Is RedsZone too small of a sample size?

[powersackers]

So there's about 1802 active RedsZone members; yet people make generalizations about Reds fans and opinions stated here and apply them to a much larger audience, which by some accounts is 6M people in the Reds target market.

So is this tiny slice of vocal Reds fans a big enough sample size to help you form your opinions?

Take for example a simple questions like how are the Reds doing this year? If we polled the vocal posters on here I'd say it's an overall negative response.

Poll those 6M in the fanbase and I think you'd get the opposite.

[PuffyPig]

It's an exceptionally small and insignificant sample size.

[Raisor]

It's an exceptionally small and insignificant sample size.

Except for my ego

[Edskin]

However I would argue the hardest of die hards probably either post or lurk here. If you love a team as much as many here on RZ, the entire reason you join and seek out an online community is to "keep it going" before and after the actual games. Does RZ accuràtely represent Reds fans in general? Probably not. Does it represent the most die hard and passionate among us? I'd think so.

[PuffyPig]

Except for my ego

Is that what you've named him?

[PuffyPig]

However I would argue the hardest of die hards probably either post or lurk here. If you love a team as much as many here on RZ, the entire reason you join and seek out an online community is to "keep it going" before and after the actual games. Does RZ accuràtely represent Reds fans in general? Probably not. Does it represent the most die hard and passionate among us? I'd think so.

It takes a certain kind of person to spend countless hours on the internet posting on RedsZone or other team's websites.

There are likely a ton of loyal fans who simply don't have the desire, time or inclination to post on message boards.

[1940757690]

So there's about 1802 active RedsZone members; yet people make generalizations about Reds fans and opinions stated here and apply them to a much larger audience, which by some accounts is 6M people in the Reds target market.

So is this tiny slice of vocal Reds fans a big enough sample size to help you form your opinions?

Take for example a simple questions like how are the Reds doing this year? If we polled the vocal posters on here I'd say it's an overall negative response.

Poll those 6M in the fanbase and I think you'd get the opposite.

It takes a certain kind of person to spend countless hours on the internet posting on RedsZone or other team's websites.

There are likely a ton of loyal fans who simply don't have the desire, time or inclination to post on message boards.

Both great points. I'm sure the first is likely true and I'm an example of Puffy's. Time mostly prevents me from posting much (if at all) here from March-July. But I'm always watching and following the team while even attending a handful of games through spring and summer. For me, I'm most active on RZ for the stretch and any postseason. But love this community nonetheless.

[jojo]

So there's about 1802 active RedsZone members; yet people make generalizations about Reds fans and opinions stated here and apply them to a much larger audience, which by some accounts is 6M people in the Reds target market.

So is this tiny slice of vocal Reds fans a big enough sample size to help you form your opinions?

Take for example a simple questions like how are the Reds doing this year? If we polled the vocal posters on here I'd say it's an overall negative response.

Poll those 6M in the fanbase and I think you'd get the opposite.

It's not the size that matters but how you use it.

[blumj]

It takes a certain kind of person to spend countless hours on the internet posting on RedsZone or other team's websites.

There are likely a ton of loyal fans who simply don't have the desire, time or inclination to post on message boards.

Yeah, I'm no polling expert and have no idea how large a random sample would need to be for it to be representative, but any particular site's active membership seems very unlikely to be close to a random sample of the population.

[Raisor]

It's not the size that matters but how you use it.

They always say that but it's not true

[Beltway]

Yeah, I'm no polling expert and have no idea how large a random sample would need to be for it to be representative, but any particular site's active membership seems very unlikely to be close to a random sample of the population.

This is similar to what I was going to say. Size isn't the only issue when it comes to sampling. You have to get an accurate representation of the entire group you're trying to sample. Redzone would not be an accurate sample even if there were 100,000 members.

[dougdirt]

Redszone is too small of a sample size in my opinion. I also think that the fans that go out of there way to find a place to talk Reds baseball beyond Reds.com/ESPN.com/Cincinnati.com are likely bigger fans who are more dedicated fans (especially those who are under 40 who likely all have a computer and know how to use it rather well). We, Redszone, probably don't do much for representing the general consensus of Reds fans.

[George Anderson]

Fans here in general have a much higher baseball IQ than the non redszone fans. Just read any other message board or better yet listen to the banana phone callers. Sheer idiocy from those people.

[WVRedsFan]

Back before the turn of the century (I love saying that) I was searching for a place to talk Reds baseball because living here in southeast WV, there was no one to talk to. I searched and somehow found RedsZone or whatever it was called. Then it got nasty after awhile (I blame the lost decade and KGJ, but that's another subject), but for 13 years plus I've been here. I always thought there were the rabid Reds fans, but I find those not here are just as rabid and not as unforgiving. I still am here every day, but wonder if this is the real voice of the fan. I don't know. Small sample size indeed!

[Edskin]

It takes a certain kind of person to spend countless hours on the internet posting on RedsZone or other team's websites.

There are likely a ton of loyal fans who simply don't have the desire, time or inclination to post on message boards.

Not saying someone who isn't on a message board is less loyal or less of a fan, but I do think that people that sort of go above and beyond in terms of their love of their team, seek out online communities. I'd say that RZ probably is a good representation of the rabid Reds fan.