Happiness questionaire

[Vegan_student]

Hi,

This is a questionaire about happiness. I would kindly ask only vegans to answer it, there is no personal data involved and it takes about 10 minutes to complete. Thank you. Click the link below:

[link removed by request]

 

[peakvegan]

Perhaps it would be a good idea to tell us what the purpose of the survey is?

 

[Vegan_student]

Perhaps it would be a good idea to tell us what the purpose of the survey is?

I dont want it to be biased, but it is to see if vegans are happier than the rest

 

[vesper818]

I'm happy.

 

[peakvegan]

I dont want it to be biased, but it is to see if vegans are happier than the rest

But why? And how is the research being conducted? Is this just for your personal interest or is it part of an official research project? How will the results be used?

 

[vesper818]

Maybe come in and participate in the forum for a bit, and get to know the member community. We might be more likely to tap on an external link and answer your survey.

 

[silva]

I dont want it to be biased, but it is to see if vegans are happier than the rest

And you're comparing it how?
I looked through the questions and feel so many don't indicate happiness or not. How does being 'intensely interested in other people' an indication of happiness? Or 'warm feelings towards others'?
Just seems like a lot of subjective interpretation in the questions

 

[Vegan_student]

But why? And how is the research being conducted? Is this just for your personal interest or is it part of an official research project? How will the results be used?

It is part of a master thesis in social science at the University of Stavanger. The results can be postet here when done and on happycow.com

It is also to see if there is food within the vegan category that increase subjective well-being. The vegan diet also has the lowest carbon emission of all diets. In addition to this, it will be further analyzed to see if there are certain areas within the questionaire that differ from people that have a normal diet.

Thanks for your interest.

 

[peakvegan]

OK if I was judging a thesis I would be highly critical of a research method that included posting a survey on a forum without verifying who the participants were. I have completed surveys for students before but they normally include a comprehensive explanation of the nature of the research, who is conducting it, its purpose, how the data will be used etc. I would think again if you are planning to use this as part of a thesis.

 

[Vegan_student]

It is simply to see if vegans are happier than omnivores. The same has been done before comparing vegetarians with a control group. I cant see any reason that there should not be a majority of vegans at this website. Happiness is the most desired thing in life (even above money), and if the results go in favour of vegans - this would be good advertisement for the vegans I guess. There is no demographic data involved and the survey cannot be traced back to the participants. The items (questions) have been used for more than 20 years and should be well-tested. The short explanation is to prevent any bias in answering.

 

[silva]

It is part of a master thesis in social science at the University of Stavanger. The results can be postet here when done and on happycow.com

It is also to see if there is food within the vegan category that increase subjective well-being. The vegan diet also has the lowest carbon emission of all diets. In addition to this, it will be further analyzed to see if there are certain areas within the questionaire that differ from people that have a normal diet.

Thanks for your interest.

But you aren't asking about specific diet-- or reason for people to choose vegan.
Without any controls the results will be biased by the people who respond.
It already sounds like you're defining 'happiness' with your social questions.
There is nothing specific to diet--you can have all the vegan responding eating chips and ramen, while the omnis eat Whole 30 and athletic

And you're comparing it how?
I looked through the questions and feel so many don't indicate happiness or not. How does being 'intensely interested in other people' an indication of happiness? Or 'warm feelings towards others'?
Just seems like a lot of subjective interpretation in the questions

 

[Vegan_student]

But you aren't asking about specific diet-- or reason for people to choose vegan.
Without any controls the results will be biased by the people who respond.
It already sounds like you're defining 'happiness' with your social questions.
There is nothing specific to diet--you can have all the vegan responding eating chips and ramen, while the omnis eat Whole 30 and athletic

 

[Vegan_student]

The results so far indicate that there is little or no difference in subjective well being between the two diets. It would be a reason to choose a vegan diet IF it makes people happier. The questionaire was developed by the Oxford University and is widely used. For instance, people that eat breakfast and fruit and work out, show a higher level of happiness. It does not matter to me what the respondent eat, as long as it is derived from a plant source. I would also like to exclude people that drink alcohol and eat mushrooms, but that will be for a later occasion. What is interesting is, what is the chemical connection between what people eat and the level of chemicals in the brain like serotonin and dopamine for instance. From the results there will be a bell curve that is compared to the bell curve of normal people to see if there is a significant difference.

 

[silva]

The results so far indicate that there is little or no difference in subjective well being between the two diets. It would be a reason to choose a vegan diet IF it makes people happier. The questionaire was developed by the Oxford University and is widely used. For instance, people that eat breakfast and fruit and work out, show a higher level of happiness. It does not matter to me what the respondent eat, as long as it is derived from a plant source. I would also like to exclude people that drink alcohol and eat mushrooms, but that will be for a later occasion. What is interesting is, what is the chemical connection between what people eat and the level of chemicals in the brain like serotonin and dopamine for instance. From the results there will be a bell curve that is compared to the bell curve of normal people to see if there is a significant difference.

No, there is nothing interesting, and nothing decisive in a study like this.
There is nothing specific about a vegan diet outside of eliminating animal products. It doesn't imply good or bad nutrition at all. An omni diet doesn't imply good or bad nutrition at all.
You could end up with results from vegans lacking b12, and were introverts, compared to omnis who ate all whole foods and highly social. For the way your study is worded the omnis would totally win the 'happiness' score!
This sounds like nothing but clickbait

 

[Brian W]

The questions seem to be either not related to happiness at all or so absurdly obviously related that it would be easy for an idealistic vegan to deliberately tip the scales. It's a pointless survey. I'm out!

 

[bEt]

Hello, vegan_student, I think it's nice that you made this effort.

I'm not so sure that merely eliminating animal products from a person's life will guarantee happiness-- I think that's the gist of what some other members have commented.

Having and following a purpose in life, and getting good nutrition generally, can both be parts of veganism and can both contribute to happiness, but there are ways that an animal-free diet can be followed without these elements, so there are other factors to consider.

A master's thesis is a very grand undertaking. I wish you luck in your continued efforts!

 

[silva]

Im choosing to leave this discussion and withdraw the questionaire from this webpage due to the negativity that you are showing.

Pointing out flaws in the 'study' is negativity? No, it's called critique

The study is flawed
It's like having a study of whether people who eat oats for breakfast have better blood sugar levels, or better weight. You could have people eating instant oats loaded with sugar, or you can have people eating steel cut oats with fresh fruit. Repeat that study a few dozen times, with different people, you'll never replicate the findings!

 

[silva]

Hello, vegan_student, I think it's nice that you made this effort.

I'm not so sure that merely eliminating animal products from a person's life will guarantee happiness-- I think that's the gist of what some other members have commented.

Having and following a purpose in life, and getting good nutrition generally, can both be parts of veganism and can both contribute to happiness, but there are ways that an animal-free diet can be followed without these elements, so there are other factors to consider.

A master's thesis is a very grand undertaking. I wish you luck in your continued efforts!

This was a master's thesis
You bring up another variable it never addresses. Very many new to a vegan diet are far from happy. Often it's feeling of guilt, and sadness from waking up to just how f'd our cultural norms of using animals for our own benefit. Often people do find peace after giving them up, but the study doesn't address how long anyones been vegan.
Doesn't address their health, or motives, social or economic standings, or diet

 

[Vegan_student]

The questions seem to be either not related to happiness at all or so absurdly obviously related that it would be easy for an idealistic vegan to deliberately tip the scales. It's a pointless survey. I'm out!

Try to answer honestly - but it is only for vegans

 

[Vegan_student]

Perhaps it would be a good idea to tell us what the purpose of the survey is?

It is to see if vegans are happier than the average person