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2009 Growing Up with Harry Potter: What Motivated Youth to Read? Colette L. Drouillard,
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FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF INFORMATION
GROWING UP WITH HARRY POTTER:
WHAT MOTIVATED YOUTH TO READ?
By
COLETTE L. DROUILLARD
A Dissertation submitted to the College of Information Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2009
The members of the Committee approve the Dissertation of Colette L. Drouillard defended on December, 11, 2008.
______Eliza T. Dresang Professor Directing Dissertation
______Susan Wood Outside Committee Member
______Don Latham Committee Member
______Nancy Everhart Committee Member
Approved:
______Corinne Jörgensen, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Research, College of Information
The Graduate School has verified and approved the above named committee members.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The completion of this doctoral degree and dissertation would not have been possible without the help and support of many people in my life. First, I would like to acknowledge and thank the members of my doctoral committee for their efforts on my behalf. I would like to thank Dr. Eliza T. Dresang, my major professor and mentor. Her advice and the countless hours she spent reviewing and editing my writing were greatly appreciated. I would also like to thank Dr. Don Latham, Dr. Nancy Everhart and Dr. Susan Nelson for their thoughtful attention to my study and for their advice and encouragement throughout my doctoral experience. I thank Dr. Bowie Kotrla for her patience, advice and recommendations in creating my survey instrument and analyzing my quantitative data. Finally, I need to thank my friends and family for their never-ending understanding and patience throughout this long process. To my parents, Richard and Lynne, brothers Chris and Colby, sisters-in-law Andrea and Candi, and niece and nephews, Calyn, Chase and Jakob, thanks for your understanding and support even though it did seem at times like this was never going to end! I would also like to acknowledge the essential contribution of J. K. Rowling to this research. Without the series of books you wrote and the indefinable alchemy they have had on a generation of readers this study could not have existed. The world created in that magical space that exists between the words on the pages of your books and the imaginations of young readers has not only provided a vehicle for exploring adolescent reading motivation, but engaged and inspired me in many different ways. Thank you.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables ...... vi List of Figures ...... vii Abstract ...... viii
1. INTRODUCTION ...... 1 Statement of the Problem ...... 2 Rationale for the Study ...... 3 Research Questions ...... 3 Methodology ...... 4 Assumptions, Limitations, & Potential Significance ...... 5 2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE ...... 7 Reader Response Theory ...... 7 Reading Motivation: Theoretical Frame and Research ...... 12 Reading Motivation and Harry Potter ...... 19 Problem In Relation To the Literature ...... 28 3. METHODOLOGY ...... 29 Introduction ...... 29 Mixed Methods Research ...... 29 Population and Sampling ...... 32 Phase One – Online Questionnaire ...... 34 Phase Two – Interviews with Selected Participants ...... 41 Validity and Reliability ...... 43 Mixed Methods Interpretation of Results ...... 44 4. DATA ANALYSIS ...... 45 Quantitative Data Analysis ...... 46 Qualitative Data Analysis ...... 57 Conclusion ...... 82 5. CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, AND AREAS OF FUTURE STUDY...... 83 Interpretation of Key Findings ...... 87 Implications, Limitations and Areas of Future Research ...... 104 Conclusion ...... 109 APPENDICES ...... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. A. INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE ...... 111 B. LIST OF WEBSITES WHERE INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE WAS POSTED ...... 112 C. METHOD, POPULATION AND SAMPLES STUDIED IN SELECTED HARRY POTTER READER STUDIES ...... 113
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D. VISUAL DIAGRAM OF STUDY METHODOLOGY ...... 117 E. PHASE ONE INSTRUMENT – ONLINE QUESTIONNAIRE AND INFORMED CONSENT LETTER ...... 118 F. HPANA ARTICLE ...... 128 G. FSU USE OF HUMAN SUBJECTS IN RESEARCH APPROVAL MEMO ...... 129 H. RATIONALE FOR PHASE ONE INSTRUMENT QUESTIONS ...... 130 I. PHASE ONE QUESTIONS LEVEL OF MEASUREMENTS AND ANALYTICAL PROCEDURES...... 133 J. PHASE TWO INSTRUMENT – SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEW GUIDE ...... 136 K. PHASE TWO INTERVIEW INVITATION AND INFORMED CONSENT LETTER ...... 140 REFERENCES ...... 144 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ...... 144
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LIST OF TABLES
1. Attitudes toward reading (Q24) ...... 52
2. Attitudes toward reading Harry Potter books (Q24) ...... 53
3. Importance of items when selecting books which were part of a series by the same author (Q28) ...... 53
4. Frequency each kind of book was read by subjects as they grew up (Q26) ...... 54
5. Frequency read for fun (Q29) ...... 54
6. Hours spent reading for fun or pleasure each week (Q30) ...... 55
7. Hours spent reading for school or work each week (Q31) ...... 56
8. Number of books read for pleasure in an average week (Q32) ...... 56
9. Relationship of quantitative data and concept nodes to factor categories ...... 60
10. Responses received to open-ended survey questions selected for qualitative analysis ... 63
11. Implications of study for target audiences ...... 106
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LIST OF FIGURES
1. Process used to explore, describe and clarify results of quantitative data analysis through the use of qualitative analysis of open-ended question responses ...... 39
2. Way Harry Potter survey subjects learned about the study (Q10) ...... 47
3. Number of Harry Potter survey subjects born each year (Q1) ...... 47
4. Year first read Harry Potter (Q3) ...... 48
5. Highest level of education (Q8) ...... 49
6. Perceived reading ability of Harry Potter study readers (Q9) ...... 49
7. The person that first introduced the reader to Harry Potter series (Q11) ...... 50
8. Have you read any of the Harry Potter books more than one time? (Q13) ...... 51
9. The number of times subjects have read each of the books (Q14) ...... 51
10. Frequency Harry Potter survey subjects read books other than Harry Potter more than one time (Q16) ...... 52
11. NVivo concept nodes to factor categories relationship model ...... 59
12. Ethnic background of Harry Potter study readers compared to US population ...... 85
13. NVivo concept nodes to factor categories relationship model ...... 89
14. Factors to literature review themes relationship model ...... 93
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ABSTRACT
The overarching question of this descriptive and interpretive study, was “What motivated youth to read the Harry Potter series?” Defining the focus and parameters of the study were three more specific sub-questions: What are the general reading interests, habits, and attitudes towards reading of the young readers who participated in this study? What factors do the young readers identify as initially attracting them to Harry Potter? What factors do the young readers identify as motivating them to continue to read Harry Potter? A purposive sample of six-hundred-seventy-one readers who responded to a request posted on three online discussion forums completed a web-based survey with results clarified or expanded via semi-structured interviews. The members of this unique-in-time group were born between 1984 and 1990 (18 to 24 years old at the time of the study), grew up in the United States, began reading the Harry Potter before 2000 and read each book as the series was published . The questionnaire administered during Phase One of this mixed methods explanatory model approach addressed the relationship of young readers who grew up with Harry Potter and the factors these readers identified as impacting their motivation to continue reading Rowling’s series during the 10 years the books were published. The quantitative and qualitative results of the Phase One influenced the questions asked during Phase Two guided selection of the most appropriate subjects to interview. Phase Two utilized semi-structured qualitative interviews to more fully explore themes and data derived during analysis of Phase One data. Not employed in previous Harry Potter studies, Rosenblatt’s reader response theory was drawn on to construct this research, resulting in a wealth of new insights into motivational factors for these avid young readers of Harry Potter. These readers differ from the general population of readers in many ways: they preferred reading adventure and fantasy over horror or science fiction, read for pleasure more frequently, and were more likely to perceive themselves as having strong reading skills. Factors identified as initially motivating this group to read Harry Potter were predominantly extrinsic, with friends most often identified as encouraging them to join the in on the experience. Continued motivation to read was largely found to be intrinsic in nature with personal associations and emotional attachments between readers and the characters, changes in the reading experience as readers matured and as the books became more complex, and strong links between the books and memories of childhood.
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Findings of this study have several potentially important implications for theory and practice. Theoretically, this study substantiates the validity of reader response theory as a method to understand reading interests, habits, and attitudes of youth. Preferences of enthusiastic readers differed from those of typical young readers. This enables provision of attention-grabbing materials and extends the scope of reading interest research. Finally, this study documents intrinsic motivation as more important than extrinsic motivation, at least in enthusiastic readers. Extrinsic motivators attracted new readers, but the magnitude of intrinsic factors on motivation to continue reading brings into question the widespread and often controversial use of extrinsic motivators for all children in school settings.
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
The sales figures for the seven-book Harry Potter series have long distanced those of most other books. Rowling's agent, Christopher Little, documented that the seven Harry Potter books have been translated into 67 languages and sold over 400 million copies worldwide (Dammann, 2008) since publication of the first book Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in 1997 with over 140 million in the United States alone (Scholastic Corporation, 2007). But what is it about Harry Potter that motivates young readers to follow his adventures? Curiosity about the reasons behind and impact of this unprecedented phenomenon in children’s literature led to the research questions that formed the foundation of this study.
The seven books in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series were published in the United States between 1998 and 2007. Use of Harry Potter refers to the series of seven books as a whole (Rowling, 1997, 1998, 1999a, 1999b, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2007); when individual titles are discussed specific citation information is provided. The books range in length from 350 to 730 pages and increase in both reading level and plot complexity as the series progresses. The first six books each depict a single year of Harry Potter’s life at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry a British boarding school where young witches and wizards are educated in the practice of magic. The seventh book takes place during the period of time that would have been the seventh and final year at Hogwarts for Harry and his friends but departs from the school setting central to the first six books to focus directly on the group’s adventures and experiences. But just who is Harry Potter?
The books initially consider Harry’s childhood, beginning at age 11 and follow him into young adulthood. In the first book of her series, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (1998), Rowling provides a memorable description comparing the young Harry to his cousin Dudley with whom he lived at the time:
Perhaps it had something to do with living in the dark cupboard, but Harry had always been small and skinny for his age. He looked even smaller and skinnier than he really was because all he had to wear were old clothes of Dudley’s and Dudley was about four times bigger than he was. Harry had a thin face, knobbly knees, black hair, and bright
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green eyes. He wore round glasses held together with a lot of Scotch tape because of all the times Dudley had punched him on the nose. (p. 20)
The fundamental nature of the Harry Potter novels is the epic struggle between good and evil, personified by the conflict between Harry and his nemesis, Lord Voldemort. The essential premise of the books is the existence of a magical world hidden within the real world. While Harry was still a young baby, his parents were attacked and killed by Lord Voldemort during the evil wizard’s attempt to slay the entire Potter family. While unsuccessful in his attempt to murder Harry, Voldemort’s attack left a lightning shaped scar on the infant’s forehead. Taken to live with an aunt in the conventional world after his parents’ deaths, Harry grew up with the Dursley’s, a bumbling, suburban, self-centered Muggle family. Wizarding world people use the term Muggle to refer to “non-magic folk” (Rowling, 1997, p. 43) and the Dursley family was the embodiment of “what wizards called Muggles (not a drop of magical blood in their veins)" (Rowling, 1999b, p. 9). Harry remained with this family until age 11 when he learned he was a wizard and belonged in a previously unknown wizarding world.
Statement of the Problem
A number of scholarly research studies have attempted to explain why this series of books became so popular and what has motivated so many young readers to read them. Over 800 peer-reviewed essays on the subject of Harry Potter have been published; however, very few of these included noteworthy focus on young readers and their response to Harry Potter. While each of these studies strove to contribute to better understanding the appeal of the Harry Potter series for young readers, practically all of the conclusions were constructed from adult perceptions of young readers’ responses rather than derived from descriptions of reading experiences from young readers themselves. Sales demonstrate these books are popular, but the question remains: why do young readers think this series of books motivated them to read? Reading motivation is a complex and multidimensional construct influenced by internal and external factors ranging from interest and preferences to self-efficacy. As defined by Deci and Ryan (1985), the study of motivation explores the many aspects of an individual's needs and the processes and structures that relate those needs to behavior. Research studies to examine the role of motivation in general (Deci & Ryan, 1985; Ryan & Deci, 1996, 2000) have been conducted; however, only a few studies have addressed the connection between the roles of
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motivation and reading (Edmunds & Bauserman, 2006; Guthrie, 2001; McQuillan, 1997; Wigfield & Guthrie, 1995). This study explored the influence of the Harry Potter books on young readers. Explanations developed using responses drawn from the young readers themselves provide greater understanding of the reading interests and motivations of young readers than documented in previously existing explanations for Harry Potter’s appeal.
Rationale for the Study
The goal of this research project was identification of factors young readers report as motivating them to read Harry Potter and development of themes in order to expand current knowledge and understanding of their reading interests, habits and attitudes. The focus of this study was young readers who grew up in the United States, were born between 1984 and 1990, began reading Harry Potter between the ages of 8 and 13 and continued reading the series as the books were published until they had read each of the seven books one or more times. The selection of readers between 8 and 13 years old when the first book was published in 1998 and between 18 to 23 years of age when the seventh book was published in 2007 roughly parallels the age of the characters in Rowling’s series. The experience of growing up alongside Harry Potter and maturing as both adolescents and readers while the books became longer and characters, themes and plots increased in complexity was an experience unique to this group of readers. Because the Harry Potter series is now complete, this experience will not occur in exactly the same manner again and therefore it was important to collect and examine the experiences of this group of readers in order to develop a greater understanding about this unique reading phenomenon.
Research Questions
The overarching question that this study explored was “What motivated youth to read the Harry Potter series?” The research questions used to define the focus and the parameters of this study were:
RQ 1: What are the general reading interests, habits, and attitudes towards reading of the young readers who participated in this study?
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RQ 2: What factors do young readers identify as initially attracting them to Harry Potter? RQ 3: What factors do young readers identify as motivating them to continue to read Harry Potter?
Methodology
Research Design
This two-phase, sequential mixed methods study involved an initial data collection via a web-based questionnaire followed by in-depth interviews with four subjects selected as representative of significant themes. In the first phase the questionnaire contained both closed and open-ended questions focused on exploration of the factors this group of young readers identified as impacting their motivation to read Rowling’s series over the 10-year period the books were published. The second phase utilized semi-structured qualitative interviews with selected participants to explore more deeply themes derived from data collected in the first phase. This research study sought to bring the largely missing voices of young readers into the discussion about the appeal of reading Harry Potter. Perceptions recalled from readings as children and young adults were essential in order to answer the research questions posed in this study and reveal what these young Harry Potter readers believe influenced or impacted their reading experience.
Data Collection
Phase One data was collected using purposive non-probabilistic self-selection sampling to recruit participants via invitations (Appendix A) posted on select Harry Potter websites (Appendix B). Interviews of four subjects were conducted during Phase Two of data collection in order to deepen understanding and clarify explanations of trends and themes of reader experiences identified during analysis of data collected and analyzed during Phase One.
Data Analysis
The analysis of factors identified by this group of young readers as impacting their construction of meaning and continued motivation to read Harry Potter was most strongly informed by reader response theory as articulated by Rosenblatt (1935, 1978). Reader response
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theory allowed consideration of various elements that may influence responses: the text itself, the reader, the impact of other readers, and interactions with other readers. This theory has been used as a lens in many studies to reveal characteristics, levels and influences of reader experiences (Courtland, French, Owston, & Stead, 1998; Dole, Duffy, Roehler, & Pearson, 1991; Keene & Zimmermann, 1997; Lehr & Thompson, 2000; Vandergrift, 1990). Rosenblatt’s interpretation was selected over other reader response theorists because of her focus on readers’ experiences in the process of reading. She emphasized a reader’s transactions with the text and argued that this transaction "crystallizes out from the stuff of memory, image, thought, and feeling he brings to it” (Rosenblatt, 1964, p. 126). Grounded theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1998), which seeks to express findings in the words of participants’ themselves, set the tone and thrust of the analysis. The goal was to identify conceptual similarities through the quantitative and qualitative data obtained via an online questionnaire, refine these into categories, and to discover patterns to better describe and understand the dynamics of this group of readers’ experiences with reading Harry Potter. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS while themes in the qualitative data were developed through the use of NVivo.
Assumptions, Limitations, & Potential Significance
Assumptions
It was assumed: Subjects read each of the books over the period of time specified of their own free will.
Limitations
This study involved a purposeful sample; therefore, results cannot be generalized beyond readers born between 1984 and 1990, who read all seven books in the Harry Potter series, grew up in the United States, and participated in one or more online fan communities.
Significance of the Study
The study provided a previously unexplored perspective from which to identify factors young readers believe led to their committed reading of Harry Potter and provided new perceptions of young reader interests and motivation. This study expands understanding, adds depth and insight to the current body of knowledge of young reader interests and motivation,
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and revealed missing voices, perceptions and observations of young readers in the conversation about the appeal of reading Harry Potter.
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CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
The overarching question that this study explored was “What motivates youth to read the Harry Potter series?” It sought to bring the missing voices of young readers into the discussion through the application of Rosenblatt’s reader response theory. Research and theory that explain motivation, including reading interests, were the lens used to explain the young readers’ reactions. The context of the study rests in previously conducted research that attempted to answer this research question without systematic use of the opinions of young readers or the academic application of motivation theory.
Reader Response Theory
Over the past eighty years, numerous scholars have developed theories about how to analyze the response of readers to literary works. These theories were developed to facilitate a move away from the more narrow text-based analysis of literary meaning and to account for the role of readers as well as the author. Reader response theory allows consideration of various elements that may impact responses: the text itself, the reader, the impact of other readers, as well as interactions with other readers. As a literary theory, reader response is not a unified concept but rather a term for a variety of positions held together only by their concern with “what goes on in the mind of the reader when he or she picks up and peruses a book” (Wright, 1995, p. 529) or their association with any area of investigation focused on “the words reader, the reading process, and response” (Tompkins, 1981, p. ix, emphasis in original). Historical background and constructs for the reader response theories of Rosenblatt (1935, 1978) as well as those of Iser (1978), Holland (1976) and Fish (1980), chosen as closely related to Rosenblatt, are discussed in the following section in order to clearly explicate the selection of Rosenblatt’s version of reader response theory as the primary theoretical focus for this research.
Rosenblatt and the Transactional Theory
Within the field of education, teachers and the academic community have received Rosenblatt’s work with great acclaim. Her book Literature as Exploration (1935) considered
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what happened during the act of reading and found “the novel or poem exists in interaction with specific minds and that reading any literary work is a unique experience involving the mind and emotions of some particular reader” (Allen, 1991, p. 16). Rosenblatt went on to develop what she termed the transactional theory of reading. In this theory, she conceived the poem (any literary work) not as an object, but rather as an “active process lived through during the relationship between a reader and a text” (1978, pp. 20-21). Rosenblatt held that much of the confusion in critical theory could be solved if the often interchangeably used terms “the poem” and “the text” were semantically distinct. She defined text as “a set or series of signs interpretable as linguistic symbols” while poem referred “to the whole category of aesthetic transactions between readers and texts” and stands for terms such as “literary work of art,” “novel,” “play,” or “short story” (1978, p. 12). Rosenblatt has been acknowledged as “the first among the present generation of critics in this country to describe empirically the way a reader’s reactions to a poem are responsible for any subsequent interpretation of it” (Tompkins, 1981, p. xxvi). Overlooked for many years Rosenblatt’s work only became more utilized in the late 1970s as researchers began to look very closely at comprehension and meaning. By the mid-1980s literacy research focused on prior knowledge and comprehension, placing what the reader brings to the text as the central focus. The field of cognitive psychology also emerged in the 1980s with a focus on knowledge building and how readers create and build understanding through what they read (Purves, 1988). Rosenblatt’s work differs from other reader-response work in its understanding of the reader. She was not mired in the “construction of characterized, ideal, informed, implied, or intended readers” (Allen, 1988, p. 4); rather her focus was on the actual readers. She emphasized a reader’s transactions with the text and argued that this transaction "crystallizes out from the stuff of memory, image, thought, and feeling he brings to it” (Rosenblatt, 1964, p. 126). This interaction “between individual readers and individual literary texts” is termed a literary transaction (Rosenblatt, 1978, p. 26). In transactional theory, Rosenblatt (1978) considered the stance of the reader as the determination of whether or not a text is literary and defined experiences with texts in terms of stances that readers may take during the event. She described the stance that readers took as occurring along a continuum, with readers generally responding to a text somewhere in the middle of an aesthetic-efferent continuum. When a reader assumes an “aesthetic stance,”
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attention is centered less on the text itself than on the lived-through experience readers become immersed in during their relationship with a particular text. Rosenblatt believed that while reading with aesthetic stance the reader brought interest, motivation, cognitive abilities, prior knowledge, and affective aspects to bear in the reading of the text. When readers assumed an “efferent” reading stance, they read a text primarily seeking to take away specific bits of information, as when reading instructions or a recipe (1978). Rosenblatt diverges from others who have described reader response in ways that are important to recognize. Her focus is on the shifting stance of the reader as the source of "literariness" rather than on the language of the text. Rosenblatt’s consideration of reader stances as an essential aspect of reader response sets her work apart from that of Iser, Holland, Fish and other reader-response critics.
