proven wrong before. Thoughts?

 

[Runding]

I've been bored lately trying to come up with a new idea for a web site, so if you want some help building a survey tool to really mess with the data, let me know. I can help.

 

[kavadude]

Here is the first crack, I made this two days ago. Don't fill it out, please!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/188ODO7pkE8UlYeXn3bbPfrwRJrvGKbmjO6v9LHbmGB8/viewform

Some of these suggestions are excellent, but I can't think of how to pare them down to a simpler format (multiple choice, numbers, etc). I think what I'll do is make this a two parter with long form questions as the second part so people with less time or interest in filling them out can skip them.

 

[verticity]

Here is the first crack, I made this two days ago. Don't fill it out, please!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/188ODO7pkE8UlYeXn3bbPfrwRJrvGKbmjO6v9LHbmGB8/viewform

Some of these suggestions are excellent, but I can't think of how to pare them down to a simpler format (multiple choice, numbers, etc). I think what I'll do is make this a two parter with long form questions as the second part so people with less time or interest in filling them out can skip them.

I would add "WARM" to the water temperature question, and maybe move "tinnitus" from "issues" to "helps with" (or include in both)

 

[TheKavaSociety]

Solid idea, Henry. What questions should I ask? I'm thinking of (1) Have you ever consumed kava with other people? and (2) Do you regularly consume kava with other people? (just yes/no questions)

The first question doesn't tell us much as I imagine that nearly all regular kava drinkers HAVE consumed kava at least once with somebody else (their mother, wife, husband or cat). But the second one is very good. That's exactly what we want to know. How many people drink it solo and how many do it the island-style, i.e. with other people..

 

[kavadude]

I added the first one because it's rather uncommon here in the US. I met HeadHodge in California last year and it was and is the only time I have consumed kava wih someone as a social event.

 

[TheKavaSociety]

I added the first one because it's rather uncommon here in the US. I met HeadHodge in California last year and it was and is the only time I have consumed kava wih someone as a social event.

Ok. I see. I thought that most kava-lovers would at least try to "convert" some of their friends or family members and I thought that therefore everybody would answer "yes" to the first question. But perhaps not that many people are keen to share their kava with others

 

[kavadude]

It's remarkably hard to sell people on what is essentially psychoactive dishwater when they don't sort of have this cultural idea of what it is. I haven't tried all that hard either, admittedly.

 

[Pacifico]

Since that's the case, perhaps you could offer a "Less than 1 tablespoon" option under "Preparation > How many tablespoons of kava do you use for an average kava session?"
When using micro, my sessions are measured in teaspoons, not tablespoons.

A couple other ideas:

Under "Effects > Do you find kava helps with any of the following issues?"
I use kava for stress relief -- what about including "Stress" as one of the options?

Under "Effects > Have you experienced any of the following side effects with kava?"
What about including "Dry eyes" as one of the answers? I don't know if it effects many people, but it's a common side effect for me.

"Preparation > What temperature water do you make your kava with?"
Maybe a "Varies" or "It depends" option? For example, I use cold water for the first kneading, then do a second kneading with hot water. Something I learned from some of the folks on this forum...

Thank you for undertaking the census again, kavadude! I wasn't here for the last one. & will be curious to see the results.

I appreciate this comment. I am new and I really want my kava experience to be based on teaspoons. With three teaspoons in a tablespoon, measurements can be so random. Most importantly though, I really want to be a minimalist and I think it is good for the kava community. I read about people talking in "cups" instead of teaspoons and tablespoons in reference to the same amount of liquid. If I had to abandon teaspoons and tablespoons, I would honestly consider leaving kava for the other guys.