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Open Source software developers.
Please note that all answers will be processed anonymously and any publication resulting from this survey will not disclose any personalized data.
Where applicable, the questions are referring to the project or program you spent MOST TIME on.
Do you participate in Open Source software programming?
Yes
No (this survey is intended only for people that participate in Open Source programming)
What is your gender?
Male
Female
What is your country of residence?
What is your year of birth?
What is the highest level of education degree you have attained? (please choose the closest equivalent)
Grammar school
High school
Associate degree
College degree
Master's degree
Doctoral degree
Other (please specify)
Please classify your household income compared to the median income of your country of residence.
Much below
Somewhat below
Average
Somewhat above
Much above
I don't know the income of my household income
I don't know the median income for my country
I would rather not share
Please specify your annual household income in US$.
Up to $10,000
$10,000-$25,000
$25,001-$40,000
$40,001-$55,000
$55,001-$70,000
$70,001-$95,000
$95,001-$110,000
over $110,001
I don't know the income of my household income (in US$)
I would rather not share
As what do you spend most of your programming time?
Salaried programmer
Contract programmer
Hobby programmer
Student
Other (please specify)
How many years have you been active as programmer?
How many years have passed since your first activity in an Open Source software project?
On average, what percentage of your leisure time do you spend on Open Source development?
In how many projects are you currently active?
In how many projects have you been active?
What is your primary computer operating system for personal use?
Apple Mac OS X
BSD-variant (please specify)
GNU/Linux distribution (please specify)
Microsoft Windows
Sun Solaris
Other (please specify)
What desktop environment (or window manager) do you use? (please only answer if applicable)
awesome
Blackbox
EDE
Enlightment
Etoile
Fluxbox
GNOME
KDE
LXDE
Openbox
wmii
Xfce
Other (please specify)
Under which license is the project released you spend MOST of your programming time on?
I don’t know which license
Apache Software License
Apple Public Source License
BSD license (original or revised)
Common Public License
GNU General Public License (GPL)
GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL)
IBM Public License
Intel Open Source license
Microsoft Public License (Ms-PL)
Microsoft Reciprocal License (Ms-RL)
MIT or X11 License
Mozilla Public License (MPL)
Nethack Public License
PHP License
Python License
QT Public License
Sun Public License
XFree86 License
Zope Public License
Public domain
Commercial
Other (please specify)
Optionally you can specify which project you spend most time on.
On average, how many hours do you spend on this project on a weekly basis?
Please specify (an approximation of) the number of developers within the project.
Please indicate how you feel about the following statements. Where applicable the statements are relating to the project you spend MOST of your time on.
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly agree
I feel belonging to other Open Source software users
Working towards the goals of the project is very important to me
Within the project, I only help others who have helped me in the past
My skills as a software developer are very important for the progress of the project
The success of the project is very important to me
I am fully aware of the goals of the project
Within the project, I only help others whom I want to have help me in the future
My skills as a project member are very important for the progress of the project
Within the project, I do for others what they did for me
I believe my personal contribution is crucial for the success of the project
I don't care much whether the project is successful or not
It would make no difference for the success of the project if I would stop working for it
I identify with the Open Source software user community
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly agree
Does not apply
I expect that the other project group members put high efforts in the development of the project
I don't care much whether every member of our project group does her/his share of the work
I feel belonging to other group members of the project
I am satisfied with the fairness in recognition of efforts I put into the project
I identify with the community of the project
I dislike it when some group members don't put much effort into the project
Does not correspond at all
Does not correspond
Corresponds moderately
Corresponds
Corresponds exactly
I contribute to the project for the prestige of being an Open Source developer
Contributing to this project will improve my competence as a programmer
I contribute to Open Source software because I feel that source code should be open
I feel important when I receive recognition from the community
Eventually, contributing to the project will help me achieve my goal of increasing my marketability as potential employee for firms
I contribute to the project to show others how good I am as a programmer
Contributing to this project will improve my career choice regarding the field of IT that I wish to pursue
I contribute to Open Source software because I feel that software should be free
I feel a personal obligation to contribute to the project because I use Open Source software
I contribute to the project because I want to prove to potential employers that I am a knowledgeable IT person
I contributed to Open Source software because I identify with Open Source community values
Fully disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Fully agree
I contribute to the Open Source project because I feel empathy towards the users of Open Source software
I contribute to the Open Source project because it is important to help other people
Please indicate how well does these statements fit with your own views?
