Developing Mental Models of Entrepreneurship

#1

Post by nikibeth » Fri, Mar 06, 2009, 3:39 PM UTC

Developing Mental Models of Entrepreneurship
nikibeth.com

Re: Developing Mental Models of Entrepreneurship

#2

Post by qubikle » Fri, Mar 06, 2009, 4:44 PM UTC

There seems to be a disconnect between the questions being asked and the survey - the blog post linked asks specifically entrepreneurs to answer the survey, but the survey does not seem specific to entrepreneurs. Rather, it seems to map the perception of entrepreneurs amongst the general population.

If you have such a questionare, but seed it with answers only from a specific group of people, your result will be wrong. It's like asking - do you think pandas are cute, and then only inviting 3 year old girls to answer the survey.

Re: Developing Mental Models of Entrepreneurship

#3

Post by nikibeth » Fri, Mar 06, 2009, 5:50 PM UTC

qubikle wrote: post #2

There seems to be a disconnect between the questions being asked and the survey - the blog post linked asks specifically entrepreneurs to answer the survey, but the survey does not seem specific to entrepreneurs. Rather, it seems to map the perception of entrepreneurs amongst the general population. If you have such a questionare, but seed it with answers only from a specific group of people, your result will be wron…

This actually depends on your population of interest. I want to know what entrepreneurs think because they are experts in the field. If 3 year old girls have the best idea about pandas, then that is who you should ask.

The same questions about entrepreneurs could be asked of a general population of people, but this is more likely to be drawn from a stereotype or heuristic rather than actual experience.

If I went into the design of the study that will follow from this survey, then the reason why I picked entrepreneurs as my sample might be more clear.