Reader Response Theories of Iser, Holland or Fish
Iser’s theory of aesthetic response differs from Rosenblatt’s and other theories of reader response in that he did not analyze actual readings of texts, but proceeded from an ideal or implied reader. Although reader and text assume similar conventions from reality, texts leave gaps, aspects of a work that are not in the text that readers must explain and create in their minds. According to Iser, fiction proposes alternate worlds created within the virtual reality of the text’s meaning; in literature the actual and the possible can exist simultaneously. Literature thus takes on a greater human function of imagining beyond the given constraints of experience (Iser, 1978). Holland (1976) differs from Rosenblatt and Iser with his view that readers find their own "identity theme" in a text by using literary work to symbolize and replicate themselves. Readers work out their own characteristic patterns of desire through the text. Best known for work in psychoanalytic criticism, reader-response criticism, and the application of neuroscience and cognitive science to literature, Holland conducted case studies of readers reading and free associating to poems and stories and concluded that it is readers and audiences who shape literary experiences (Tompkins, 1981). He found that readers responded to literature in four modes: expectation, fantasies, defenses, and meaning and then used these responses to "make sense" of the work (Holland, 1997). It was the experience of transformation and mastery that Holland believed gave readers the pleasure of literature.
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Unlike Iser or Holland, Fish’s early work was characterized by use of a phenomenological approach to reading. Fish (1980) defined his phenomenological approach as "an analysis of the developing responses of the reader in relation to the words as they succeed one another in time” (p. 27). Fish’s theoretical work evolved into a form of criticism called "reception aesthetics" or "affective stylistics" that rejected the author's intent and placed meaning solely within the arena of those receiving the text (p. 165). Fish defined his own phenomenological approach as "an analysis of the developing responses of the reader in relation to the words as they succeed one another in time” (p. 27). His concern was with what the text does as opposed to what it means. Fish wrote that what a text means is the experience that it produces in the reader. "It is an experience; it occurs; it does something; it makes us do something” (1980, p. 32). By 1976 his focus turned to what Fish referred to as the “interpretive community” and the hypothesis that meaning was found in the reading community. Fish found readings of a text did not have meaning “outside of a set of cultural assumptions regarding both what the characters mean and how they should be interpreted” (p. 158) because readers are part of an interpretive community that gives them a particular way of reading a text (pp. 147-173). The simple, yet direct approach of Rosenblatt’s theory that highlights the life of the reader through personal response makes it most appropriate for analyzing responses of young readers. The implied reader of Iser is a step removed from Rosenblatt’s focus on actual responses of young readers. Holland’s early focus on transformation, mastery and development of an “identity theme” and his current research in the area of neuro-psychology may become more appropriate and relevant in the future; however, technology necessary to conduct such studies is not yet readily available. Finally, Fish’s theoretical interest in the cultural context of a community of readers rather than on the experience of the individual provides perspective but does not facilitate understanding of the personal responses of young readers. Rosenblatt has been the theory of choice in many studies of reading responses of youth and proves to be the most appropriate for the proposed study; hence the following review of reader response research has been focused on research utilizing Rosenblatt to study children’s engagement with literature.
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Reader Response Research
Beginning in the late 1920s reader response researchers have attempted to understand the transaction that takes place when children read a literary work. Steinfirst (1986) examined the usefulness of reader-response criticism as a method for understanding children’s engagement with literature. She found that while children and adults may not derive the same kinds of meaning, what was “most important in meaning making for everybody” was the “active, dynamic process of working toward meaning” (p. 115, emphasis in original). Although a number of educators have explored children’s responses to literature in the classroom, far fewer studies have explored the responses of children to self-selected books read for pleasure. Two examples of library and information science research considering reading responses of children were studies conducted by Vandergrift (1990) and Massey, Weeks, & Druin (2005). Vandergrift (1990) tested a model of children's meaning-making processes with ninth and tenth graders from three urban high schools in the United States. The model depicted readers moving from very personal, or "felt," responses, to more public, or "social," responses. Analyzing students' written and oral responses to the science fiction short story "My Friend Bobby," from The Counterfeit Man (Nourse, 1963) Vandergrift concluded that the students grew to appreciate their personal responses and to understand the social construction of meaning. As an initial piece of a larger three-year longitudinal study, Massey et al. (2005) examined responses to self-selected books in a digital library submitted by 12 eight-year-old children from four locations: Wellington, New Zealand; La Cieba, Honduras; Munich, Germany; and Chicago, Illinois (p. 248). This study was one of the first international studies exploring children’s responses to books read “for fun.” Internet technology allowed researchers to conduct this study using identical collections of materials at the same time in all four locations. The response form was presented to the readers as a “pleasurable recreational activity” (p. 252). The children were asked to review books they read and told that the data would be used to help other young readers select books to read. The form requested reader and book information, asked the child how the book made them feel (happy, sad, scared, funny or other), what the book was about, how they would rate the book (three to five stars), and to identify a book they would recommend adding to the digital library. Content analysis was used
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to explore the response forms using Purves and Rippere’s (1968) Elements of Writing About a Literary Work coding scheme (p. 83). Two external factors were found to contribute to the types of responses the children provided: the book response form and adult mediation. The most frequent response types were those explicitly requested by the form, with the exception of more explicative responses when children wrote about “characters to which they could relate” (Massey et al., 2005, p. 259). Based on the results of this study, the authors identified differences in responses of children to the same book in different sites as a venue through which they could more “clearly identify both similarities and differences among individual children in various locations” (p. 260). The presence or absence of an adult had the greatest impact on responses from children in New Zealand where the response forms were integrated into language arts classes as ungraded assignments rather than as a recreational activity. This resulted in responses that were richer, more in-depth or provided more insight into “why the children applied the ratings they chose” (p. 259). This resulted in a request for adults in the other three locations to encourage and guide children during the response process throughout the second year of the research with the expectation that the “changes in data collection should greatly increase the richness and depth of the data pool generated” (p. 261). Reader response theory and research validates the participation of readers in constructing meaning, but it does not explain what motivates readers to read. Theories of reading motivation and accompanying research take on that task.
Reading Motivation: Theoretical Frame and Research
Reading motivation is a complex and multidimensional construct that can be influenced by internal and external factors ranging from interest and preferences to self-efficacy. Guthrie and Wigfield (1995) describe motivation as it relates to reading in this way:
Motivation deals with the whys of behavior. Motivation theorists try to understand the choices individuals make about which activity to do or not to do, their degree of persistence at the chosen activities, and the amount of effort they exert as they do the activity. (p. 14)
Research studies have been conducted to examine the role of motivation in general (Deci & Ryan, 1985; Ryan & Deci, 1996, 2000) as well as to examine the role that motivation
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plays in learning (Deci & Ryan, 1985; Deci, Vallerand, Pelletier, & Ryan, 1991; Hidi, 1990; Schiefele, 1991; Schunk, 1991). Other research studies have focused more specifically on reading, especially the cognitive aspects (Guthrie, 2001), but the connection of the roles of motivation and reading have only been addressed with a few studies thus far (Edmunds & Bauserman, 2006; Everhart, 2005; Guthrie, 2001; McQuillan, 1997; Wigfield & Guthrie, 1995).
The Role of Intrinsic Motivation
Intrinsic motivation, which comes from internal desires, interests, and experiences, has long been established as integral to reading motivation and engagement. Most reading experts believe that intrinsic motivation, as opposed to extrinsic or external motivation, is imperative to lifelong reading, as this excerpt from Guthrie (2002) explains:
It is well established that a competent reader is intrinsically motivated. Across the age span from Grade 3 to adulthood, proficient readers show the traits of intrinsically motivated behavior. They read for their own sake, and they read frequently for personal interest. Intrinsically motivated readers have a sense of deep immersion during the reading process, an orientation to find challenging material, and enjoyment in the experience of reading. They read for longer amounts of time, with greater cognitive proficiency, and with more positive effects than readers who are less intrinsically motivated. In quantitative studies, major aspects of intrinsic motivation for reading, consisting of curiosity (reading to learn about the world), involvement (reading to become absorbed in a text), and preference for challenge (enjoyment in reading complex material) predict students' reading frequency and reading comprehension. (p. 138)
When viewed from a reading perspective, intrinsic motivation refers to an individual participating in reading for its own sake, enjoying the knowledge constructed from text, and being disposed toward engaging (Guthrie & Wigfield, 1999), or one might say the motivated reader is interested in what he or she is reading. An engaged reader is one who reads for intrinsic reasons. "Engaged readers seek to understand; they enjoy learning and they believe in their reading abilities" (Guthrie, 2001, p. 1). Schiefele (1991) found that college students who were interested in what they were reading had higher reading comprehension and learned more than students with similar reading abilities but a lower level of interest in the materials. Interest in what is being read is therefore an essential component of reading motivation. Motivational
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factors related to interests include reading preference and self-efficacy, terms that are explicated below.
Reading Interests, Preferences, and Self-Efficacy
The difference in what children want to read versus what they actually do read is reflected in studies of reading interests and reading preferences. Sturm (2003b) drew on Spangler’s definitions (1983, as cited in Sturm, 2003, p. 2) in order to clarify how reading interests differ from reading preferences:
Preference studies are those that look at children's expressed attitudes toward reading, and they indicate what children might read if given the opportunity. Reading interest studies, on the other hand, examine actual reading behaviors of children by analyzing the books children have indeed read.
Personal interest, considered one of multiple motivational processes by Guthrie and Wigfield (1999), is described as an individual's valuing and associating in a positive way with topics contained in texts. Self-efficacy refers to people’s beliefs about their capabilities to carry out actions required to achieve a confident level of achievement (Bandura, 1993). Self-efficacy is linked to motivational beliefs like interest, value, and utility, as well as positive affective reactions. Collectively, these characteristics of self-efficacy demonstrate a relationship between self- efficacy and academic performance. Studies have shown that learners’ self-efficacy enhances their motivation and advances learning (Bandura, 1993; Wigfield, 1997; Zimmerman & Martinez-Pons, 1990).
Reading Motivation Research
Throughout the late 1990s Guthrie and his colleagues worked to conceptualize further reading motivation as a multidimensional construct and on identification of factors that motivate individuals to engage in the process of reading, resulting in the Motivation for Reading Questionnaire (MRQ). Findings of this work confirmed that while there were different dimensions for motivation, they could be measured reliably and related to reading performance and reading frequency.
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Based on these studies, Guthrie and Wigfield (1999) developed a motivational cognitive model of reading that illustrated how cognitive processes, such as activating prior knowledge, forming text representations, constructing causal inferences, and interaction of prior knowledge and texts, and motivational processes interact to facilitate comprehension during reading. Throughout their research efforts, one of Guthrie and Wigfield’s most significant findings was their consistent substantiation that reading is a multidimensional activity. Baker and Wigfield’s research (1999) confirmed that reading is multifaceted, that the proposed dimensions of children's reading motivation could be identified and measured reliably, and support results of earlier work by Guthrie and Wigfield (Guthrie, et al., 1996; Guthrie & Wigfield, 1999, 1997). Baker and Wigfield (1999) further recognized that the dimensions of reading that they identified were not the only ones. As they state, “we believe it is important for researchers to extend the search of additional dimensions of reading motivation" (p. 474). Murphy and Alexander (2000) also suggested that similar constructs deserved more attention. They found that “from intrinsic motivation or self-efficacy to individual interest, there appears to be an array of non-cognitive forces that should be considered as teachers seek to create effective learning environments that move students forward toward competence or proficiency” (p. 44). Reading researchers have found that students who are interested in reading, have positive attitudes towards reading and read on a regular basis generally reach higher levels of achievement than students who are not motivated to read (Alexander & Fox, 2004). Much of the reading research conducted with upper elementary and middle school students demonstrates that motivation and interest in reading engagement decreases as young readers get older (Guthrie & Alao, 1997; Wigfield, et al., 1997). Studies by Eccles, Wigfield, Harold, and Blumenfeld (1993) and Marsh (1989) demonstrated that younger elementary school children had more positive beliefs about their ability to read and valued reading more than their older elementary counterparts. An extensive national survey of 18,185 children in grades one through six by McKenna, Kear and Ellsworth (1995) found that: (a) relatively positive recreational and academic reading attitudes in the early elementary years decrease by the time students reach the middle grades, (b) the trend toward more negative attitudes was clearly related to reading ability and was more rapid for the least able readers, (c) girls as a group
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possessed more positive attitudes than boys at all grade levels, and (d) ethnicity appeared to have minimal influence on the negative trend they observed. Finding ways to motivate students to read outside of school is particularly important during the adolescent years because many middle level students have the skills required to read but need to be encouraged to read. Guthrie and Wigfield (2000) called attention to the concept that students’ motivations for reading were critical forces in sustaining their continued growth and development in the domain of reading. To become better readers, students needed to choose to spend time reading; by choosing not to read, students put themselves at risk for low achievement and failure in later grades. Ivey and Broaddus’ (2001) survey of 1,765 sixth-grade students found three primary factors impacted student willingness to read: (a) students valued independent reading and teacher read-alouds as part of instructional time, (b) students focused on the act of reading itself, rather than on social aspects or activities related to reading, and (c) when asked what motivated them to read at school, they emphasized the importance of access to quality, interesting and diverse reading materials (p. 369). Ivey and Broaddus concluded that students felt that having access to reading materials and having a voice in what they read were very important factors in reading motivation.
Reading Interests and Preferences
While motivation theory posits that providing materials that meet the reading interests of children facilitates development of engaged readers, research specifically addressing these reading interests often neglects to mention motivation. A few exceptions to this trend exist; however, thus far, research on reading interests of children considering motivation theory is sparse. Additionally, preference and interest are often undifferentiated. The interests of children have been the subject of extensive research in library science, education, and child psychology. Zimet (1966) found over 300 studies of children’s reading interests and story preferences when she conducted a review of the literature. The earliest study cited by Zimet was published in 1941; however, there were earlier studies, including a reference in her own article maintaining “preferences of young children from 1925 to 1930 were different from the preferences of children from 1952 to 1955” (p. 134). Studies employed a variety of methods, including interviews, reading log analysis, circulation transactions, terms used to search online public access catalogs (OPACs), and
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surveys. Surveys have frequently used pre-selected categories or genres that children then rank according to preference (Graham, 1986); they also may include questions requesting specific titles that children have read, which are then categorized and rank ordered (Children's Literature Research Centre, 1996), open-ended questions that allow children to express their own interests (Graham, 1986; Spangler, 1983; Sturm, 2003b), as well as combinations of two or more of these methods in an effort to minimize the influence of the research method on the results (Colker, 2006; Graham, 1986; Hopper, 2005; Shenton & Dixon, 2003; Sturm, 2003a; Worthy, Moorman, & Turner, 1999). Most reading interest research investigates the interests of children or adolescents. It seems intuitive that young children prefer some topics more than others and as the children grow older these interests will change. Longitudinal studies collect data within one or more age or grade ranges in order to compare results collected to those collected at an earlier time. One example of longitudinal research is the nationwide study conducted by the National Centre for Research in Children’s Literature (NCRCL) of what young people in England are reading. Data collection was proposed to occur every five years (Children's Literature Research Centre, 1996) from a demographically representative sample of the school population in England. For the 1996 survey, a total of 34 schools (12,872 children) were sent questionnaires with responses returned from 32 schools and 8,834 children ranging in age from 4 through 15. The number of categories and questions differed for various age groups of children; however, all groups were asked questions about how they choose books, comics and magazines. While the data collected were predominantly quantitative in nature, open-ended questions were included in most sections to facilitate collection of unique responses or identification of favorite authors, books or magazines. Illustrations and titles were the most important factors influencing choice (p. 206). Other aspects of the cover which played important roles in the selection process included the book description or blurb and author information on the back cover (pp. 208-208). The researchers found that young people were more influenced by “external attributes than by reflections of themselves” when choosing what to read (p. 205). Responses to questions asking readers how important it was to them that a main character comes from the same country, has the same color skin, was the same sex, was the same religion or was the same age were identified as “important” or “very important” by fewer than 17% of the respondents (p. 209).
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Intended as a longitudinal series of studies a follow-up pilot survey was conducted in 2001; however the second survey was not conducted until 2005 (Maynard, Mackay, Smyth, & Reynolds, 2008, p. 1). A total of 4,182 usable responses were collected during April and May 2005 from 22 primary schools and 24 secondary schools (p. 3). Conclusions identified as “intriguing” (p. 12) included: the importance of magazines for girls as reading material for pleasure as well as information; the importance of non-fiction to both boys and girls both for schoolwork and as pleasure reading material; and the increasing popularity of series books such as Harry Potter, Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events and Anthony Horowitz’s Alex Rider books, particularly as participants got older. No information regarding future administration of this research program was available via NCRCL’s website. Sturm’s 2003 study of North Carolina children’s information and reading preferences analyzed 2000 responses to an open-ended survey conducted by the State Library of North Carolina. Children surveyed ranged from two to 18 years old and were 53 percent female and 47 percent male (p. 1). Two questions were addressed with this research: (1) what are children interested in when they enter the library and (2) do those interests vary by gender? Sturm found that the most popular topic was animals, accounting for 33.9 percent of all responses (p. 5). The top four categories were identical for both genders; however the rank order was slightly different: animals, science, sports, and literature, with the categories of sports and literature reversed for girls. The literature category was subdivided in order to investigate whether children preferred particular genres. Series books were the most frequently identified subcategory, followed by identification of specific authors, poetry, folklore/mythology, mystery, fantasy, specific book titles, adventure, comics and realistic fiction (Sturm, 2003b, p. 9, figure 9). Sturm concluded that the preferences expressed by the North Carolina children sampled were consistent with findings of many other studies although he did identify several unexpected results. Among responses for the literature category poetry ranked as the third most often mentioned despite the fact that other studies found poetry either not preferred or actively disliked (Kimmins, 1986; Snellman, 1993). The supernatural category was ranked relatively low when compared with the high level of interest for this category found by Whittemore (1992) and Snellman (1993). Sturm (2003b) hypothesized that this may be due to a greater focus on older elementary and secondary school readers in the Wittemore and Snellman studies.
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Sturm raised two further issues of particular interest, the “difference between what a child desires for information versus pleasure reading” and the “distinction between what we read and why we read it” (2003b, p. 2). Unfortunately, other than identifying these as issues that should be addressed his study does not attend to either. Sturm’s findings were substantiated in studies considering teen fiction reading habits (Hopper, 2005) and middle school reading preferences (Worthy, et al., 1999). Hopper’s study focused on what 707 students between 11 and 15 years old from the south-west of England read during a single week in May, 2002 (2005). She questioned the divergence between students’ reading interests and reading expectations in school and identified the need for teachers to increase their knowledge of teenage fiction in order to better provide information about books likely to increase reading motivation. The most common reason Hopper found students chose a book was prior knowledge of an author. Other reasons frequently identified were the appearance of the book, recommendations from a friend, family member or teacher, television or film related, and interests in specific genres (p. 116). Genres most frequently identified were: fantasy, magic, horror/scary, magic and sorcery, school, romance and true story (p. 118). These categories are similar to those identified by Sturm (2003b), although animal stories, which were most frequently identified by children in Sturm’s study, were not even singled out by students in Hopper’s study. The question that remains is what is it about Harry Potter that causes so much interest in young readers and motivates so many of them to read this series?