Not well at all
Not very well
Fairly well
Very well
Extremely well
Working on a project that has not yet proven a chance of success is a waste of time
In hunting for the best way to do something, it is usually a good idea to try the obvious way first
If people would quit wasting their time experimenting, we would get more accomplished
I like to fool around with new ideas even if they turn out to be a total waste of time
Please indicate how you feel about the following statements. Where applicable the statements are relating to the project you spend MOST of your time on.
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly agree
My participation in the open source project ensures that the software provides functionality that matches my unique and specific needs
Experience from the project raises my skill level of programming
Being able to fix problems with the software myself is one of the great advantages of open source software
I am willing to put in a great deal of effort beyond that normally expected in order to help this project be successful
The software is critical for my business or my work
I would accept almost any type of task assignment in order to keep working on this project
I try to be as creative as I can in programming for the project
Experience from the project raises the level of my skills other than programming
The other project members are knowledgeable about programming for Open Source projects
I don't care about money when contributing to the project
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly agree
I (will) sell consulting, training, implementation or customization services related to the project
In one-way or another I (will) make money from my participation in the project
Participating in the project gives me a feeling of accomplishment
I receive some form of explicit compensation (eg salary, contract) for participating in the project
I contribute to the project because it is important to me to gain reputation as an experienced programmer inside of the Open Source community
I could just as well be working on a different project as long as the type of activity was similar
I deeply enjoy helping others, even if I have to make sacrifices
Participating in the project makes me more marketable.
I enjoy writing programs.
Programming gives me a chance to do the jobs I feel I do the best
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly agree
Does not apply
The other project members and the project leader feels that I am creative in my contributions
I trust the other project members' judgment about programming matters
I use the software for myself very often (excluding programming or testing activities)
I talk up this project to my friends as a great project to work on
Because of my involvement in the project, I will be able to get a better job.
I contribute to this project to enhance my reputation in the Open Source community
Open source programmers are a big family.
I contribute to Open Source software because facilitation of my daily work due to better software is important to me
When a new trend develops, I am usually the first to get on board
Participating in the project gives me a feeling of competence
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly agree
I experiment with new approaches to programming for the project
Contributing to this Open Source project will enhance my professional status
I am proud to be part of the Open Source Community.
I have high regard for the other project members' programming capabilities
The other project members can offer good advice
Open source programmers should help each other out.
I am paid to work for the project
Recognition from others within the project is my greatest reward
Writing programs is fun.
I will sell products related to the project
Totally disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Totally agree
I contribute to have products that are not available on the proprietary software market
I contribute to Open Source software because I think that software should not to be a proprietary good
Opening my source code allows me to gain a reputation among Open Source software users
I want to place my source code and skills at the disposal of the Open Source project and hope others will do the same
My contributions will enhance my reputation within the Open Source project
I contribute to Open Source software to limit the power of large software companies
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly agree
I believe I have the necessary skills to accomplish my tasks in this project
I am confident that I could deal efficiently with unexpected programming problems in this project
I am confident that I could deal efficiently with unexpected coordination problems in this project
Low
Rather low
Average
Rather high
Excellent
Compared to other Open Source developers I consider my programming skills as
Never
Rarely
Sometimes
Very Often
Always
Does not apply
The project leader encourages group members to express ideas or suggestions
The project leader uses my suggestions to make decisions that affect the project
The project leader gives all group members a chance to voice their opinions
The project leader makes decisions that are based only on his or her own ideas
Almost never
Little
Somewhat
Large
Very large
To what extent do you set objectives goals and procedures for the project rather than following directions or established procedures?
Almost never
Little
Sometimes
Large
Very large
To what extent are you able to allocate a portion of your time to tasks related to project objectives but not specifically assigned to you?
Almost never
Occasionally
Frequently
Usually
Almost always
To what extent do you participate in decisions concerning the methods used in the project?
Thank you very much for your time. Do you have any remarks on this questionnaire? (please leave your email address if you wish to be informed on the outcome of this research, your e-mail address will not be disclosed in the research publications)
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