Cats and Dogs: a Questionnaire (No Spam Please)

[Gwalchmai]

Originally posted by frogus
Am I the only one who has failed to see any sort of correlation whatsoever in the findings, even among this small sample?

Indeed, you are correct.


Results (also posted in first post of thread)

Data are compiled from the responses through Robnark’s:

.........Dogs....Cats
w/Sibs...10......11
w/o/Sibs..3.......1

n = 25

This question was derived after a conversation with Yshania and Dragon Wench, wherein Yshania and I mentioned that we both had siblings and that we preferred dogs. Dragon Wench then observed that she was an only child and preferred cats. We postulated that people with siblings might tend to have a preference for fellow pack animals, while only children might tend to prefer fellow solitary pets.

The data above were tested for significance using the Fisher Exact Probability Test, which is the appropriate non-parametric test given the sample size and the low expected scores. The resulting probability, 27.13%, shows that the observed distribution is not statistically significant (significance would have been assumed at 5%). Furthermore, the weak trends that can be observed from the data appear to run counter to our original supposition.

Wow! That was fun! Thank you, everyone, for participating!


Spamming may now commence...

[Tybaltus]

Originally posted by Gwalchmai
Indeed, you are correct.


Results (also posted in first post of thread)

Data are compiled from the responses through Robnark’s:

.........Dogs....Cats
w/Sibs...10......11
w/o/Sibs..3.......1

n = 25

This question was derived after a conversation with Yshania and Dragon Wench, wherein Yshania and I mentioned that we both had siblings and that we preferred dogs. Dragon Wench then observed that she was an only child and preferred cats. We postulated that people with siblings might tend to have a preference for fellow pack animals, while only children might tend to prefer fellow solitary pets.

The data above were tested for significance using the Fisher Exact Probability Test, which is the appropriate non-parametric test given the sample size and the low expected scores. The resulting probability, 27.13%, shows that the observed distribution is not statistically significant (significance would have been assumed at 5%). Furthermore, the weak trends that can be observed from the data appear to run counter to our original supposition.

Wow! That was fun! Thank you, everyone, for participating!


Spamming may now commence...

Awesome! I LOVE statistics. I am quite serious. I am a big numbers person along with history. I cant get enough of simple statistics with probabilty, random surveys and all that fun stuff. I just finished statistics in high school, and as an A- student, I must say you did a good job. And a short but sweet analysis of the data. I hope we do more of these in the future.

[Tamerlane]

Well that was an interesting theory Gwally.

[frogus]

Originally posted by Gwalchmai
The data above were tested for significance using the Fisher Exact Probability Test, which is the appropriate non-parametric test given the sample size and the low expected scores. The resulting probability, 27.13%, shows that the observed distribution is not statistically significant (significance would have been assumed at 5%). Furthermore, the weak trends that can be observed from the data appear to run counter to our original supposition.

LMAO. And yet it all seems so clever

[Craig]

I grew up with siblings and prefer cats, never had a dog.

[Georgi]

Originally posted by Gwalchmai
We postulated that people with siblings might tend to have a preference for fellow pack animals, while only children might tend to prefer fellow solitary pets.
<snip>
Furthermore, the weak trends that can be observed from the data appear to run counter to our original supposition.

I'd have thought it would work the opposite way... That only children would maybe want a pet that was more active and involving, like a dog - that you have to take out, and play with, etc.

[Gwalchmai]

Originally posted by Georgi
I'd have thought it would work the opposite way... That only children would maybe want a pet that was more active and involving, like a dog - that you have to take out, and play with, etc.

Yes, but the observed results were not significant no matter the cause, so even your theory is not proven given the answers we have. The weak trends don't tell us anything we can really rely on. In other words, the observed results are not significantly different from random answers, indicating a probable absence of correlation between the two factors.

I wonder if its not so much a case of presence/absence of siblings? Maybe birth-order is more important? Hmmmm. Food for future studies, it seems....

[Tybaltus]

Well I am a person to like animals, but dogs didnt get along with me as a kid, so a couple of bad experiences mixed in with the fact that one of my brothers and my dad, both like cats, made me like cats more. Though I am a person who is quite fond of birds and rodents of all sorts. So thats my little story. It was an interesting experiment, though. But I wasnt expecting a strong correlation.

[Gwalchmai]

Well, I wasn't expecting a strong correlation either, but think how much fun it would have been if there had been one? I like playing around with this kind of thing, so I enjoyed myself. It might be interesting to sample different populations within SYM, such as by age group, gender, or D&D Rules preference. The possibilities under these circumstances are endless, but ultimately meaningless given they SYMers probably do not represent the world population at large (miscreants that we are).

[Tybaltus]

Are you planning on doing another one of these in the near future?

[Gwalchmai]

Only if I think of another question to ask....

[Mr Sleep]

Originally posted by Gwalchmai
Well, I wasn't expecting a strong correlation either, but think how much fun it would have been if there had been one? I like playing around with this kind of thing, so I enjoyed myself. It might be interesting to sample different populations within SYM, such as by age group, gender, or D&D Rules preference. The possibilities under these circumstances are endless, but ultimately meaningless given they SYMers probably do not represent the world population at large (miscreants that we are).

It could possibly ( ) be related to how close one is to any of their siblings, for instance me liking cats might be relevant since i happen to have a fairly varying relationship with my brother, and since cats aren't loyal and vary greatly in mood then it could be relational...

[Phantom Lord]

1 brother 6 cats.

I have no problem with dogs, they're OK, but I like the independent attitude of cats, their beauty and the contrast between their sometimes peaceful and sometimes wild behaviour.

I personally think women slightly prefer dogs and men slightly prefer cats. That may be another theory to test.