Reading Motivation and Harry Potter
What is it about Harry Potter that motivates youth to read these complicated books, some of which are over 700 pages long? What sets Harry Potter apart as a series of books that many children read eagerly? As a result of the popularity of the Harry Potter books, one would expect to find numerous studies looking at how young readers respond to the Harry Potter books and to what researchers attribute these responses. Instead primarily adult perceptions of young readers’ responses were found. The Harry Potter series has been subjected to research and analysis from a wide variety of perspectives. Topics addressed vary extensively and include fields as diverse as
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mathematics, chemistry, education, and psychology, in addition to literary analysis from virtually every conceivable angle. Over 6,000 articles were identified via frequently utilized academic databases in the information studies and education fields including EBSCO through Academic Search, ERIC through CSA, Expanded Academic and Literature Resource Center through Gale, IngentaConnect, ISI Web of Science, JSTOR, LexisNexis Academic, Library Literature and OMNI through WilsonWeb, PsychInfo through Illumina, Science Direct, and Dissertation and Thesis Abstracts through Proquest. There was duplication of article records retrieved because some journals are searchable on multiple databases however even after the collection of retrieved records was filtered by elimination of duplicates, removal of articles that had not undergone peer review and those that were unrelated to reading motivation or response while reading Harry Potter, the resulting list of articles, dissertations, or papers exceeded 500. The Internet and other non-academic sources were also utilized to identify books and monographs that were unlikely to be catalogued in academic databases. From the over 500 identified articles and manuscripts published between 1999 and 2008, abstracts were reviewed for content potentially related to the research question and 357 articles, books, book sections, thesis, dissertations, conference proceedings, unpublished manuscripts, and other related writings were identified. After a series of progressively closer readings a total of 16 manuscripts - nine articles, three book chapters, two dissertations, one conference presentation paper and one master’s thesis - were identified as containing research or observations related to studies with young reader response.
Harry Potter Research Methods
The methods used to collect data in this group of 16 studies fell into three categories: observations, interviews, and written responses. Appendix C provides descriptions of the data collection method, sample, and population found in each of the 16 analyzed articles. Observation was used in 10 of the 16 studies to collect some or all of the data discussed (Anderson, 2003; Beach & Willner, 2002; Black, 2003a, 2003b; Borah, 2002; Malu, 2003; Stuart, 2006; Titus, 2003; Wolf, 2006; Wood & Quackenbush, 2001). While not specifically identified as a research methodology in several studies (Beach and Willner, 2002; Wood and Quackenbush, 2001), evidence of observation was clearly present in the research discussion and results. Methods of observation found in this group of studies ranged from parental observations of children reading to researcher observations of websites and message boards.
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Additionally, while observation was used more frequently than any other method of data collection, it was only identified as the primary data collection method for two studies (Borah, 2002; Malu, 2003). A wide range of interview techniques were used to obtain responses in eight of the 16 studies (Anderson, 2003; Beach & Willner, 2002; Black, 2003b; Borah, 2002; Stuart, 2006; Titus, 2003; Wolf, 2006; Wood & Quackenbush, 2001). Personal conversations with adults as well as children providing informal recountings of reading experiences were recorded in one study (Black, 2003a), while other studies asked children to write letters about Harry Potter prior to meeting in order to obtain information to stimulate conversation during subsequent group discussions (Titus, 2003). While the methodologies vary, studies by Titus (2003) and Dixey and D’Angelo (2002) using a combination of methods obtained the richest and most well-documented information. Titus used focus group interviews to maximize the ability to derive data from “interaction within the group” (p. 55). Questions used to stimulate conversation initially were derived from information in letters written by the students prior to the focus groups. This allowed the researcher to focus on information and topics that came up during subject to subject interactions, affording Titus the ability to direct conversations to explore areas of interest more deeply and to pull the subjects back on topic when conversations went astray. Dixey and D’Angelo (2002), on the other hand, used a twenty-four question reading inventory, including forced answer (true and false, possible response, and Likert scale) questions, as well as open-ended questions, to identify children who had read the Harry Potter books and the reasons that they read them. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to analyze the reading inventories in order to identify children who were likely to be able to provide detailed accounts of reading experiences during interviews (pp. 3-5). Many of these studies had significant methodological flaws. Populations identified in the studies often did not correspond to the sample from which the data were drawn and descriptions of the population studied and the samples selected to represent the identified populations frequently lacked detail. Population was often described in very broad or generalized terms. Examples of this include “readers” (Wood and Quackenbush, 2001, p. 97), “children and grownups” (Malu, 2003, p. 75), “Harry Potter fans” (Borah, 2002, p. 344) and, most frequently, “children” (Beach & Willner, 2002, pp. 102-106; Natov, 2001, p. 316; Opar,
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2002, p. 32). Samples collected for each of these studies fell far short of providing sufficient input to represent any of these populations. The exception to this characteristic was the work of Dixey and D’Angelo (2002). They clearly identified the criteria used to draw their sample as well as the population, “students in grades 5-9 from selected communities in two southern states” (2002, p. 1), their conclusions represented. Because many of the samples identified were not adequate or appropriate to represent the populations to which conclusions were generalized, the themes identified and described below must be considered through the lens of the samples used. Many of the responses to reading the Harry Potter books that were identified in the 16 articles and essays do not appear to be those of young readers, but rather adult or researcher perceptions of young readers’ responses. Studies containing responses from young readers themselves seem likely to provide the most valid information; however, because it was not possible to differentiate adult perceptions from young readers’ descriptions of reading experiences in many of the articles and essays, all identified responses of young readers, whether self-generated or described by adults, were included in the following analysis of children’s responses.
Children’s Responses in Harry Potter Research
While there were many items published about the Harry Potter reading phenomenon, there were not many found reflecting responses from young readers’ reading Harry Potter. The available research primarily consisted of critical analyses of the texts of the Harry Potter books with only 16 manuscripts identified with significant content regarding young readers’ responses to reading J.K. Rowling’s books. Qualitative analysis of the reader responses recorded in these 16 studies led to the development of five themes of responses of young readers to the Harry Potter books: reader associations with story elements; context of introduction; way the stories were read; outcomes of reading experiences; and story and reader maturation.
Story Elements One of the debates regarding interest in Harry Potter focuses on what genre the books fit. The obvious genre is fantasy, yet some authors and young readers find that realistic elements of the story are what attract them. Reader associations with various story elements provided the greatest amount of detail from young readers themselves. Analysis of the examples in the 16 analyzed articles identified that the greatest number were most related to
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story elements such as plot and narrative structure, characterization, and setting; however, the other elements, point of view, style, and theme, typically utilized to discuss, analyze or evaluate children’s fiction, were not frequently mentioned or identified in the reported responses of the young readers (Dresang, 1999, pp. 255-264; Horning, 1997, pp. 149-175). One exception to this trend are found in interviews conducted by Blackford (2001). She found that high school age girls identified with formal story elements such as omniscient reader, genre, fantasy world, narrative structure and thematic unity (p. 2). Plot. Horning (1997) describes plot as the basis of all fiction, the “series of events that tell the story, actions that are linked by cause and effect so that the pieces of the story are all tied together by a narrative” (p. 152). Critical analyses of the Harry Potter books often reflect aspects of plot or plot structure but these were not frequently identified in the analyzed studies of young reader responses. There are examples of narrative structure devices, conflict and plot development within many responses but these were expressed in terms of personal identification by the reader with the actions, motives or feelings of a character or situation in the story rather than as literary elements. Characterization. Characters serve as the links between young readers and stories resulting in the reader’s ability to “identify with the actions, motives, and feelings” (Horning, 1997, p. 160) and the ways these relate to their own life or experiences. Young readers’ identification with characters is pointed out as a primary catalyst for response in several articles (Anderson, 2003, p. 106; Beach and Willner, 2002, pp. 103-04). The search for identity experienced by the characters in the Harry Potter stories and Harry’s moments of uncertainty are named as making him appealing to adolescents who themselves are continually facing crises of self-confidence. One adult perception was that young readers easily related to the characters because the characters were all a little odd and not flawless, and like Harry, every child has from time to time been misunderstood, unappreciated and bullied (Opar, 2002, p. 32). There were many examples of readers describing facets of a character that they felt related to an aspect of their lives. Blackford’s (2001) interviews with girls exposed a surprising range of ways that the young readers felt the Harry Potter books reflected a bit of their own reality or “familiarity within fantasy” (p. 3). What Blackford found is that while these books helped the girls to escape reality, remnants of familiar things remained within the magical world of Harry Potter. Examples of experiences the girls felt they held in common with characters
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included: feeling hopeless, envy, inability to please parents or guardians, and anxiety over separation from parents. Children also identified with the themes of social structure and justice practiced by Harry Potter characters. Just as in their real world, conflicts exist between groups in Rowling’s books. The wizarding world’s version of racial segregation and marginalization were identified as being particularly relevant to young readers (Blackford, 2001, pp. 4-5). Justice in the wizarding world was identified as an issue concerning children. The character of Sirius Black was identified in particular as an example of the way a character challenged readers’ interpretations of human motivation and the infallibility of government (Titus, 2003, p. 18). Other issues such as the shared experience of moral decision-making and young readers’ search for the meaning of human relationships were identified as issues portrayed with a human face to which young readers responded. One example from Beach and Willner (2002) demonstrates the questionable validity of at least some of the responses, “I was Hermione when I was a child” (p. 105). In this case it appears the speaker was referring back to her childhood, which suggests this was not a comment from a child even though the sample identified in the study consisted of 5th, 6th, and 8th grade students. A second example is Gibbs’ (2003) hypothesis that the reason children like to read Harry Potter books is because they see themselves in him. A review of Gibbs’ article showed this conclusion was drawn from the author’s own reading experience, not from experiences described by young readers. Setting. Because Harry Potter addressed familiar situations in unfamiliar settings, Titus concluded that young readers may consider familiar experiences from different perspectives (2003, p. 88). Mynott discussed a similar topic: Rowling’s transformation of familiar school life into unfamiliar settings. He considered how Rowling’s defamiliarization of the traditional school story allowed the reader to see familiar events from a fresh perspective, and related this to Victor Shklovsky’s Theory of Defamiliarization, a literary technique that offers “the means to view the ‘old’ as if it were ‘new’” (1999, p. 17). Imaginative elements in the story provided raw material for many young readers to experiment with their own reality. Discussions of the impact of imaginative elements were found in seven of the analyzed articles. Harry’s life was viewed as similar in many ways to that of young readers with respect to everyday experiences. Often, this was described using
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metaphors to connect the young readers’ world to the fantastical world of Harry Potter, including attending classes, shopping for school supplies, and enjoying various types of sweets (Beach and Willner, 2002, pp. 103-04; Opar, 2002, p. 33). Titus (2003) found that the books did not create an entirely new world, rather they asked readers to imagine a magical world that existed alongside our own. Children saw little pieces of reality, or elaborations on already familiar objects or situations, in the unfamiliar wizarding world scenes described. It is the reflection of the familiar in the unfamiliar that children identified as allowing them to look at their own world from a different perspective (pp. 57-58, 121).
Context of Introduction The introduction to Harry Potter by friends or family members rather than through academic instruction and the act of initiating other readers “into the club” were examples of how other readers may impact a young reader’s response (Borah, 2002, p. 357). The feeling of camaraderie and pleasure in reading was also demonstrated by young readers who groaned when told it was time to stop reading or who were enthusiastic about standing in line at bookstores to get the next book in the series (Beach and Willner, 2002, p. 106). In addition to face-to-face introductions to Harry Potter and the stimulation of peer interest to continue reading the series, a number of online activities afford social opportunities for readers with an interest in the books. Examples of this include role playing based on the books, discussion groups speculating as the series developed and fan fiction written by young readers. Some of these online forums led to what have been called the “Harry Potter wars.” Jenkins’ (2006) discussion of the “Harry Potter wars,” which threatened children’s abilities to participate online in the world of Harry Potter, focused on actions taken by Warner Bros. in response to what they perceived as infringement on the studio’s intellectual property in the fan fiction arena in addition to the struggle of teachers and librarians to fight efforts by the religious right to have the Harry Potter books removed from libraries (pp. 169-170). What both Warner Bros. and the religious right failed to understand was the extent and potential influence the interconnected online fan communities held. The studio found a huge gap between what they believed was protected by their copyright and the fans’ “sense of moral “ownership” over the property” (p. 191). Driven by an American-based organization, Defense Against the Dark Arts (DADA), fans joined forces, coordinating media outreach and activism against Warner
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Bros and collecting over 1500 signatures within two weeks on a petition that ended with the following call to arms:
There are dark forces afoot, darker even than He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, because these dark forces are daring to take away something so basic, so human, that it’s close to murder. They are taking away our freedom of speech, our freedom to express our thoughts, feelings and ideas, and they are taking away the fun of a magical book. (Lawver, 2001)
Warner Bros. was finally forced to acknowledge that the studio’s legal response had been “naive” and develop a more collaborative policy for engaging with Harry Potter fans (Jenkins, 2006, p. 187). Jenkins concluded that unlike previous fights over children’s culture, children had become active participants in the media landscape and found their own voice through their participation in fan communities (p. 205).
Way Read The way the Harry Potter books were read by children was also found to impact readers’ responses. Detailed readings, repeated readings, reading for entertainment or having the story read out loud by a parent, sibling, or teacher were all identified as impacting reader interest or response (Beach & Willner, 2002, p. 106; Blackford, 2001, pp. 1-6; Borah, 2002, pp. 355-356). The act of reading the story out loud facilitated readers’ discovery of humor in Rowling’s playful use of language that were missed when reading alone (Wood and Quackenbush, 2001, p. 99).
Outcome of Reading Experience Reading Harry Potter was found to affect responses to other reading experiences. Introducing young readers to an enjoyment of reading, allowing adults to relate to a child (or a child to an adult), as well as meeting or chatting with strangers as a result of reading were all described as ways in which responses to Harry Potter had impacted readers. When asked to identify reasons children respond to these books, and why others should experience Harry Potter, responses included: realistic characters, a fast-paced plot, and unexpected occurrences (Wood and Quackenbush, 2001, p. 99).
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Maturation The final topic considered across studies was how the maturation of the story and/or the reader impacted response. The maturation of the books was evident through the growing richness of language, progressive complication of story lines, and plots that grew more elaborate with each volume of the story. This maturation of style and content impacted the response of readers as the readers themselves matured. Additionally, readers recognized that with the increased length and density of books as the series progressed, they had “to pay attention or [they] don’t know what’s going on” (Beach and Willner, 2002, p. 105).
Conclusions Many of the conclusions drawn were not directly attributable to experiences related by children; rather they were perceptions of how adults believed children were likely to respond to or experience these stories. The conclusions drawn in the few studies that did collect evidence directly from children were found to differ from those using information obtained from adult perceptions of child experiences. Experiences described by children more often fell into the first two themes; they tended to identify imaginative elements and personal associations with character or story elements, whereas adults tended to describe children’s experiences as they related to character or plot elements in the text or to what the child achieved by reading the text. The topics identified in these articles and essays cannot of course be generalized to the population of young readers of Harry Potter as a whole, but rather considered as a summation of the best information currently available on the topic of young readers’ responses to Harry Potter. Claims that the Harry Potter books motivate children to read more seemed to be present regardless of whether the article was published in the popular press or a peer-reviewed academic journal. In his book Beahm (2005) described Rowling and her contribution to literacy in this way:
She is of outstanding distinction and has an international impact in her own field. She had an impact in reversing the worldwide trend in decreasing literacy. Her writing has attracted a huge number of children who previously had difficulties in beginning to read, and her work has dispelled the myth that children lack the attention span to engage with longer books. (p. 72)
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It seems unlikely that adult perceptions alone will ever be fully able to determine the reasons for the success of these books because the answer lies within the young readers who chose to read them.
Problem In Relation To the Literature
This research study considered the question of what motivates youth to read the Harry Potter series. Much speculation and little systematically gathered data exists regarding the answer to this question. Rosenblatt’s transaction theory was selected over the other reader response theories as the lens through which data collected from young readers was considered because the questions this research sought to answer were most deeply explored using her focus on the ideas and feelings evoked during the transaction between the author and the reader. Analysis of data collected from young readers focused on identification and clarification of the wide variety of factors that have influenced young readers’ motivation to read Harry Potter. While educators have long used Rosenblatt’s transaction theory to explore children’s responses to literature in the classroom, this study adds to and perhaps expands this area of knowledge by exploring the responses readers have to books that are read for pleasure, such as Harry Potter. Motivation theory impacts the proposed research as the lens through which the young readers’ responses were analyzed. Identification and rich descriptions of what young readers believe these motivations are, how their interests and preferences and self-efficacy relate to their choice of Harry Potter to read and how this relates to current research on reader interests contributes to expansion of current research on reading interests of children. This study is one of the few scholarly attempts thus far to incorporate both reading interests and motivational theory related to youth reading. To gain a better understanding of young reader reading motivations and preferences, it is essential to let the readers speak in their own voices using sound methodological practices, something that is currently missing from the research base. Findings and conclusions derived from this study more fully inform us about the multidimensional factors impacting reading motivation and engagement.
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CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
Introduction
The purpose of this study was exploration of the overarching research question “What motivated youth to read the Harry Potter series?” This was addressed through three more specific research questions (RQ):
RQ 1. What are the general reading interests, habits, and attitudes towards reading of the young readers who participated in this study? RQ 2. What factors do young readers identify as initially attracting them to Harry Potter? RQ 3. What factors do young readers identify as motivating them to continue to read Harry Potter?
A review of the literature gave emphasis to the need for further investigation in the area of young readers and reading motivation. This chapter presents a description of the research design, population and sample, instrumentation, procedures and data analysis utilized in this study.
Mixed Methods Research
After contemplation of both quantitative and qualitative methods, a decision was made to use a mixed methods approach in order to assess most effectively young readers’ views on what has motivated them to read Harry Potter.
Properties of Quantitative and Qualitative Methods
Quantitative methods are based in positivism. The philosophy of positivism is grounded in the belief that reality is logically ordered, objective, and can be understood “better and better through science” (Babbie, 2001, p. 51). These methods have most frequently been used to detect general views or opinions across populations by sampling large representative groups. The downside of quantitative measures is the prerequisite for clear identification and definition of all variables before the research began (Morgan, 1998).
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Use of qualitative interviews as a research method often results in a richness of data and range of experience that could not otherwise be obtained. Interviews enabled readers to relate perceptions, experiences and interpretations of their reading experiences using examples that were meaningful to them and in language they felt comfortable with. For this reason, qualitative methods for articulating participant viewpoints have high acceptability (Rice & Ezzy, 1999). Another advantage of qualitative methods such as interviews was the opportunity for documentation of unanticipated reader experiences, which would not have been possible using solely quantitative methods (Tashakkori & Teddlie, 2003). The rationale for embedding aspects of qualitative research within a quantitative survey was to obtain and acknowledge knowledge derived from both approaches (Sandelowski & Barroso, 2003). Mixed method approaches combine the use of quantitative methods such as rating scales with qualitative methods such as interviews to answer more fully a single research question. In this way a researcher is able to overcome limitations of using either approach alone (Morgan 1998). While quantitative methods use many people to identify overall trends, qualitative methods use fewer people in order to gain a rich, deep view and understanding of the same issue (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). The diverse nature of data collected through this research design with the use of qualitative and quantitative methods facilitated deeper exploration of the research questions and produced the richest and most descriptive answers possible. These issues led to the decision that a mixed methods approach was the most rational technique to investigate as completely as possible given limitations of sample the question of young reader response to Harry Potter. “When only one approach to research (quantitative or qualitative) is inadequate to address the research problem, mixed methods is the preferred design” (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2007, p. 32).
Definition of Mixed Methods Research
Creswell and Plano Clark (2007) define mixed methods research as:
…a research design with philosophical assumptions as well as methods of inquiry. As a methodology, it involves philosophical assumptions that guide the direction of the collection and analysis of data and the mixture of qualitative and quantitative approaches in many phases in the research process. As a method, it focuses on collecting, analyzing, and mixing both quantitative and qualitative data in a single study or series of
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studies. Its central premise is that the use of quantitative and qualitative approaches in combination provides a better understanding of research problems than either approach alone. (p. 5)
Johnson, Onwuegbuzie & Turner (2007) collected 19 definitions from leaders in the field of mixed methods research in order to conduct an analysis of how mixed methods research has been defined. Significant statements were identified in each of the submitted definitions, were coded, and were used to develop their proposed general definition:
Mixed methods research is the type of research in which a researcher or team of researchers combines elements of qualitative and quantitative research approaches (e.g., use of qualitative and quantitative viewpoints, data collection, analysis, inference techniques) for the broad purposes of breadth and depth of understanding and corroboration (p. 123).
Explanatory Design
The Explanatory Design model of mixed methods research was selected for this research because results of Phase One data analysis not only influenced the questions asked during the Phase Two interviews but also guided the investigator in identification of the most appropriate subjects to interview. An Explanatory Design consists of two sequential phases with the first typically having a primarily quantitative focus. Phase One of this study included close-ended questions as well as open-ended questions. The presence of the qualitative responses added considerable weight to interpretation of the quantitative responses obtained, in order to supplement and facilitate collection of unanticipated responses. The second phase of data collection used semi-structured interviews to collect qualitative data to explain or elaborate themes derived from data collected in the first phase. This design has also been found to be appropriate when a research question can best be addressed with use of quantitative participant characteristics to guide purposeful sampling for a qualitative phase (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2007, p. 72). The design of this research most closely fits the follow-up explanations model in that the intent was to use data collected in the second phase to explain and expand upon factors impacting the motivation of youth to read Harry Potter identified in the data collected in Phase One. The emphasis of this research was on deepening understanding and clarifying themes
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identified in the first phase. Use of this methodology facilitated selection of respondents who both represented significant themes identified in Phase One and appeared to be most capable of providing rich deep data in response to qualitative interviewing in Phase Two.
Mixed Methods Used in Reading Motivation Studies
Reading motivation researchers have employed a variety of research designs and methods in the past, but a mixed method design utilizing a survey or questionnaire in conjunction with some other type of data collection has been shown to be most effective in previous studies with research questions focused on aspects similar to those of this study (Baker & Wigfield, 1999; Guthrie, et al., 1996; Ivey & Broaddus, 2001; McKenna, et al., 1995). One example, a study conducted by Baker and Wigfield (1999), examined several dimensions of reading motivation related to students' reading activity and achievement by using a questionnaire in combination with interviews of students. A second example was research conducted by Ivey and Broaddus (2001) that utilized a questionnaire to collect data from 1,765 sixth-grade students to collect data and to identify participants for follow-up interviews to facilitate collection of more detailed, in-depth data. Therefore, this exploration was conducted in two distinct phases: Phase One, administered using an online questionnaire to collect both quantitative and qualitative data, addressed the relationship of young readers who grew up with Harry Potter and the factors these readers identified as impacting their motivation to continue reading Rowling’s series during the 10 years the books were published, while the second phase used qualitative interviews to explore more fully themes and data derived in the first phase. A visual diagram of the study methodology has been included in Appendix D.
Population and Sampling
Social researchers typically use one of two types of sampling techniques, probability sampling or purposeful sampling. Probability sampling is based on the principle that the researcher has some notion of the probability that the people selected as the sample represent one or more specific aspects in the whole population being studied while purposeful sampling is conducted without knowledge regarding whether those included in the sample are representative of the overall population (Polit & Hungler, 1999, p. 284). Dane (1990) points out that one advantage of purposeful sampling is that it allows a researcher to hone in on particular people or
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events instead of examining a cross-section of the entire population. This allows the researcher to concentrate on instances that illuminate the research question at hand. In this sense purposeful sampling may be informative in ways that conventional probability sampling cannot (Descombe, 1998). One justification for the use of purposeful sampling was that it stems from the concept that the research process is one of discovery rather than testing of hypotheses. It is a strategy that Lincoln & Guba (Lincoln & Guba, 1985) describe as emergent and sequential. Purposeful sampling best addressed the questions this research sought to explore. Data were sought from subjects who were identified as most capable of providing detailed descriptions of their motivations and experiences while they were young readers of the Harry Potter series. The crucial and defining characteristic of purposeful sampling is that the choice of people or events to be included in the sample is not random. Streubert & Carpenter (1999) point out that there is no need to select individuals randomly when manipulation and control are not the purpose of the research.
The population represented by the results of this research were readers who grew up in the United States and met four specified criteria: (a) a birth date between 1984 and 1990; (b) began reading Harry Potter during or prior to 1999; (c) had read each of the seven books in the Harry Potter series; and (d) received information requesting their participation in this research via the request for participants posted on four selected Harry Potter related websites, HPANA, MuggleNet, The Leaky Cauldron, or Harry Potter Fan Fiction. These websites were selected because they had received Fan Site Award’s from J.K. Rowling (www.jkrowling.com) and were based in the United States. The sample for Phase One consisted of 649 subjects meeting the specified criteria who submitted an online questionnaire. After Phase One data analysis for both quantitative and qualitative portions was complete and factor categories identified, coded text was reviewed to identify responses that were most detailed, insightful and descriptive to start the process of choosing four interviewees. Only four were chosen in order to conduct in-depth interviews but not to give too much emphasis to what would inevitably be a small sample for the whole. The online questionnaire database was searched to obtain and review full questionnaires, and those with open-ended question responses reflecting multiple factor categories of interest were identified for further consideration. Therefore, the four Harry Potter readers who participated in follow-up interviews during Phase Two of the data collection were selected because their responses to
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open-ended questions on the Phase One Questionnaire were well written, descriptive and detailed, related to multiple factor categories selected after Phase One data analysis as providing the greatest insight into Harry Potter reader motivation, stated they were willing to participate in a follow-up interview and submitted an email address where they could be contacted.
Phase One – Online Questionnaire
An online questionnaire was selected as the initial data collection instrument for this research in order to maximize access to the most diverse audience possible. Online questionnaires, also referred to as internet surveys, have been shown to obtain comparable results as other self-administered methods as well as telephone protocols (Roster, Rogers, Albaum, & Klein, 2004) on the response rate criteria (Schmidt, Calantone, Griffin, & Montoya- Weiss, 2005) as well as response quality (Fricker, Galesic, Tourangeau, & Yan, 2005). Text- based e-mail electronic surveys have existed since 1986 and web-based surveys since the early 1990s (Kehoe & Pitkow, 1996; Kehoe, Pitkow, & Morton, 1997; Kiesler & Sproull, 1986) and both have been demonstrated to be accepted methods of conducting studies when it is impractical or financially unfeasible to access certain populations (Couper, 2000; Sheehan & Hoy, 1997; Weible & Wallace, 1998). Response rates are similar to those of questionnaires delivered by national postal services and the nature and the quality of responses have not been found to be affected (Tuten, Urban, & Bosnjak, 2002). Some researchers suggest that online survey responses provide more complete information than traditional mail surveys do (Ilieva, Baron, & Healey, 2002) and avoid data quality problems such as social desirability bias (Fricker, et al., 2005) or survey ‘satisficing’ patterns (Skitka & Sargis, 2005). Satisficing refers to the concept that some respondents may provide minimally acceptable answers rather than optimal responses to survey questions (Krosnick, 2000, p. 5). Other advantages of online questionnaires include the ability to ask both open and closed ended questions, the speed of data collection and the relatively low cost to conduct. Disadvantages of online questionnaires, such as limiting the population to only those with access to the Internet and respondents not completing the questionnaire, were also considered when deciding on the instrument for this research (Sue & Ritter, 2007, pp. 12-14). The nature of the Internet as well the absence of a static population precludes the use of random sampling (Kehoe & Pitkow, 1996) and non-response rate tracking (Kehoe, et al., 1997)
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with the population as described here. Identification of complete online populations continues to be impractical because there are no central Internet registries. Because electronic survey selection is limited to nonrandom and probabilistic sampling (Couper, 2000; Kehoe, et al., 1997; Schaeffer & Dillman, 1998), results can only be considered indicative of what may be found in similar populations online. Determining an adequate sample size for mixed methods research is a “matter of judgment and experience in evaluating the quality of the information collected against the uses to which it will be put” (Sandelowski, 1995, p. 183). Purposeful sample sizes typically consist of thirty or fewer (Teddlie & Yu, 2007, p. 84). Posting the invitation to participate in this research on selected Harry Potter related websites, HPANA, MuggleNet, The Leaky Cauldron, or Harry Potter Fan Fiction, resulted in many more than the minimum numbers of responses necessary to obtain data saturation. Data collected using a similar web-based invitation and questionnaire strategy in 2007, shortly before the release of the seventh Harry Potter book, resulted in nearly 2400 responses (Rudski, Segal, & Kallen, 2008). The greatest percentage (77%) and number (1475) of responses for Rudski’s study were collected from participants in the age range this study sought, with 88 % submitted by women and 12% by men (p. 14). It was anticipated that the response rate for this research would be lower without the anticipation of the final Harry Potter book release as well as because responses were only sought from readers in the United States. However, even with these anticipated limitations, responses for each of the open-ended questions exponentially exceeded the minimum of 30 responses typically found to be necessary to attain data saturation during qualitative analysis and theme development, with the number of responses ranging between 136 to 596 for each open-ended question. As noted above, purposeful non-probabilistic self-selection sampling was used to collect data. Participants were recruited via an invitation (Appendix A) posted on select Harry Potter websites: HPANA, MuggleNet, The Leaky Cauldron, or Harry Potter Fan Fiction. The invitation consisted of a shortened version of the introduction page for the Online Questionnaire (Appendix E), including researcher contact information and encouraged readers to forward the invitation to others who met the sampling criteria. An article about the request for participation (Appendix F) was posted on the Harry Potter Automatic News Aggregator (HPANA) by the editor-in-chief, Jeff Guillame, on August 12, 2008, stimulating diffusion of the survey
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information via a wide variety of additional websites, discussion boards and list serves and resulting in a huge surge in responses.
Phase One Instrumentation
The survey in this study was modeled after the Motivation to Read (Gambrell, Palmer, Codling, & Mazzoni, 1996, Pitcher, et al., 2007; Schutte & Malouff, 2007). Survey design, participant privacy and confidentiality, sampling and participant selection, distribution and response management, and survey piloting were identified as critical components (Andrews, Nonnecke, & Preece, 2003) of online questionnaire development. SurveyMonkey.com was selected as the software to design and host the questionnaire because it supported user-friendly development for the online questionnaire and secure collection of data. A simple webpage layout meeting the Florida State University website design criteria (http://www.fsu.edu/redesign/index.html) and using a straightforward navigation strategy was created (Appendix E). The online questionnaire included an introductory page, an informed consent page, and demographic items to ensure data was collected from subjects meeting the required criteria. The survey introduction page explained the purpose of the survey, provided an estimate of the time to complete the questionnaire, and described the sampling methodology. Potential subjects were asked the year they were born, if they grew up in the United States at least 90% of the time while they were reading the Harry Potter books, the year they first read a Harry Potter book, and whether or not they had read each of the seven books in the Harry Potter series at least one time. Following the submission of responses to the demographic qualification questions, potential subjects were taken to either the informed consent page or an exit page explaining that they did not meet the criteria for this study, thanking them for their time and offering them the opportunity to request a copy of the results of the study when they were published. The purpose of the informed consent page was to create a trusting relationship with the survey participant by establishing the authority and credibility of the research, providing evidence of the Florida State University’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval (Appendix G), and contact information, including phone numbers and email addresses, for the primary investigator, faculty advisor, and Florida State University Institutional Review Board in order to make it as easy as possible for potential subjects to ask any questions they might have or to confirm the authenticity and credibility of this research project.
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Following the introduction, demographic qualification questions, and informed consent page, the survey questions were presented. Participants were asked to enter their gender, ethnicity, and highest level of education. These data were collected in order to allow comparisons between the demographics of those responding to the questionnaire and national demographic data (Bradshaw, 2004; Iyengar, Ball, & National Endowment for the Arts., 2007; Scholastic Corporation & Yankelovich Inc., 2006, 2008). Closed-ended questions with single and multiple choice selection options used radio buttons, check boxes with nominal scales, and Likert scales to collect responses. Open-ended questions employed user friendly text-input boxes with no limitations on text entry, word wrapping and scrolling. After completing and submitting their questionnaire participants were presented with a page verifying their responses had been recorded and thanking them for participating. Relation of survey questions to research questions can be found in Appendix H. The survey instrument was designed to explore adolescent reading motivation and interest, reading habits and opinions about the Harry Potter series. Motivation to Read Profile (MRP) questions have previously been found to be valid and reliable when used to collect information on reading motivation in children, adolescents, and adults (Gambrell, Palmer, Codling, & Mazzoni, 1996; Pitcher, et al., 2007; Schutte & Malouff, 2007). The Motivation to Read Profile (MRP) consists of two instruments: a reading survey and a conversational interview. The reading survey is made up of 20 items using a four-point scale to assess self-concept as a reader (10 items) and value of reading (10 items) (Gambrell et al., 1996). The MRP was primarily developed to aid elementary teachers in assessing reading motivation of their students. In 2003, the MRP was revised with input from teachers and adolescent research in order to enhance application of the instrument to teen readers. The Adolescent Motivation to Read Profile (AMRP) added references to electronic resources revised language to be more adolescent friendly and included demographic questions to better understand the impact of race or ethnicity (Pitcher, et al., 2007). Most recently, Schutte and Malouff (2007) used the MRQ, AMRQ, and reading engagement theory as the foundation for developing a scale to assess adult reading motivation (p. 484). The authors of the MRP encourage teachers and researchers to extend, modify, and adapt the questionnaire and interview for particular needs. They further emphasize the need to adapt the instrument to identify literacy behaviors outside of school that bear little resemblance
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to traditional academic literacy objectives (Pitcher, et al., 2007, pp. 378-381). Adolescents, in particular, could benefit from more "meaningful, motivational contexts for reading instruction" (Gambrell, et al., 1996, p. 530), because of their tendency to read less frequently as they enter the teen years (Moje, Young, Readence, & Moore, 2000). A decline in reading motivation as children progress through middle and secondary school has been blamed on a mismatch between typical reading assignments and student preferences. It is this emphasis on identification of the motivational contexts for reading that led to utilization of the instrument designed and tested in these three studies as the basis for many questions used in the Phase One Instrument (Appendix E) used to collect data for this study. Questions assessing subjects’ value of reading included, “Reading a book was something I liked to do,” “My close friends thought reading was fun,” and “I told friends about good books I read.” Questions were revised and included in order to reflect the impact of Harry Potter on subjects’ value of reading. These included: “I encouraged my friends to read Harry Potter” and “Reading Harry Potter increased my interest in reading other books.” Babbie (2001) emphasizes that pretesting study components will determine whether a survey instrument is effective in eliciting responses that answer the research questions as well as identify potential problems with surveying procedures. Pilot testing of the questionnaire was conducted with two readers who met the criteria for the study after IRB approval was received. The most significant modifications made as a result were the addition of Romantic Fiction as a category for Q26 and adjustments to reduce the “essay question” feel of the open-ended questions.
Phase One Data Analysis
Quantitative Data Descriptive statistics were obtained using SPSS software to produce data summaries, including counts and percentages. Appendix I, Phase One Instrument Questions Levels of Measurement, identifies the level of measure and analytical procedure for each quantitative variable. Because data in this study was collected using purposeful sampling, the sample was not random and therefore the results could not be generalized to any population. Figure 1 provides an overview of the steps necessary to investigate more deeply the results of quantitative data analysis using the reader experiences to understand more clearly, describe more richly, and reflect more accurately the actual experiences of young Harry Potter readers.
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Figure 1. Process used to explore, describe and clarify results of quantitative data analysis through the use of qualitative analysis of open-ended question responses
Qualitative Data When the qualitative results were examined in relation to the results of quantitative analysis and the concept nodes developed based on the data analysis and research questions, it was found that there were four open-ended questions providing the responses of most interest to this research. The initial review of responses revealed that the greatest insight and detail
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relating to the motivation and response of readers were for the most part found in the responses to these questions: Q12, What happened or was said that first led you to read a Harry Potter book?; Q15, Please describe the primary reason(s) you decided to reread one or more of the Harry Potter books; Q 38, You grew from an adolescent to a young adult in tandem with Harry Potter. In what ways did this impact your experience reading this series; and Q39, In what ways did your motivation or approach to reading Harry Potter change as you grew up?
The decision to focus qualitative analysis on the responses of these four questions was reinforced with the recognition that responses to the other questions were predominantly focused on aspects other than the research questions and those responses that did include related content were observations that were repetitive of content found in responses to the selected questions. Table 9 (found in Chapter 4, pp. 59-60) illustrates which quantitative questionnaire item results were used to identify trends and guide development of preliminary themes for each factor category. The four open-ended questions selected as most relevant to the research questions were analyzed using NVivo to facilitate analysis and exploration of the responses submitted by the young readers. Responses were reviewed and all passages of text reflecting reasons readers initially read or continued to read Harry Potter coded using NVivo and the concept nodes identified during analysis of quantitative data or reflecting the theoretical aspects of reading motivation and reader response identified as being of particular interest in this study. The concept nodes were continuously reviewed, revised and refined during the process of coding the open-ended responses. Concept nodes developed from the research questions and results of prior reader response research were enhanced and improved with additional details as they emerged from the data.
The question of reader motivation over the period of time the Harry Potter series was published is complex and required consideration of many facets of the reading experience. These young readers undoubtedly were motivated to read the Harry Potter book by a wide array of people and reasons. To pinpoint the reasons the Harry Potter survey subjects were motivated to read, often multiple times, each book in the Harry Potter series required reflection on responses submitted to questions asking the survey subjects to describe the reasons they initially decided to read the Harry Potter books, why they chose to re-read Harry Potter if they didn’t
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often re-read other books, and the ways they felt their motivation to read the Harry Potter series changed as they grew up. Responses were examined using NVivo to record and group observations of similar motivations or experiences. NVivo provided the structure necessary to code concepts while retaining links to the entire original set of responses submitted by the individual. NVivo was also used to facilitate collection of all passages coded for each concept node. The modeling tool was used to organize visually the concept nodes into preliminary categories and later used to identify the concept nodes included in each category and to illustrate the interconnections of concepts used with multiple categories.
Concept and Category Development
Each concept, which NVivo refers to as “nodes,” is a labeled phenomenon, an abstract representation of an event, object, or action identified as being significant in the data (Strauss & Corbin, 1998, p. 103). After coding all responses, each concept node and the associated passages of text were reviewed in preparation for classifying concept nodes into factor categories. Factor categories reflect a class of concept nodes that share one or more properties. The same concept nodes may be classified in different ways and thus found in multiple factor categories, depending on which properties of the concept nodes were being considered (Strauss & Corbin, 1998, p. 114). Initial coding of the open-ended question responses was conducted in order to identify all passages of text including descriptions or explanations of factors that led to reading Harry Potter. While an infinite number of concept nodes were possible, 35 were used for initial coding of responses. The majority of the concept nodes were developed to further explore aspects of the results of quantitative questions (see table 9, pp. 59-60), derived from reader motivation or reader response, or a combination of these influences. The balance developed as unexpected trends emerged.
Phase Two – Interviews with Selected Participants
Sequential data collection involves collecting the data in stages. In this study, the quantitative and qualitative data collections are related to each other and not independent. One builds on the other. Therefore, in this study the Phase Two data collection builds on the results of Phase One data analysis. Creswell and Plano Clark (2007) recommend the same subjects
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should be included in both phases of data collection. The intent of this method is to use qualitative data to provide more detail about the quantitative results by selecting “participants that can best provide this detail” (p. 122). Use of purposeful sampling makes it possible to intentionally select participants who can best provide information about the phenomenon or concept being explored (2007, p. 112). After completing quantitative and qualitative analysis of data collected during Phase One the most descriptive factors of motivation to read Harry Potter were identified to explore in more detail during Phase Two and to identify subjects that represent these characteristics and volunteered to participate in the interviews.
Phase Two Instrumentation
Results from Phase One data analysis directed the focus of the Phase Two data collection instrument. The questions for the semi-structured interview guide (Appendix J) focused on the factor categories that emerged as having the greatest impact on motivation to read: influence of friends or others who were reading the books, detail and depth of storylines, associations with characters, envisioning self within world of Harry Potter or revisiting childhood, and the ways reading Harry Potter did (or did not) influence future reading choices. A semi-structured interview guide was developed and then adapted for each subject with passages from the subjects’ online questionnaire to enable the greatest amount of attention and time be focused on the subjects’ responses in order to obtain as much additional insight or deeper understanding of the concept factors as possible. Potential prompts or follow-up questions were also included to ensure the maximum amount of time during the interview was utilized for the subject to reply to questions. After Phase One data analysis was complete and factor categories identified, coded text was reviewed to identify responses that were most detailed, insightful and descriptive. The online questionnaire database was searched to obtain and review full questionnaires, and those with open-ended question responses reflecting at least two factor categories of interest were identified for further consideration. Priorities for Phase Two interview subject selection were willingness to participate in a follow-up interview, the number of category factors of interest represented in the response, the quality of insight the open-ended question responses indicated the subject likely able to provide during an interview, and a range in the gender, year of birth, and ethnicity among those interviewed.
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Subjects were contacted via email (Appendix K), asked to identify preferred times, offered the option to ‘talk’ by telephone or by instant messenger, and provided the approved FSU Behavioral Consent Form to review, complete and return. The same researcher conducted all interviews. Every reasonable effort was made to protect the privacy of the participants. Determination of the medium in which to conduct the interviews was carefully considered. Ultimately, the decision to conduct interviews online using voice or instant messaging was made because all prior contact with respondents occurred online and conducting the interviews in an online environment allowed the researcher to interview subjects regardless of their physical location. Disadvantages of using electronic modes of communication for interviews included the absence of nonverbal cues as well as the potential for technical problems. The way in which the participants wrote about their experiences provided insights into their construction of self and the ways in which they experienced this reading experience. Maintaining the integrity of the narrative was essential in order to emphasize their experience and the social context within which it occurred.
Phase Two Data Analysis
Using a grounded theory approach, transcriptions of the interviews were analyzed using the qualitative data analysis software NVivo to develop further themes and descriptions of what these young readers believe motivated them to read Harry Potter.
Validity and Reliability
Survey instrument items were derived from instruments previously established as valid and reliable (Gambrell, Palmer, Codling, & Mazzoni, 1996, Pitcher, et al., 2007; Schutte & Malouff, 2007). Validity of revised items was determined through pilot testing with two subjects meeting the criteria for this study. Items resulting in responses related to the appropriate research question(s) were retained while items receiving responses unrelated to the appropriate research question(s) were continuously revised and pilot tested until responses related to the appropriate research question were received. Reliability of qualitative data analysis during the second phase this study was established by means of member checking. Responses were analyzed and additional interviews
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conducted until data saturation occurred with subject responses confirming previously identified results without identification of additional aspects of the motivating factors.
Mixed Methods Interpretation of Results
The objective of integrating multiple types of data collected using a variety of methods increases the potential that new variables become evident and extends the scope of data to include previously unknown themes. Talmage and Rasher's (1981) technique of merging qualitative and quantitative data at the level of analysis demonstrates how integration of qualitative and quantitative data in a mixed method study facilitates development of new variables, extending the scope of data beyond what would be evident in a single method study. The authors found that in addition to providing supplementary and supportive information, the use of two approaches of data collection led to a spiral effect; each type of information “displayed a dynamic interconnectedness, leading to a synthesis that produced a new variable” (Talmage & Rasher, 1981, p. 9). As anticipated, this held true and occurred during this investigation of Harry Potter reading motivation.
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CHAPTER 4
DATA ANALYSIS
Numerous assertions have been made regarding the motivational power of the Harry Potter series; however, almost all of these were based primarily on adult perceptions of young readers’ motivations. This study sought to identify and describe factors young readers themselves reveal to when responding to questions asked about their experiences while reading Harry Potter. The over-arching research question “What motivated youth to read the Harry Potter series?” was addressed through three more specific research questions (RQ) that guided this study:
RQ 1. What are the general reading interests, habits, and attitudes towards reading of the young readers who participated in this study? RQ 2. What factors do young readers identify as initially attracting them to Harry Potter? RQ 3. What factors do young readers identify as motivating them to continue to read Harry Potter?
This chapter addresses the data analysis conducted during this study. Phase One of the data analysis focused on the results from the online questionnaire. Closed-ended question data are presented using text, tables and figures to present a descriptive overview of the data collected from the Harry Potter survey subjects. Open-ended questions identified as collecting responses most relevant to the research questions were analyzed using NVivo, a computer tool designed to help manage and analyze data that is not easily reduced to numbers (QSR International, 2008). The number of open-ended questions analyzed was limited after preliminary analysis due to the higher relevance identified between responses to these questions and the research questions, as well as the repetition of response content between questions. Responses were reviewed and passages of text reflecting reasons readers initially read or continued to read Harry Potter were coded using concept nodes identified during analysis of quantitative data, previous research in reader motivation and reader response, as well as the initial review of the submitted responses.
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Relationships between the concept nodes were identified and illustrated using models to facilitate development of emerging patterns. Sets of concept nodes sharing common aspects or links were created, potential attributes considered, re-evaluated, and reconsidered until the resultant group of nine factor categories was developed. Phase Two data collection consisted of follow-up interviews to explore aspects of the factor categories identified as including the greatest information about motivation to read Harry Potter, to clarify attributes and probe for additional detail. Reporting of the quantitative data is followed by that of the qualitative data; first the data collected via the online questionnaire (Phase One) followed by insights and additional detail obtained during the follow-up interviews. (Phase Two). All quantitative data reported in this chapter includes a reference to the associated question number from the Online Questionnaire (Appendix E). Qualitative data collected during Phase Two is identified with the use of the citation (Phase Two interview) after each text passage in order to differentiate the interview text passages from those collected with open-ended questions on the online questionnaire during Phase One.
Quantitative Data Analysis
Phase One data was collected with a 40-question survey (Appendix E) using the online survey tool SurveyMonkey. Data collection began on July 28, 2008 and closed on August 18, 2008. Participants were recruited via a letter (Appendix A) submitted to the webmaster or content editor of four Harry Potter fan websites (Figure 2). While responses were received as a result of the request posted on each of the four websites, an article posted by Jeff Guillaume (Appendix F), the editor-in-chief and webmaster of the Harry Potter Automatic News Aggregator (HPANA) stimulated responses so radically that HPANA was identified by over 80% of the subjects as the way they first learned about this study (Q10). HPANA originated as a Harry Potter news aggregator using automated scripts to capture, index and organize Harry Potter related information from “the top news sources on the web” (Harry Potter Automatic News Aggregator, 2008) into public news feeds. These feeds are distributed via Rich Site Summary (RSS) compatible programs, displayed on innumerable Harry Potter websites and blogs, and emailed to over 12,000 individual subscribers. HPANA’s pages are viewed most frequently (55%) by users from the United States, followed by users from the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and India (Quantcast, 2008).
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Figure 2. Way Harry Potter survey subjects learned about the study (Q10)
Demographics
A total of 2170 survey responses were received with 649 submitted by subjects meeting the research criteria: young readers who lived in the United States during the time they read Harry Potter (Q2); were born between 1984 and 1990 (Q1); began reading the series during or prior to 1999 (Q3); read each of the seven books at least one time (Q4); and agreed to participate in the study (Q5).
Year Born The year of birth data showed a clear trend (Figure 3, Q1), with the youngest subjects more than twice as likely to complete and submit a survey as the oldest.
1990 126 1989 127 1988 105 1987 95 1986 79 1985 57 1984 60
Figure 3. Number of Harry Potter survey subjects born each year (Q1)
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Year first read Harry Potter Subjects were most likely to begin reading during 1999 (Q3), however 81 (12.5 %) of the subjects submitting questionnaires were able to obtain Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling, 1997) from the United Kingdom and began reading the series before the first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Rowling, 1998), was even published in the United States.
Figure 4. Year first read Harry Potter (Q3)
Sex of Subject In this study, females were more than twice as likely as males to have read the Harry Potter series and respond to this survey (Q6). A total of 622 responses were received with “Male” selected by 190 subjects (30.5%) and “Female” by 432 subjects (69.5%).
Ethnic Background White/Caucasian was identified by 485 (78%) of Harry Potter survey subjects, with 40 (6.4 %) selecting Hispanic/Latin American, 32 (5.1%) Asian, 28 (4.5%) Multi-ethnic, 18 (2.9%) Black/African American, 5 (.8%) Native American and 14 (2.3%) chose “some other ethnic background” (Q7).
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Level of Education The level of education (Q8) most often identified by Harry Potter survey subjects shows the majority of the readers responding to the online questionnaire were still in college (189 or 30.4%) or finishing high-school (212 or 34.1%).
Figure 5. Highest level of education (Q8)
General Reading Interests, Habits, and Attitudes towards Reading
Attitudes toward Reading The readers who submitted responses for this survey were very likely to perceive themselves as having strong reading skills (Q9). More than three-quarters of the subjects (486 or 78.8 %) identified themselves as being above average readers with only 11 (1.8%) identifying themselves as poor readers.
Figure 6. Perceived reading ability of Harry Potter study readers (Q9)
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When asked to identify the person that first told them about Harry Potter (Q11) subjects identified parents and family 218 (36%) times, with friends identified 177 (29%) times, and teachers 98 (16%) times.
Other (please specify) 61
Parents/family 218
Friends 177
Book store employee 25
Librarian 28
Teacher 98
Figure 7. The person that first introduced the reader to Harry Potter series (Q11)
Readers who selected “other” identified a wide range of ways in which they initially were introduced to the books. Posters or book displays at bookstores and in libraries were identified 16 times. School book fairs were mentioned seven times, with three of these specifically identifying Scholastic school book fairs. Overall, a range of sources that can be loosely grouped as “media” were the most frequently identified source of introduction for this group. The term “media” was specifically used by four readers, with television, ranging from local newscasts to Oprah and the Rosie O’Donnell Show identified nine times, as well as six references to various newspaper and magazine articles. One frequently mentioned aspect of the Harry Potter reading phenomenon has been the perception that the books are frequently read more than one time. This was strongly supported by those responding to this survey with 596 (97.5%) selecting “Yes” when asked if they had read any of the Harry Potter books more than one time (Q13).
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Figure 8. Have you read any of the Harry Potter books more than one time? (Q13)
When the Harry Potter survey subjects were asked to identify the number of times they had read each of the books in the Harry Potter series (Q 14) a clear trend was visible. Books published earlier in the series were re-read more often than books published later in the series. This can be seen in Figure 9 in which the lightest colored squares show the number of subjects reading that book in the Harry Potter series ten or more times and the number in the darkest box identifying the number of subjects who read the book one time.
Figure 9. The number of times subjects have read each of the books (Q14)
When readers were asked if they were likely to read a book other than Harry Potter more than one time (Q16), the probability of repeat readings was much lower. While only 15 (2.5%) of those responding to the online questionnaire said they had not read any of the Harry Potter books more than one time (Q13), 189 (32%) said they rarely or never read other books more than one time.
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Figure 10. Frequency Harry Potter survey subjects read books other than Harry Potter more than one time (Q16)
Attitudes towards reading were further explored using questions adapted from the previously discussed instruments used to assess child, adolescent and adult reading motivation (Gambrell, et al., 1996; Pitcher, et al., 2007; Schutte & Malouff, 2007) to assess self-concept as a reader and value of reading (Q24, Tables 1 & 2).
Table 1 Attitudes toward reading (Q24) Question asked and aspect of reading evaluated Very (self concept or value of reading) Often Often Sometimes Rarely Never Reading a book was something I liked 292 118 67 31 11 to do (Value of Reading) Reading a book not required for school was something I did almost 193 122 111 54 36 every day (Value of Reading) My friends thought I was a very good 256 140 63 21 16 reader (Self-Concept as Reader) I think I read a lot better than my 222 133 92 39 17 friends (Self-Concept as Reader) My close friends thought reading was 75 110 190 105 36 fun (Value of Reading) I told my friends about good books I 168 130 142 66 12 read (Value of Reading) I liked to talk to my friends about what I was reading (Self-Concept as 159 127 145 70 17 Reader)
The self-concept as reader and value of reading were further considered specifically as related to reading Harry Potter (Q24).
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Table 2 Attitudes toward reading Harry Potter books (Q24) Question asked and aspect of reading evaluated Very (self concept or value of reading) Often Often Sometimes Rarely Never I encouraged my friends to read Harry 294 108 79 25 7 Potter (Value of Reading) I think the Harry Potter books 185 85 95 63 51 motivated me to read more than I did before I read them (Self-Concept as Reader) I read books for fun before I started 224 89 86 68 44 reading Harry Potter (Self-Concept as Reader) I thought it was important to read 8 19 33 73 328 Harry Potter to feel ‘in’ with my friends (Value of Reading) Reading Harry Potter increased my 132 103 128 69 48 interest in reading other books (Value of Reading) After reading Harry Potter I felt more 116 78 104 64 78 confidence in my reading ability (Self- Concept as Reader)
Harry Potter survey subjects were generally in agreement that reading books that were sequels or part of a series by the same author (Q28) was pleasing because they liked reading about the same characters, appreciated the style of writing, and were curious about what happened next.
Table 3 Importance of items when selecting books which were part of a series by the same author (Q28) Very Often Sometimes Rarely Never Often You knew what to expect in the story 46 77 190 130 60 You were curious about what happens 374 117 14 3 2 next You liked the general style of writing 307 153 37 7 5 You liked reading about the same 314 133 50 9 1 characters
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Reading Preferences Readers responding to this study identified “Fantasy” and “Adventure” as the kinds of books they most often read while growing up (Q26). “Fantasy” books were identified as being read “Often” or “Very Often” by 400 subjects (77.8%), with “Adventure” books read “Often or Very Often” by 329 subjects (64%). “Romance Novels” were the least preferred kind of book, identified as being read “Rarely” or “Never” by 352 subjects (62.9%).
Table 4 Frequency each kind of book was read by subjects as they grew up (Q26) Very Often Often Sometimes Rarely Never
Adventure 147 181 142 36 5 Fantasy 249 151 74 28 9 Historical Fiction 92 83 140 136 58 Horror 44 54 102 140 166 Humor 50 113 191 112 40 Mysteries or detective fiction 88 122 163 101 34 Non-fiction 55 75 122 190 67 Romance novels 31 40 76 124 228 Romantic fiction 55 68 86 119 174 Science fiction 88 97 118 120 74
Reading for fun When asked how frequently they read for fun (Q29), more than half of the Harry Potter survey subjects were likely to read for fun nearly every day.
Table 5 Frequency read for fun (Q29) Response Percent Response Count Every day 26.3% 134 4-6 times a week 25.7% 131 2-3 times a week 23.2% 118 Once a week 9.0% 46 Less than once a week 12.2% 62 Never 3.5% 18
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Nearly half of the Harry Potter survey subjects reported reading for pleasure six or more hours per week (Q39, Table 6). The most frequent response was “10 hours or more” selected by 90 (17.7%) subjects, while the least frequently selected response “less than one hour per week” was selected by 47 (9.3%) subjects.
Table 6 Hours spent reading for fun or pleasure each week (Q30) Response Percent Response Count
Less than 1hour per week 9.3% 47 1 4.1% 21 2 8.7% 44 3 9.6% 49 4 8.1% 41 5 10.6% 54 6 8.9% 45 7 7.5% 38 8 8.3% 42 9 7.3% 37 10 or more hours per week 17.7% 90
The number of books read for pleasure (Q 32, Table 8), as well as the hours per week spent reading for pleasure (Q30, Table 6) show the value this group of readers places on the time they spend reading, particularly when considered alongside the number of hours they spent reading for school or work (Q31, Table 7).
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Table 7 Hours spent reading for school or work each week (Q31) Response Percent Response Count
Less than 1 hour per week 8.7% 44 1 6.3% 32 2 14.1% 71 3 13.1% 66 4 11.1% 56 5 12.5% 63 6 7.9% 40 7 4.6% 23 8 6.1% 31 9 5.3% 27 10 or more hours per week 10.3% 52
The number of hours and frequency of reading for fun was reflected in the number of books read by these young readers (Q32), with over 70% reading more than one book a week for pleasure.
Table 8 Number of books read for pleasure in an average week (Q32) Response Percent Response Count
Less than 1 book per week 27.2% 138 1 29.6% 150 2 22.5% 114 3 11.8% 60 4 3.7% 19 5 2.0% 10 6 0.2% 1 7 0.6% 3 8 0.4% 2 9 1.0% 5 10 or more books per week 1.0% 5
Based on the data collected, the typical Harry Potter reader who responded to this survey was a white/Caucasian female who was born in 1988 (median) or 1989 (mode). She heard about Harry Potter from her parents or another family member, first read Harry Potter in
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1999 and is currently in high school (mode) or college (median). When it comes to reading Harry Potter multiple times, she’s read the first book more than ten times and only read the seventh book twice (so far anyhow!). Her self-concept as a reader and value of reading are both very high, although her close friends only sometimes think reading is fun it was something she really liked to do. Encouraging friends to read Harry Potter was something this young reader often did even though she didn’t feel it was important herself to read Harry Potter in order to feel ‘in’ with her friends. Other kinds of books read were most often fantasy and least likely to be romance or horror. She reads for fun every day, reading one book and ten or more hours each week as well as reading another two hours a week for school or work. This section has considered the numerical aspects of this group of Harry Potter readers, but numbers can only provide part of this story. In order to more clearly understand the reasons these young readers believe they were motivated to read Harry Potter requires analysis of the responses to the open-ended questions on this survey. This analysis is discussed in the next section of this chapter.
Qualitative Data Analysis
The question of reader motivation over the period of time the Harry Potter series was published was complex and required consideration of many facets identified in responses of this group of readers’ reading experiences. The young readers who submitted questionnaire responses were motivated to read the Harry Potter books by a wide array of people and reasons. Aspects considered in this discussion not only reflect reasons these readers were initially motivated to read Harry Potter, but also consider the changing perspectives, interests, and motivations of this group of readers as they continued to read the Harry Potter books over the 11 years they were published. As discussed in Chapter Three, preliminary review of open-ended survey question responses led to recognition that the statements with the greatest insight and detail relating to the motivation and response of readers were largely found in responses to four open-ended questions: Q12, What happened or was said that first led you to read a Harry Potter book?; Q15, Please describe the primary reason(s) you decided to reread one or more of the Harry Potter books; Q 34, You grew from an adolescent to a young adult in tandem with Harry
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Potter. In what ways did this impact your experience reading this series; and Q35, In what ways did your motivation or approach to reading Harry Potter change as you grew up? The decision to focus qualitative analysis on the responses of these four questions was reinforced with the recognition that responses to the other questions were for the most part focused on aspects other than the research questions and those responses that did include some related content were repetitive of observations found within responses to the selected questions.
Concept Nodes and Development of Factor Categories
Preliminary review of the open-ended question responses led to development of 35 initial concept nodes. A concept node is an abstract representation of an event or reason a young reader might have initially read or continued to read Harry Potter. NVivo was used to code any passages of text in the open-ended survey responses relating to the event or reason described by the concept node. After coding was complete, all passages of text associated with each concept node were reviewed and the concept node titles revised as necessary to describe most clearly the abstract representation associated with the event or reason that particular young reader described. Categories were developed using NVivo to model different combinations of concept nodes into groups in order to identify combinations with a distinct theme. Because these categories or sets of concept nodes represent overall factors that motivated young readers to read Harry Potter, they are referred to as factor categories in this chapter. Multiple revisions of potentially appropriate combinations were reviewed before the final nine factor categories were determined. The following diagram (Figure 11) generated with NVivo is a model of the relationships between factor categories and concept nodes resulting from this data analysis.
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Figure 11. NVivo concept nodes to factor categories relationship model
Table 9 provides a list of the concept nodes associated with each factor category. These have been included here because both quantitative and qualitative responses influenced the development of the concept nodes and the factor categories. This shows the specific nodes identified during analysis of quantitative data for deeper inquiry and understanding.
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Table 9 Relationship of quantitative data and concept nodes to factor categories Concept Nodes Phase One Related Category Question Number or Categories (and response letter when explicatory) Complex storyline 25b, 25c Dense details Fan fiction 25c Find out what happened next 25b Found less important plotlines 4, 14, 25b Found new or different things or 4, 14, 25b elements #1 Detail and depth Increase in complexity as series of storylines progressed
Intricacy of the story 25b, 25c Need to read more than once to get all 4, 14, 25c the details Story in later books ties to details in 25b, c prior books To theorize or try to figure out what 25b would happen next #2 Associations Emotional attachment to characters 24d, 24i with and Experienced things simultaneously emotional with main characters attachments to Personal connection with the story characters Saw characters as role models 25d
Turned to books for comfort or to help get through something Need to read more than once to get all 4, 14, 25b, 25c, 25d the details #3 Storylines and Refamiliarize self with world of 4, 14, 25a,b,c,d connections Harry Potter between books Story in later books ties to details in 4, 14, 25b, c, d prior books To theorize or try to figure out what 25b, c, d would happen next
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Table 9 (continued) Relationship of quantitative data and concept nodes to factor categories Concept Nodes Phase One Related Category Question Number or Categories (response letter when explicatory) An escape or break from reality 25a Envisioned self in Harry Potter’s world Let imagination run wild #4 Envisioning self Revisit childhood within world of Sought refuge or comfort Harry Potter To relive the story 4, 14
Turned to books for comfort or to help get through something World different than my own Grew up with them #5 Revisiting a piece of Like an old friend 25d childhood Revisit childhood
Saw characters as role models
#6 Books are fun or A fun or enjoyable read 4, 14, 24b, 25a easy to read Couldn't find another good book to read 4, 14, 24i Creativity of Rowling's writing 25c #7 Creativity and Dense details originality of Increase in complexity as series 25c writing progressed Intricacy of the story 25b, 25c Realistic Style of writing or way they were written 25c New book coming out 11, 25b New movie coming out 11, 25b #8 New book or movie Refamiliarize self with world of Harry 4, 14, 25b release Potter
To theorize or try to figure out what 25b would happen next Didn't want to read at first 24k (a negative relationship; unanticipated, but clearly related #9 Influence of others to 24k) reading the books Fan fiction 24h, 24k Part of a family of Harry Potter fans 11, 24g, 24h, 24k To see what friends or family were 24k, talking about
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The following section of the data analysis chapter discusses each of the nine factor categories developed after reviewing the concept nodes and their coded quotations.
Factor Categories
Included in the supporting data for each factor category are: an initial summary description of the factors or reasons identified in readers’ responses as motivating them to read Harry Potter; a list of the concept nodes that lead to development of the motivating factor or reason; and quotations from coded passages of open-ended question responses that illustrate facets of the concept nodes reflected in this factor category. As shown in Figure 11 and Table 9, an individual concept node could be utilized with more than one factory category. Quotations retain all original formatting or typographical errors. Because of the numerous errors that naturally occur in rapid text messaging the use of [sic] was disregarded in order to allow for the flow of the text. Although not in line with the Publication Manual (APA, 2001), the decision to stay true to the actual speech was made “because it is the orientations, meanings, interpretations, understandings, etc. of the participants… it is those characterizations which are privileged in the constitution of social-interactional reality, and therefore have a prima facie claim to being privileged.” (Schegloff, 1997, pp. 166-167, emphasis in original) During the design of the research it was determined that a minimum of 30 responses would be necessary to attain data saturation. The ability to meet the minimum criterion was not a concern due to the large number surveys submitted by subjects meeting the study criteria. A total of 649 surveys meeting the study criteria resulted in 1941 responses to the four open-ended questions analyzed in this study (Table 11). The length of responses ranged from a single word or phrase to multiple paragraphs. Because open-ended questions did not require an answer there were differences in the number of responses received for each question. In order to maximize variation and ensure a broad range of subjects were included a maximum of one quotation per subject has been included for each concept node in the following discussion. Follow-up interviews were conducted with four young readers selected from the 294 Harry Potter survey subjects who volunteered to participate in follow-up interview (Q37). The diversity among those who were interviewed included differences in birth year, with one born in 1984, one born in 1987, and two born in 1990 and ethnicity, with two subjects identifying White/Caucasian as their ethnic background, one selecting Hispanic/Latin American, and one “Some other ethnic background”. All four interview subjects were female.
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The interviews enabled the ability to increase the credibility and validity of the factor categories by confirming outcomes and obtaining additional insights, observations, and clarifications. The triangulation of research methods and crosscheck of findings reduced the potential impact of intrinsic bias present in a single-observer study and increased the credibility and validity of the results. The interview questions were semi-structured (Appendix J) allowing for flexibility while remaining focused on the factor categories that emerged as having the greatest impact on motivation to read: influence of friends or others who were reading the books, detail and depth of storylines, associations with characters, envisioning self within world of Harry Potter or revisiting childhood, and the ways reading Harry Potter did (or didn’t) influence future reading choices. A brief summary of aspects that were confirmed or explained more fully during the follow-up interviews has been provided in each factor category discussion under the sub-heading “Follow-up interview insights and quotations.”
Table 10 Responses received to open-ended survey questions selected for qualitative analysis Number of Open-Ended Survey Question Responses Received
12. What happened or was said that first led you to read a Harry Potter 546 book? 15. Please describe the primary reason(s) you decided to reread one or 516 more of the Harry Potter books. 34. You grew from an adolescent to a young adult in tandem with 443 Harry Potter. In what ways did this impact your experience reading this series? 35. In what ways did your motivation or approach to reading Harry 436 Potter change as you grew up?
Factor Category #1: Detail and depth of storylines The dense detail and complex intricacy of the storyline across the seven Harry Potter books enhanced the reading experience, particularly when the books were read multiple times. This was not only identified as an attribute when rereading the early books in the series, but also mentioned as a necessity in order to identify and absorb fully the rich detail found in later books. The suspense of finding out what would happen next kept interest high until the final
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book was published, while the complexity and detail in the final story motivated many readers to return and read earlier books in the series yet again.
Related Concept Nodes:
Intricacy of the story The story line is complex and is carefully woven throughout the series. One reading isn't enough to get all of the details. As I grew up the books continued to interest me because they became more complex and fascinating as the series progressed. Increase in complexity as series progressed As you grow up, you notice more things about the characters and their own motivations, you are able to delve deeper into the plot and raise more interesting questions
Found new or different things or elements Its so multi-layered. The story itself is so appealing and every time you read it you discover things you hadn't the first time you read it. I would actively reread the books - for fun and to look for things I hadn't noticed or clues for future books. I felt like there were so many elements to the story that I didnt get the first time reading it. I wanted to know everything there is about them. Everytime I read the books, I find something new, or I understand a joke better The vast amount of information in each book that tied into the next book made me read it. There are so many different unique characters and plot lines that draw you in. Just one simple read through is not enough to absorb the wonderful world. The Harry Potter series is just so different from any other book or series. You catch new things each time you reread the books that you didn't catch or understand before. It's like a new adventure, even though you've already read the books.
Intricacy of the story The story line is complex and is carefully woven throughout the series. The subtext and the stuff between the lines became much more interesting to me than wondering what would happen in the next quidditch game.
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Dense details It is so well laid out and detailed its exceedingly difficult not to read these books numerous times. Need to read more than once to get all the details I didn't want to miss a single part of it, and I felt like I needed to read them more than once to make sure I got it all.
To theorize or try to figure out what would happen next It started as a fun story and evolved into me trying to unravel the mysteries of the book. Putting time and effort into theorizing about the potential outcomes for future books in a series was something I never anticipated myself doing! When I was younger I reread merely to come back to Harry's world and relive the story. As I've grown up I have more interest in understanding the symbolism, plot devices, and rhetorical devices. I discovered something new during each reading, be it something I just didn't notice before or a clue to what would happen later on in the series. I always have an intense desire to know what happens next, although for Deathly Hallows I did much more predicting. The various mysteries that were planted throughout the series also motivated me to see how the series would end. I would wait hours in line before the books got released just so i could go home and read what happened to harry, ron and hermione next. As time went on, the drive was always wanting to see what happened next. What could these characters go through? What fate would befall any of them? Would they succeed, or fail? As the storyline got better and longer I wanted to know what else would happen which fueled my interested in the next books. Well the motivation was always "how is the story going to progress?" "what is going to change?" "What is the unexpected outcome?"
Story in later books ties to details in prior books I started rereading to look for clues as to any foreshadowing & to pick up little things that seem trivial at the time but looking back are major. No other book has captivated me so much like Harry Potter. Sometimes it's like "I Spy" when I reread the books. It's amazing to see the little, seemingly innocent things Rowling added to a book and find that it becomes of great importance later.
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Found less obvious or important plotlines No matter how many times you read it, there's always some new detail or subplot that you didn't recognize before, but now do since it came full-circle in later books. But as I got older, I began to realize that the story is not about the magic, and waving wands and defeating evil. It's about choices that you make that lead you in different directions... what happens if you choose this path or that one - when I figured out this point of the story, I began reading on a much deeper level.
Fandom or fan fiction The Harry Potter series created a world that I wanted to visit again and again. I have a fansite on Harry Potter and needed to obtain information from the books. As I grew older, I became more involved in "fandom," though I've since grown away from that too. I began to read the books more actively, searching for clues and hidden meanings. As more books came out and I slowly slipped deeper into the fandom, I would actively reread the books - for fun and to look for things I hadn't noticed or clues for future books. I got into writing fanfiction or making fan videos, and now I am going into editing school and writing my own fiction stories
Follow-up interview insights and quotations: The subjects participating in the follow-up interviews confirmed the perception that the dense detail and complex intricacy of the storyline strongly impacted their reading experiences. They expanded upon the importance of the rich detail and depth in the stories as an aspect of motivating reading. The perception that the way the books were read changed as readers matured was clarified and expanded by several interview subjects who discussed their increased awareness and interest in subtext and themes as they matured.
I was definitely involved in the online HP community; it was a lot of fun =]. Writing... I do a bit of a mix; fantasy, fiction, nonfiction. I have noticed that HP fans love to talk theory and to write - my friend that I mentioned before writes for our literary magazing . magazine*(Phase Two interview) As I grew up and the characters got older, the series began turning away from the academic side of the story and began to really delve into the meaning behind it all - aka the plot of Voldemort and his connection to Harry. It became more about reading the story and knowing what happens and understand the deeper subtexts about the themes than just a fun adventure/fantasy/school story like it used to be when we were younger. We began to theorize about racial equality (as evidenced in wizards' treatment of squibs,
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muggles , and mudbloods, among many others), government control and censorship, tyranny and what power we had to make change. (Phase Two interview) At first I read them just because I loved them so much, but then after that, I started analyzing them more, looking for hidden meanings, and predicting what was going to happen next. Now we (my online friends in particular) focus mostly on topics Rowling doesn't really address; Tom's early years, mostly. The setting of the castle is the same, but the time is different, one that wasn't explored by Rowling. I did write, in class once out of boredom, a little paper on Tom's darkness. It was rather abstract, a bit dark, but that's Tom. (Phase Two interview)
Factor Category # 2: Associations with and emotional attachments to characters Characters became as familiar to these readers as real people and the attachment to Harry Potter and his friends became stronger as the series progressed. Situations in the books were more real to some readers than distant events in the real world. The experience of growing up along with the characters enhanced the engagement particularly when readers shared common experiences with one or more characters.
Related Concept Nodes:
Emotional attachment to characters I grew up with Harry Potter, who was as real to me as the war in Iraq, or perhaps even more real. He and his friends (and enemies) aged as I aged, experienced some things as I experienced them; this was great motivation to keep reading the book when I needed fictional solace. For awhile my age was actually the same or almost the same as Harry's in the series. As Harry's life got more difficult as the series went on, so did mine, though in different ways. I grew to relate to Harry even more than I had previously As I grew with the series I grew to be very invested in the characters. I was much more emotionally attached to them as I grew because they were a part of me. It was the attachment to the characters that drove the urge to read, and continue to read, and re-read to see what information was missed. It was the characters. When I was younger I read it because it was fun and imaginative. As I grew older I read it because I began to connect with the characters and identify with them. It was, when the magic was put aside, like I was reading about similar events in my own life. I've always had the sense that Harry & Co. are going about their lives at the same time as we are, in a different plane at once unimaginably distant and accessible with the touch
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of a page. The time that elapses painfully between each new book is not merely however long it takes for Rowling to sculpt the next installment. These characters are living beings, and the agony of waiting is wondering what's happening to them now.
Experienced things simultaneously with main characters Things that would happen in my life would mirror things that would happen in the story. I enjoyed that the story became increasingly complex as I grew more able to understand everything that was going on.
Personal connection with the story He and his friends (and enemies) aged as I aged, experienced some things as I experienced them; this was great motivation to keep reading the book when I needed fictional solace. I had to have a judicial hearing and I read Order of the Phoenix beforehand to give me hope that if Harry could be cleared of all charges at the Ministry, then my situation could work out for the better.
Turned to books for comfort or to help get through something As Harry's life got more difficult as the series went on, so did mine, though in different ways. I grew to relate to Harry even more than I had previously. I grew up with Harry. If there was something wrong that happened in my life, Harry had it worse and there was a story to read. I think growing up in school where I was an outcast, and going through the horrible time period of life and all the troubles, it was like having friends when reading the books, because they were experiencing much of the same problems My best friend died in 5th grade and my teacher, who considered me one of the top readers in the class, insisted I read Harry Potter for an escape from my grief.
Saw characters as role models I took little things from the characters to shape myself. i felt like i wasn't alone that as long as i opened up the books and read there was someone or people who even though were imaginary characters i could relate to the struggles they went through and that it lifted my spirits because from 2006 through spring of 2008 i battled depression and the books were part of what helped me perserve and overcome it. I almost committed suicide and it was the Harry Potter series that kept me from cutting my wrist a few times, because they helped me get throught the day because i knew if i could just get to the point of my day where i could read it took me away from everything i was dealing with.
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Follow-up interview insights and quotations: Interview subjects confirmed that they felt strong associations and affection towards the characters. When interviewed subjects were asked to discuss to discuss the feeling that they knew these characters and had strong emotional attachments, examples showed the strength of connection was enhanced when a common experience was shared with a character:
i liked how she [joe] made the main characters like harry , hermione , ron ordinary people even below average, and yet they still capable of being great, good i also respected how she looked to the view of children - as i was one then - how important we were- how capable of being hero's where parents/adults failed. i liked how the children really proved themselves to themselves, each other, and the teacher 'adult' world. and i also suppose that seeing characters grow through a series, like soap operas is slightly addicting (Phase Two interview) I know for a fact that I have never re-read a book or book series as many times as I have Harry Potter. I think I became so entranced with JKR's world because it detailed the life of an ordinary boy who had had terrible trauma in his past, and who, against all odds, triumphed at the end. I was able to identify with him - I've had some pretty... horrible... events color my past - and he was someone to look to for hope, even if he was just a character in a book. I can't even begin to describe how many times the book's saved me. It's a strange thing to look to for help/hope, but it's what I did…. Other books engaged me, but not nearly as much in strength as HP. The characters in HP are just so much stronger than any other fantasy series, or any series for that matter, ever were. (Phase Two interview) I began reading HP just for fun, but over time I found myself reading more for the emersion in the characters that just the adventure. The character relationships and interations are still what keep drawing me back again and again. (Phase Two interview) It almost felt like I was reading about people I knew and when ever something bad happened I would find myself jumping on the couch going 'NO!' (Phase Two interview)
Factor Category #3: Storylines and connections between books The detail in the books, particularly aspects linking storylines across volumes in the series provided the motivation for many readers to not only continue reading until the final book was published but to return and revisit earlier books in order to follow threads in story that weren’t initially evident.
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Related Concept Nodes:
Need to read more than once to get all the details When I would read a book, I would read through it as fast as i could to get the information, but then i would always go back and get the bigger details and work out different theories for future novels. Harry Potter nevers gets old. No matter how many times you read it, there's always some new detail or subplot that you didn't recognize before, but now do since it came full- circle in later books. JKR's plot is just so involved that you WANT to go back Harry Potter has so many plot lines that are so skillfully woven into the story that it's possible to overlook them. I found that each time I reread them I picked up on something new.
To theorize or try to figure out what would happen next When I would read a book, I would read through it as fast as i could to get the information, but then i would always go back and get the bigger details and work out different theories for future novels. I loved growing up as the series was coming out. It made me become a better reader. It made me reread the books several times, creating theories as to what was coming next.
Story in later books ties to details in prior books There are so many different elements to the series. There are details you read in book seven that relate to something you read in the first book, and you reread them to tie together any loose ends. I loved finding bits where she had mentioned something casually in one book, only to discover it was a big part of one of the later books in the series. the clues that mrs. rowling put in about the next book that i had a hard time getting till the next book came out They are my favorite books and often things that you find out at the end of the book or books make you want to reread previous sections.
Refamiliarize self with world of Harry Potter The story is complex and pieces from book one are explained in other books - same goes with each book
Follow-up interview insights and quotations: Interviews emphasized the links between books and gave examples of a small detail that became important in a later book; these examples occurred particularly when they were discussing reasons for repeated readings. .
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Expect the unexpected. Expect J.K. Rowling to catch you off-guard by killing someone off (like a Weasley twin) or refer to something in the 3rd book that was referenced in the 1st. You learned to stretch your brain and recall all you knew about Harry Potter up to that point. (Phase Two interview) I was a "shipper" of Remus and Sirius, so after the first breakneck reading of a new book I would go back and read more analytically, looking for allusions to appease my inner literature nerd and subtext to soothe the fangirl in me. (Phase Two interview) As I matured a person, Harry matured along with me. The books become more complex, dark, and the plot thickened. I felt more and more challenged by the later books, and my love for Harry Potter only intensified as I grew up. (Phase Two interview) i like the series idea, growing of characters, kids perspective/trust, good mystery, good morals, just a feeling of good altogether - andi was proud that a good thing in the world was succeeding (Phase Two interview)
Factor Category #4: Envisioning self within world of Harry Potter Not only did readers find characters who shared experiences they were able to relate to their own lives, readers also found the books to be a place in which they could both lose themselves within or envision themselves in. They often found it was a welcome place where they were able to escape from the real world when having problems ranging from a bad day to the death of a parent. The feeling of escaping while reading the books was identified as an aspect in over 100 different responses. A similar experience to the escape felt by readers was the ability of readers to envision they were in the world of Harry Potter. Readers found the world so clearly described it became an easy place to envision visiting.
Related Concept Nodes:
Envisioned self in Harry Potter’s world When I first started I wanted it to be real and I wanted it to be my life so bad. As I grew up I realized that Harry Potter could never happen, but I could still escape to Hogwarts in my head while I was reading I know for the first couple books, I used to fantasize about owls delivering my late admission letter to Hogwarts--"Sorry, the ruddy owls got lost on the way!"
Revisit childhood Reading Harry Potter helps me go into another world and another place in time. It takes me back to my childhood and gives me a warm feeling inside.
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To relive the story Even though you already know what is going to happen, it's still great to relive the story. HP is just that exciting enough to want reread whenever possible. If it weren't for school, my reread numbers would be much higher.
World different than my own From when I was young until now it has always allowed me into a world different then my own. It is like exploring a brand new world with new problems and new perks. It is so well laid out and detailed its exceedingly difficult not to read these books numerous times The feeling of being in another world. An exciting world. A world were , if not all of life’sproblems, but most of lifes problems can be forgot , for the time being! I just loved the world that J.K. Rowling created in her books. I wanted to visit it again and again, soaking up more each time. I didn't want to miss a single part of it, and I felt like I needed to read them more than once to make sure I got it all. J.K. Rowling's writing style is so different than any other style I've become familiar with. Written simply, it was still able to call to mind a world like no other, one that many authors would need to go into immense detail to describe. But really, the series was so MAGICAL (no other word to describe it), and not only did I love reading about the world, I wished I could be a PART of the world. I suppose that's the definition of fantasy--it's supposed to be a smidge cooler than the real world.
Let imagination run wild It was such an original story but unlike other books like the Lord of the Rings was really written in a manner that made it so easy to follow as a child and allowed me to understand just how a book could let your imagination run wild.
An escape or break from reality The story is so much more involving than most other books I've read and is thus a perfect way of escaping from one's own life Harry Potter was one of the few series that had me fall into its world. I read them because I could live in that world for a time and really feel with the characters, I fell in love with the fantasy and the magic. Some would say that imagining a world where magic is real and seeking refuge in that illusion is escapism...sure, it is...everyone is guilty of indulging in an escapist habit or vice...many kids in my year turned to alcohol or marijuana...others sought refuge in music or art...for me, my refuge was the Harry Potter books.. It was my way of leaving the real world that was full of stress
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When I read the series I did so to escape reality, escape my life for a bit and live in Harry's much cooler world. I had somewhere to go when I needed a break from my life, and somewhere I could go to find someone I could relate to.
Sought refuge or comfort I quess that growing up with Harry helped me really share in the experiences of reaching those awkward years and high school and stuff. The books were also something i read when i was having a bad day or something. I would lock my self in my room and just read for hours. I entered a different world everytime . My identification with Harry during my pre-teen years also lead me to seek "refuge" in the series. Harry and the other characters became my comfort when I was lonely
Turned to books for comfort or to help get through something I was growing up, experiencing things on my own, and feeling pain, and during those times I did turn to Harry to comfort me and help me get through some things. Harry Potter became much more important to me as each book was realesed because the books became my only known and comforting resource to help guide me through my grief of losing loved ones. The 5th book was one of the most important because it was released a meer two weeks after I watched my mother die. Harry, in the 4th book, watched Cedric die and after I lost my mom I imagined myself being able to see Thestrals (the magical creature only visible to those who have seen death) All I had to do was dive back into the books and I had no choice but to leave my world full of problems behind and follow
Follow-up interview insights and quotations: The readers who participated in the interviews confirmed the sensation of being able to escape through the pages of the books. Expanding upon this concept, explanations ranged from choosing books based on mood to using the books to open a door to their imagination. Also reinforced during the interviews was the importance of these books because they provided a way to escape reality during periods of trauma or stress. One insight not identified in responses to the survey questions was the aversion to the books in a recorded format because of the potential influence of the performance on the perceptions the reader developed while reading the book.
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I would imagine spending time with Ron and Harry at the Leaky Cauldren , going to Hogwarts, etc. Even now I feel like I can closely relate to the characters, as if I knew then in reality. (Phase Two interview) I like to read them out of order; I choose the book depending on my mood/state of mind. Book five is extremely riddled with angst. I tend to read that one if I'm angry or upset emotionally in any way. The sixth one, probably one of my absolute favorites, I read when I'm in the mood to find deeper meaning in something; learning about Voldemort's earliest years were fascinating! Why he became who he was... yet... it leaves most of his past and reason for his dark-rise up to speculation, up to the reader; it says so much without saying very much at all. (Phase Two interview) When asked if she listened to any recordings of the Harry Potter books, the subject replied: No - I like to have their voices up to me, how Iread them up to me. If I listened to recordings I think it would detract from the magic. I love experience of losing myself in the story - and prefer the world I see to what others see... I guess maybe I just don't want the influence of a performance to impact my perception (Phase Two interview) I was able to use the books as an escape from my life. It was like a door to my imagination. Harry potter came to me right before that horrible awkward period in life and when things were bad I could go into the world of harry potter and escape for as long as I wanted (Phase Two interview) Factor Category #5: Revisiting a piece of childhood The experience of revisiting or reflecting upon childhood experiences was related in many different ways to responses submitted for this study. Readers felt they were visiting much loved old friends in a place they hadn’t been in a while. What they hold in common is the way in which the experience of reading the story has provided a bridge for the reader to revisit childhood memories while revisiting the world of Harry Potter.
Related Concept Nodes:
Revisit childhood It takes me back to my childhood and gives me a warm feeling inside. More than anything as I grew up my approch became to read it more slowly to make it last so that I can experience what made my childhood so wonderful all over again. I don't really know. I just love the characters and the fact that they were around my age while I read the first time, so it's a bit like reliving my adolescence when I reread them
Grew up with them When I think back on childhood, Harry Potter is my defining experience.
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Harry Potter is like an old friend that I grew up with. I am always interested in going back and "reminiscing" about the old times. I enjoy reading them over and over again, because I feel like I grew up with them, like I know them.
Like an old friend It was almost like growing up with a friend. I couldn't help but want to keep reading and learning about his experiences. With Harry Potter, it's like revisiting much loved friends in a place I haven't been in a while. As I got older, after reading them for so long, I was sort of getting attached to the characters, so it was a little like reading about my friends, rather than some characters in a book. Harry became a part of me. I grew up with him, and it was easy for me to step into his shoes. Growing up with Harry made every new book feel like getting to talk to an old friend again after a long time apart.
Saw characters as role models I saw the characters as role models and the books were very entertaining for me, so I'd just reread them.
Follow-up interview insights and quotations: The relationship of childhood and Harry Potter was one that the interview subjects also found to be strongly associated. During interviews, the feeling of being with friends while reading or revisiting a simpler time in the lives was frequently identified.
I became more and more enthusiastic about Harry Potter as I grew up because I was struggling to hold on to my childhood. The world is intimidating at times and because I moved from city to city I needed the reassurance of friends who had always been there for me, friends who I had grown up with (Phase Two interview) Book one is innocent, adventurous, fluffy - the only one of the series - and I'll read that if I'm really happy, or just want to relive the magic I felt when I first cracked open it's spine.... A rather large part of it was that I grew up with the books, and it was the first real book I'd ever read; not only that, but it was powerful, and something so influential that was sent to me at such a young age left its mark. (Phase Two interview) Factor Category #6: Books are fun or easy to read The pure joy and entertainment found in a book was reflected in this category. While the focus has often been on the complexity of story and interconnections in plots the fact that
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these books were just plain fun to read is an element that was also identified as motivating young readers to read and re-read these books.
Related Concept Nodes:
A fun or enjoyable read It is such an easy read, but isn't so light as to bore me. I always find I pick up on less important plotlines the second time. For me, Harry Potter is just very rereadable . Many books lose a lot of their enjoyment once I know how they end. When I was younger I read it because it was fun and imaginative. The story lines were easy to follow, and It was easy to get carried away in reading them, They were easy to read through and the intensity of the experience did not diminish with each read as it did with other books. They just make me feel different. A lot of the other books I read are more "high literature" - they make me think a lot. But Harry Potter just makes me happy. Pure entertainment. I really enjoy the way that JK Rowling writes, it is a form that I can read easily and I really enjoy the books.
Couldn't find another good book to read It was just about reliving the story each time. Sometimes, I couldn't find a good book to read so I just turned to Harry Potter.
Follow-up interview insights and quotations: This was not specifically discussed during the follow-up interviews; however, references to aspects of this factor category were found in responses to other interview questions. The entertainment and ease of reading were both mentioned, but the concept most emphasized in the interviews was simply the fun of reading the books.
The stroy lines were easy to follow, and It was easy to get carried away in reading them. (Phase Two interview) I read mostly for entertainment when I was little, you know, just to be able to finish the story, and have fun reading it. (Phase Two interview) They entertained me more. They were fun but wouldn't be what I would consider a children's book (Phase Two interview)
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Factor Category #7: Creativity and originality of writing Aspects of the way Rowling constructed her stories was reflected in a range of reasons identified as motivating young readers. The originality of names and places and almost constant introduction of new aspects and elements of the wizarding world were all reasons readers became and continued to remain enchanted with the world Rowling created.
Related Concept Nodes:
Style of writing or way they were written The writing style, characters, and themes of the book are just so good that you want to visit them over and over again. J.K. Rowling's writing style is so different than any other style I've become familiar with. Written simply, it was still able to call to mind a world like no other, one that many authors would need to go into immense detail to describe. The world JK Rowling creates is so original, yet accessible. It reaches into all my childhood fantasies and continues throughout my adolescence. I feel completely connected to the trials and challenges of her characters
Creativity of Rowling's writing I enjoy a multitude of books, but this series is so great at grabbing the reader's attention. It really brings you into a world you feel is magical… Rowling does a fantastic job creating tones and really stretches the imagination. The universe that was created was so complete it was easy to envision yourself in it. The creativity involved really intrigued me. The world she created was so intricate that I wanted to be submersed in it as much as I could.
Increase in complexity as series progressed The books and characters became more sophisticated just as I did. It may also be why I enjoy reading them over and over again, because I feel like I grew up with them, like I know them. I enjoyed that the story became increasingly complex as I grew more able to understand everything that was going on.
Realistic HP was oddly enough realistic. something i could actually relate too - as in the range of characters. perhaps it was the only school book series at the time which had the small student actually accomplish something
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I think a big part of the success of the books is J.K. Rowlings writing style. Her characters are so real that I have to confess that I've never really cared as much for any characters as much I care for the characters she created. The only writer I hold above her is Jane Austen.
Follow-up interview insights and quotations: This was not an aspect focused on during the interviews and there were no related references during discussions of other aspects that were found to either support or refute the findings of this factor category.
Factor Category #8: New book or movie release The release of a new Harry Potter book or movie often provided the stimulus for readers to return for a visit with old friends in the world of Hogwarts. Some began again with the first book and read the entire series while others only revisited the prior book. Regardless of whether they returned to the beginning or only refreshed their memory of recent events, the details foreshadowing the plot of the anticipated book were most often sought.
Related Concept Nodes:
Refamiliarize self with world of Harry Potter to compare the movie vs the book. And when a new book came out- I wanted to be refreshed on what happened previously. The story is complex and pieces from book one are explained in other books - same goes with each book.
To theorize or try to figure out what would happen next As the stories became more grown up and intricate, I became more and more excited about each new book and read the books with different points of view to try to figure out what would happen next. New book coming out Those books were so big and indepth that I felt rereading them would make the new books better reads, because I had forgotten so much from them. I just loved them, and there was so much information to them that I felt I really needed to reread them to be fully ready to read the next one. Plus, they were such an easy read and really entertaining. As the later books came out, I reread the earlier books to refresh my memory about the plot and to get excited about the new release.
New movie coming out
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When the movies came out, I definitely wanted to read the books to find out what was missed in the movies. I loved the stories and wanted to compare the books to the movies as they came out.
Follow-up interview insights and quotations: Responses to interview questions concurred with the perspective that the release of a new book or movie frequently motivated reading Harry Potter. The feeling of revisiting with old friends was also echoed. One aspect of discussion during the interviews that differs from the responses to the survey questions was dissatisfaction with the differences between the characters or world of Hogwarts created within the mind of the reader and the world presented by Warner Bros. on the movie screen.
Growing up with Harry made every new book feel like getting to talk to an old friend again after a long time apart. The entire reading experience became a personal thing, regardless of the fact that the rest of the world probably felt the same way. (Phase Two interview) For a while I sort of resented the movies. I mean, I was excited for them, but they changed my perception on the little things. Harry never looked/acted differently because of them, nor did any of the other characters, but certain scenery did change, and sometimes, when I'd be reading one of the books again, the same feeling I'd had whilst reading them before the movies was no longer there. It's a difficult feeling to explain... It's like part of the magic had been siphoned out of the book to make way for the movie, if that makes any sense. (Phase Two interview) i always ALWAYS ALWAYS valued the books over any movie. joe made the magic, not warner brothers movies are just fun - you know real and stuff - but if i were to really imagine the characters, i dont think the movie is good enough, except in a few characters like hagrid , he's perfect, tom riddle is good… not voldemort(Phase Two interview)
Factor Category #9 Influence of friends reading the books The most frequently identified motivation for initially reading Harry Potter was found to be friends. While friends were frequently specifically identified as recommending the books, they also motivated new readers simply through the act of reading the books in public or by being overheard while talking about the books. A sub-category are responses from readers who initially did not want to read Harry Potter yet found themselves drawn into reading the series as a result of their friends.
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After friends, parents were most often identified as providing initial motivation for reading Harry Potter. Reasons for this ranged from suggesting the books because they had heard other young readers enjoyed Harry Potter to buying the books or otherwise making them available to the young readers. Parents were also identified by readers as unintentionally providing them with the motivation to read Harry Potter. The exploration of what initially attracted young readers to the Harry Potter books illustrates the importance of friends and family as well as teachers and librarians in initially motivating readers.
Related Concept Nodes
To see what friends or family were talking about At first, I started to read the book just to see what my friends were talking about. I was a rebel, my parentes told me I wasn't allowed to read Harry Potter because it had witchcraf. So of course I had to read them. and I fell in love with them "Don't read those! They have witch craft in them!" There were so many friends raving about Harry Potter. I had to become enthralled by the series. I saw a friend of mine reading it in class My friend at school was actually reading it in Algebra. I was on the school bus, and I was sitting with a friend who had a book wrapped in a scarf in her lap. She unwrapped it, and said, "This is the brand new Harry Potter book." She removed the scarf as if she were uncovering a great treasure. My friend told me how much she could get lost in them A friend told me "I know that it doesn't sound believable, but these books really are as great as people are making them out to be. The first chapter has an odd title. It's called "The Boy Who Lived," but it'll all make sense soon enough."
Didn't want to read at first I was opposed to reading the series at first. However, when I started reading, I realized how addicting they were. Originally I thought the Harry Potter books were stupid, when all my friends we reading them. And then my dad told me about them making a movie out of it, and he said i should give the books a shot. I did and i became obsessed.
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At first I was not intrested at all in the books, but my friends were always talking about them and analyzing them, so that really led me into the first book. I picked it up and couldn't put it down Wanted to prove to a friend that the series was not so great I was in class and I saw my best friend reading the third one. At the time I was really into romance novels so I thought that it was a going to be a stupid book. I didn't want to read it because it was trendy, but my best friend told me I had to. It wasn't a choice, she said. It's just THAT good.
Part of a family of Harry Potter fans The truth is, what changed the most was that I went from being just a girl reading a book to being Part of a Phenomenon. Which was kind of neat--by the fourth book there was this community of people doing this ultimately solitary thing (reading) together, and I really enjoyed that.
Fandom or fan fiction The Harry Potter series created a world that I wanted to visit again and again. I also became interested in fan fiction. I reread the series so I could better portray the characters in fan fiction of my own.
Follow-up interview insights and quotations: Interview responses supported both the impact of friends motivating the initial reading of Harry Potter as well as the initial resistance to reading Harry Potter because it seemed everyone was reading it.
I remember that reading was always something I wanted to do, so to me, reading HP was a way to further that love. It must have been one of the first REAL books/novels I ever read, and, if anything, it increased my desire, my love, of books, the written word. (Phase Two interview) I have friends who read HP to feel 'in', especially when first it started to become popular. They heard from their parents, their schools, the tv, teens, siblings, that it was this amazing entity. It was a conversation-starter, something to feel knowledgable about. (Phase Two interview) In the beginning, I was very weary of the books. In fact, I hated fantasy--witches and wizards just weren't real. But everyone--kids and adults alike--were reading them, so hesitantly, I did too. I guess I just never stopped and in the end, I learned to love and anticipate the adventures of Harry Potter. (Phase Two interview) At first, I wanted to see what the hubbub was all about. Then I wanted to see what happened next. By the end, I had such an emotional investment in the characters and outcome that I pretty much had to read. (Phase Two interview)
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Conclusion
This chapter provided an overview of the data analysis conducted during this study. The next chapter, Chapter 5, Conclusions, Implications and Areas of Further Interest, utilizes the results of the data analysis reported in this chapter to answer the research questions addressed by this study. The results are then related to representative national and international reading statistics, previously published Harry Potter reading research and the motivational and reader response theories that guided the study. Implications for the fields of information studies and reading are considered and limitations and areas of further research and inquiry identified.
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CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, AND AREAS OF FUTURE STUDY
The over-arching research question addressed by this study was “What motivated youth to read the Harry Potter series?” The three research questions (RQ) that contribute insights and guide development of proposed answers to this question are:
RQ 1. What are the general reading interests, habits, and attitudes towards reading of
the young readers who participated in this study?
RQ 2. What factors do young readers identify as initially attracting them to Harry
Potter? RQ 3. What factors do young readers identify as motivating them to continue to read Harry Potter?
All findings and conclusions are substantiated by data in Chapter Four. Referenced tables or figures are also in Chapter Four. The NVivo vernacular “factor category” and “concept node” used in Chapter Four have been replaced with the terms “factor” and “concept” in this chapter.
Conclusion
Overall, the findings of this study corroborate prior research. They expand the scope, emphasis and meaning of literary critical analysis themes by validating them with carefully elicited responses from young readers. What was thought or assumed before can now be discussed with more certainty and with more insight. In addition, a few previously unresearched motivations surfaced. It might be concluded by some reading this conclusion that adults can fairly satisfactorily describe motivations of young readers without asking them, making the investigation of reader response unnecessary. That notion would negate the findings of this study, which demonstrate that reader response provides insights into which factors are most important in motivating young readers, into how these readers express those factors (often not in the same language as that of scholars), and peer into the depth of emotion and feeling that lies
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behind the predominantly intrinsic motivations. The study also validates reader response theory in that many of the motivating factors reflect a personal transaction that occurs between an individual reader and the text. The just-stated conclusion of the following in depth interpretation of data is placed here in order to guide the reader through the many layers of complexity that are summarized and analyzed below. This decision was made so that the reader could concentrate on the nuances that are described throughout while keeping in mind their relationship to the ultimate outcome.
Nature of These Harry Potter Readers
Age The conclusion of the Harry Potter series provided a unique opportunity to explore reading motivation with those young readers who grew up at approximately the same pace and in the same time as Harry Potter and his friends. Many of Rowling's devoted readers began to read Harry Potter between 1997 and 1999 when they, like Harry, were 8- to 10-year-old children. Ten years later as the series reached its conclusion these readers had matured alongside Harry, Ron and Hermione, and while their lives may not have exactly paralleled Harry’s near constant life-or-death battles, they too found themselves on the verge of adulthood and entry into the “real world.” This group of young readers had the singular opportunity to grow up at approximately the same pace and in the same time period as Harry Potter and his friends. As each book was published these readers found a richly detailed world of magic with a hero near their own age. Then, along with the rest of the world, they had to wait a year, or two, or three for the next book to come out. By the time the true nature of evil was revealed with the deaths of beloved characters and Harry and his reader friends were forced to accept the fact that the world was not a particularly safe place, the original eight to ten year-old readers were in their teens. As the books grew in length and complexity these readers grew and matured as well. Today’s eight- to ten-year-old readers no longer have to wait for publication of the next book but rather have the opportunity to read all the books in the series. This means the experience of growing up with Harry Potter was a truly unique one and the opportunity to collect the reactions, experiences, and memories of these readers one that will never occur again. The year of birth data showed a clear trend, with the youngest readers more than twice
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as likely to complete and submit a survey as the oldest (Figure 3). A speculative reason for this is that the older readers mentioned many more ‘life demands,’ such as college and post- graduation jobs.
Other Characteristics About three fourths of the readers in the current study were white (Figure 12). This is approximately the same proportion of whites found in the general population of the United States. However, the percentage of readers who identified their ethnicity as Black/African American or Hispanic/Latin American was less than half the proportion found in the United States. The less-than-representative number of Hispanic and African American youth may be explained by the data that demonstrates less at-home access in the past for these two demographic groups, although the same would have been true for Native Americans.
Figure 12. Ethnic background of Harry Potter study readers compared to US population
When readers identified in other Harry Potter studies are considered alongside this study’s readers, this group reflects the ethnic background of the United States more closely than samples described in all but the studies conducted by Harry Potter’s American publisher (Scholastic Corporation & Yankelovich Inc., 2006, 2008). The Scholastic studies collected data from 25 regions of the United States and weighted final data with variables such as region, race and religion from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Current Population Survey. In any case, the current study is closer to representing the ethnic distribution of the U.S. in general than almost all other studies. This may have naturally occurred because of the larger sample size in this
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study. In addition, it should be noted that all U.S. statistics contain citizens of all ages, which may mean the Harry Potter sample is less representative than it appears. The Harry Potter readers in the current study were also more likely to be female. Observations of gender divides forming around reading practices and fan community construction are by no means new or unexpected. In 1986, reader-response critic David Bleich surveyed how male and female students read canonical literary texts. He concluded that the men that he studied tended to read for authorial meaning, noting a “strong narrational voice” shaping the text, whereas the women “experienced the narrative as a world, without a particularly strong sense that this world was narrated into existence” (p. 239). Bleich also observed that female readers saw their own “tacit inferences” as part of the story, whereas men disregarded such inferences and focused more on textual “accuracy” (p. 239). Jenkins suggests that the two communities’ activities parallel one another, as each engages in repeated re-readings of common narratives and draws on secondary texts for added information. Women read “associationally,” looking for interrelationships between their lives and the characters’ lives, while men read texts linearly, looking for additional information from characters and their relationships to “resolve their own syntagmatic questions concerning plot development” (1992, p. 108). Jenkins’ and Bleich’s foci, while dissimilar, converge at describing gendered differences in fans’ applications of texts. While there are many differences in the way male and female fans tend to read texts, what they do have in common is the interest in developing deeper or better understandings about characters and relationships in order to answer questions about the text. Because of the way the sample was drawn it may be skewed because females might be more likely to participate in the online communities in general or the Harry Potter communities specifically, because they may be more willing to complete an online questionnaire, or because they may be more willing to share personal experiences. Regardless of the reason, it must be recognized that the sample collected was a purposeful sample that was heavily female and findings could be skewed because of the difference.
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Interpretation of Key Findings
Findings have been presented and described for each of the three research questions that guided this study as well as the over-arching research question, “What motivated youth to read the Harry Potter series?” The context of the findings is discussed in relation to each research question in terms of the ways each has been found to confirm, refute, or expand upon existing literature. Where there is no comparison to other literature it is because there were no available studies considering that factor.
Research Question One: What are the general reading interests, habits, and attitudes towards reading of the young readers who participated in this study?
Reading Interests The original research question asked about reading interests. Researchers have studied children's reading interests and preferences using a variety of methods, such as surveys and interviews. Spangler (1983) clarified the distinction by defining preference studies as those that look at children's expressed attitudes toward reading, what children might read if given the opportunity. Reading interest studies, on the other hand, examine actual reading behaviors of children by analyzing the books children have actually read. However, the terms "interest" and "preference" are still often used interchangeably in reading research. So while some findings from this research are more closely related to preferences as defined by Sturm than interests, results will be collectively discussed in terms of reading interests in order to most clearly relate findings to the research questions. Harry Potter readers identified “Fantasy” and “Adventure” as the kinds of books they most often read while growing up. These interests are different from those found in other studies. Horror and science fiction have identified as the most frequently selected kind of book by readers between 12 and 18 years of age (Children's Literature Research Centre, 1996; Hopper, 2005; Snellman, 1993; Sturm, 2003b; Whittemore, 1992), yet were selected “Sometimes” or “Rarely” by Harry Potter readers. However, in a British study (Clark, Torsi, & Strong, 2005, pp. 23, 38, 92) a difference in genre preference between reluctant and enthusiastic readers was found. This study established that enthusiastic readers preferred adventure most frequently, while horror was the type of fiction most frequently preferred by reluctant readers.
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The results of the current study indicate that reading interests of Harry Potter readers differ from the general population of readers in their choice of fantasy. While the research did not probe why this occurred, a group of readers who grew up reading fantasy and adventure by choice would naturally be assumed to like Harry Potter. On the other hand, these readers, certainly enthusiastic, have an overlap in genre choice with other enthusiastic readers – both groups liking adventure as a genre.
Reading Habits Over a quarter of the Harry Potter readers (134 or 26.3%) reported that they read for pleasure every day, with another quarter (131 or 25.7%) reporting reading for pleasure four to six days a week (Table 6). This differs greatly from national statistics that show less than a quarter of young Americans read for pleasure nearly every day (Iyengar, et al., 2007, p. 6). Because the Harry Potter readers apparently spend more time reading than typical young readers in the United States it seems natural they would be inclined to read and reread longer books. While 97.5% of the Harry Potter readers said they had read at least one of the books in the Harry Potter series more than once, when asked if they were likely to read a book other than Harry Potter more than one time, the probability was much lower. While only 15 (2.5%) of the Harry Potter readers had not read one of Rowling’s books more than one time 189 (32%) rarely or never read other books more than one time. This increased probability of reading the Harry Potter books more than one time is yet another piece of evidence that readers are finding something uniquely different in the way they are interacting with these books that is motivating them to return repeatedly to the world of Harry Potter.
Attitudes toward Reading The Harry Potter readers were more likely than readers in other studies to perceive themselves as having strong reading skills. A positive self-concept as a reader is one aspect of considering oneself an able reader. Self-concept as a reader was demonstrated in a number of different responses. The exception to the overall positive attitude toward reading expressed by these readers was their less than positive perception that their close friends’ thought reading was fun, which, although less obvious, is also considered as a component of self-concept as a reader. The readers’ response to the question about friends thinking reading was fun indicates only a moderate degree of self-concept as readers, which was not consistent with either the results for
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other questions related to self-concept as readers or responses to open-ended survey questions. Since it was an anomaly, it might be pursued separately in further research but does not affect the overall finding in this study. Because the Harry Potter readers spend more time reading than an average reader in the United States it is expected that they demonstrate a higher positive perception of themselves as readers than the average student in the United States does. The way readers perceive their ability does not explain whether positive attitudes correlate with high achievement differences or vice versa; however, research suggests an association between reading attitudes and achievement (McKenna et al., 1995; Wigfield & Guthrie, 1997), which is consistent with results from these readers.
Research Question Two: What factors did young readers identify as initially attracting them to Harry Potter?
Since RQ2 and RQ3 refer to ‘factors’ and because the interpretation of findings below is organized by the factors extracted from the data and reports in Chapter Four, figure 11, which illustrates what these factors are and how they relate to one another through the underlying concepts, is included again for the convenience of the reader.
Figure 13. Concept nodes to factor categories relationship model
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As might be expected, when asked to describe their first encounter with Harry Potter, most of the readers shared experiences relating to the joy of discovering the wizarding world and the extraordinary experience of a story so spellbinding that it transports them to another time, another place, or another adventure involving extraordinary people, extraordinary creatures, and extraordinary occurrences. This section will consider three factors identified as initially motivating this group of readers to read Harry Potter: Factor #6, Books are fun or easy to read; Factor #8, New book or movie release; and Factor #9, Influence of others reading the books.
Factor #6: Books are fun or easy to read The first books in the Harry Potter series were often described to readers as appealing because they were enjoyable, easy to read, and featured a main character who shared many traits with the young readers even though he was a wizard. The initial reading experiences were often depicted as joyful adventures into a new world and the first time many readers became lost in a story or between the pages of a book. Earlier studies included examples of ways that readers were introduced to the fun of reading Harry Potter. Instances included classroom experiences where classmates became so engaged in reading Harry Potter that they would groan when told it was time to stop reading (Beach & Willner, 2002, p. 106) as well as having the story read out loud by a teacher or parent (Beach & Willner, 2002; Borah, 2002). The readers in this study described a much wider range of ways they were introduced to the fun of reading Harry Potter. As found in previous studies, having the story read aloud was a very successful introduction to the fun in these stories for many of this study’s readers. Quite a few received the books as gifts because parents or grandparents had read about the books’ popularity with children. Siblings who “didn’t even like to read” often motivated younger brothers or sisters to read the books after they saw how much they enjoyed them. In general, the greatest motivating factor for the readers participating in this study was the buzz or the hype. The books were something that friends, classmates and family were talking about and these readers wanted to be able to share in the fun of the discussions. The age of the readers in this study when they read the first book in the series ranged from 8 to 13-years-old with twice as many readers in the youngest group responding than from the oldest group (Figure 3). This may be one of the reasons why these readers were more apt to
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describe the reason they first read Harry Potter as parent, family or teacher focused. Interest in exploring what was causing the hype or reading in order to join in the fun of discussing the books with friends were other identified reasons for first reading Harry Potter; however these latter reasons are found much more frequently when readers describe motivations for continuing to read Harry Potter.
Factor #8: New book or movie release The first movie was not released until 2002. Because of the parameters of this study, this would have been three to four years after these young readers read their first Harry Potter novel; however, news about the sale of movie rights to Warner Bros. in 1999 increased media coverage and was identified by several readers as a reason for first opening a Harry Potter book. The release of a new Harry Potter book was less often identified by these readers. Reference to media as motivating initially reading Harry Potter was more likely to occur after Bloomsbury and Scholastic began to release the books in the United Kingdom and the United States simultaneously in 2000, which was subsequent to the range of years readers in this study began reading the series. Prior studies did not often associate the publication of new books or movies as motivating initial reading. This may be because responses to other surveys were limited to only book-related comments or it may be a result of this study asking readers to reflect on their experiences through their entire 10- or 11-year Harry Potter reading experience. This group of readers recognized the impact of the media; however, because these readers are now adults, it is possible that the potential impact of media is more recognizable to them now than it would have been if they were asked when they were younger.
Factor #9: Influence of others reading the books Friends were most often the reason that these Harry Potter readers read one of Rowling’s books for the first time. Harry Potter readers often learned about the books from other readers who felt compelled to share their joy in the series with others by describing the books and trying to convince friends to join them in the reading experience (Figure 7, frequency friends first introduced the reader to the Harry Potter series). Equally convincing was the observation of a young person totally absorbed in reading one of the books, particularly in places or at times not typically associated with reading, often stimulating conversation. A reader sub-category that must be recognized were readers who initially were determined not to
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read Harry Potter, because they did not want to follow the crowd or did not think the books could possibly be that interesting, but eventually found themselves drawn into reading the series. Other than friends, parents most often led to the first reading of Harry Potter (Figure 7, frequency parents or family first introduced the reader to the Harry Potter series). Reasons ranged from suggesting the books because they had heard other young readers enjoyed Harry Potter to buying the books or making them available to the young readers. Parents who banned or restricted access to the Harry Potter books were also identified by several readers as having the unintentional result of increasing interest in reading Harry Potter in order to see just what was in the books. Most of the Harry Potter readers in this study did not find it was important to read Harry Potter in order to feel ‘in’ with their friends (Table 2, attitudes toward reading the Harry Potter books). These readers, on the other hand, were also very likely to encourage their friends to read Harry Potter. It seems as a group they perceived themselves to be early adapters of the books and therefore were less likely to have felt it was important to read Harry Potter to feel ‘in’ with their friends because they were already reading Harry Potter. The introduction to Harry Potter by friends or family members rather than through academic instruction, and the act of initiating other readers “into the club” was an aspect of the reading experience identified by Borah. This aspect of belonging to a “club” or family of readers was reflected in this study’s readers. One reader described her experience as evolving from “just a girl reading a book to being Part of a Phenomenon” and enjoying the experience of participating in a “community of people doing this ultimately solitary thing (reading) together.” While neither of these concepts is unique to the findings of this research, the possibility of a synergetic relationship between the community or club of readers stimulating the initial motivation to read Harry Potter and a readers’ continued motivation to read has not been referred to in previous studies.
Research Question Three: What factors did young readers identify as motivating them to continue to read Harry Potter?
Because there are areas of overlap between the themes identified during the review of literature and the factors identified during analysis of data, a figure showing these relationships has been included (Figure 11). The findings from the current study will first be discussed with
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the associated factors and then with the themes identified in Chapter 2, Review of Literature, will be discussed with reference back to the factors. According to the readers in the current study, The Harry Potter books were about more than entertainment; they formed an independent universe, peopled with characters that readers grew to care for and worry about. As nine or ten year-old children, many Harry Potter readers found pleasure in the novels as simple outlets of escape. As these readers matured, they recognized, appreciated, and became engaged within many different literary and cultural elements in Rowling’s books.
Figure 134. Factors to literature review themes relationship model
Factor #1: Detail and depth of storylines The dense detail and complex intricacy of the storyline across the seven Harry Potter books enhanced the reading experience, particularly when the books were read multiple times. The suspense of finding out what would happen next kept interest high until the final book was
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published, while the complexity and detail in the final story motivated many readers to return and read earlier books in the series yet again. The way the books were read changed as readers matured with increased awareness and interest in subtext and themes. Readers described differences in the way they read the books depending upon their mood, changes in life experiences, or differences in personal circumstances. They referenced reading the same book in very different ways at different times. Sometimes they chose to read a certain book to lose themselves, luxuriate, or relax in Rowling’s world, while other times, such as with a newly released book, they read fast and furiously just to find out what would happen next.
Factor #2: Associations with and emotional attachments to characters More than anything else, it was the very real human faults and foibles along with the magical abilities and heroic inclinations that readers described as the foundation for developing such deep personal attachments that they become as emotionally involved with these characters as with their real friends and family. Not only Harry, but also each of the main characters was described as having a unique yet universal personality that was able to transcend the pages of the books. It may be this combination of each character’s heroic abilities along with their equally evident faults and mistakes that caused so many readers to develop such personal attachments Characters were described by these readers as being as familiar and real as actual people. Situations in the books were described as “more real” by some readers than actual events occurring in distant parts of the world. Personal engagement was found to be particularly strong in readers who shared difficult experiences such as the loss of a friend or a parent. Readers described finding role models in the characters, citing values they believe were developed while reading Harry Potter and shaped the young adults they were becoming. Characters also filled an important role as a friend to some readers, particularly those who felt they were alone in the world. The ability to open the books and return to the world of Harry Potter meant access to friends they felt were able to relate to their struggles. Rowling’s connections between aspects of the real world to those in the magical world were details that many readers identified as enjoying. Harry and his friends did many of the same everyday tasks as these young readers: buying school supplies, going to classes, doing homework, and playing sports; however, these activities could be considered from a new and
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novel perspective when classes were in subjects such as potions instead of chemistry, sports are played on brooms in the sky, and letters were delivered by owl rather than a mailman. Strong feelings of personal connections with characters was the most frequent aspect of the stories identified as compelling these young readers to continue reading the Harry Potter books. Harry’s uncertainty and crises of self-confidence were familiar experiences for adolescent readers who themselves experienced many similar moments of angst and frustration. Many readers found Hermione’s intelligence and belief in herself as characteristics they felt were reflected in themselves or that they aspired to develop.
Factor #3: Storylines and connections between books The detail in the books, particularly aspects linking storylines across volumes in the series were identified as reasons many readers not only continued reading until the final book was published but spurred them to return and reread earlier books in order to identify details and clues that weren’t evident initially. Many readers became active in online communities in search of elusive aspects of secondary storylines or information about the myths, legends and literary antecedents Rowling wove into her books.
Factor #4: Envisioning self within world of Harry Potter Not only did readers describe finding characters who shared experiences they were able to relate to their own lives, they also described the experience of reading the books as giving them a sense of losing themselves in the story. Several readers described their experience while reading Harry Potter as going to a place where they were able to escape from the real world. Descriptions of feeling as if they were ‘in’ the text were frequent. Readers described the feeling of being immersed so deeply in the world Rowling created they could ‘lose themselves within the story’, in essence co-creating the text and inserting themselves into the story. The feeling of having “inside” knowledge about the world Rowling created was found in many responses of readers who felt they were within the world of Harry Potter while they were reading the books. The importance of these books as a way to escape reality during periods of trauma or stress was identified by readers experiencing many different challenges. Whether contemplating an unpleasant incident such as appearing in front of a judge or dealing with the aftermath of a fight with a close friend, readers found related situations in the books that provided them with the opportunity to consider their own situations from another perspective.
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Factor #5: Revisiting a piece of childhood The relationship of childhood and Harry Potter was one that the readers found strongly associated. The feeling of returning to visit old friends and being able to recall a simpler time in their lives was identified by many readers. Reading one of the Harry Potter books often triggered memories and provided a bridge to childhood memories.
Factor #6: Books are fun or easy to read The fact that these books were just plain fun to read was an element identified as motivating many readers to return to Harry Potter and read these books again even if reading books multiple times wasn’t something they usually did. This was also reflected in several other factors, the feeling of becoming lost in a book, revisiting old familiar friends, and revisiting an aspect of childhood were also mentioned as reasons readers found the Harry Potter books fun to read again.
Factor #7: Creativity and originality of writing Aspects of the way Rowling constructed her stories were reflected in a range of reasons identified as motivating young readers. The originality of names and places and almost constant introduction of new aspects and elements of the wizarding world were all reasons readers described as initially intriguing them and as kept them interested and motivated to reading more about the world Rowling created.
Factor #8: New book or movie release The release of a new Harry Potter book or movie was often identified as motivating readers to return to the pages of Harry Potter. Many readers described returning to the first book and reading through the entire series in preparation for the next book or movie. Reasons ranged from refreshing all the details in their memory to seeking clues about what might be coming.
Factor #9: Influence of others reading the books This factor has a slightly different focus when considered from the perspective of motivations to continue reading the books. The communities of readers that often developed among Harry Potter readers were often identified as important aspects of the continued reading experience.
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Comparison of factors motivating continued Harry Potter reading with themes from previous research This section will consider how the nine factors identified as motivating Harry Potter readers fit into the context of existing research. Chapter Two, Review of the Literature, introduced five themes to describe the responses of young readers to the Harry Potter books found during the review of literature. Four of those five themes relate to findings for Research Question Three: Reader associations with story elements; Way the stories were read; Outcomes of reading experiences; and Story and reader maturation (see Figure 13). In much the same way that the concept nodes used initially to code the readers’ responses to the open-ended questions on the web-based survey were found to fit into more than one factor category, the themes identified during the literature review have also been found to have aspects related to more than one category. A brief discussion about the way the findings of this study are reflected in each of the themes is below and is followed with a discussion about findings of this study that differ from prior research or were not discussed in prior studies.
Theme #1: Story Elements. Reader associations with characters or story elements represented the greatest quantity of detail in previous research that could be related directly to responses from young readers. Aspects of the story elements theme were related to more factors than any other theme. Five of the nine factors: F1 Detail and depth of storylines, F2 Associations with and emotional attachments to characters, F3 Storylines and connections between books, F4 Envisioning self within world of Harry Potter, F7 Creativity and originality of writing, and F9: Influence of friends reading the books have at least one characteristic in common with this theme. Story Elements was broken down into three sub-themes: plot, characterization, and setting. Two of these sub-themes, characterization and setting, have been thoroughly discussed in previous research, primarily textual analysis but also in the few studies involving young readers; these were further validated with this research. The third sub-theme, plot, was often reflected in articles presenting various perspectives of critical analysis of the Harry Potter books, but was not commonly identified in previous research incorporating young Harry Potter readers. The sub-theme of characterization was utilized in prior studies repeatedly to acknowledge elements of young readers' identification with the characters (Anderson, 2003, p.
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106; Beach & Willner, 2002, pp. 103-104), moments of low-self confidence (Opar, 2002, p. 32) and aspects of character experiences that relate to the readers’ lives (Blackford, 2001, p. 3). This theme is significant as a vital element related to Factor #2, Associations with and emotional attachments to characters but the data in this study elucidate and explain more clearly what the relationships of the readers were to the characters. Another aspect of the sub-theme of characterization validated by this research was Opar’s supposition that young readers easily relate to the characters because the characters were “all a little odd and not flawless, and like Harry, every child has from time to time been misunderstood, unappreciated and bullied” (2002, p. 32). This concept was also extended by the discussion and samples of reader responses for Factor #2: Associations with and emotional attachments to characters. The examples were more varied, personal, and expansively described in the qualitative portion of this study than in any previous research. The second sub-theme came up in previous research and in the current study in several related ways. The concept of familiar situations in unfamiliar settings (Titus, 2003) and defamiliarization of the traditional school story (Mynott, 1999) were identified as significant literary aspects of Rowling's books. Likewise, while the stories enabled the readers in this study to escape reality, remnants of familiar objects and situations were recognized within the magical world. Many responses from readers apply the concepts identified by Titus and Mynott intuitively and use examples from the Harry Potter world in order to better understand, cope or describe situations within their own lives. This is one of the instances in which the young readers most clearly validate what theory would suppose. In previous research of young Harry Potter readers, scholars did not highlight plot as an element of reader interest; however, allusions to plot as an element of the story that motivated reading can be gleaned from reader quotes in a few of the studies. This study considered the impact and importance of plot both by asking closed-ended questions (Table 3 addresses aspects of the importance of plot) and by identifying related passages in the responses readers submitted to open-ended questions. As a result, several factors identified during this study include aspects that relate to the sub-theme of plot: F1, Detail and depth of storylines, F3, Storylines and connections between books, and F7, Creativity and originality of writing. In other words, the responses of young readers expanded upon and extended the appreciation of plot beyond what appeared in textual analyses.
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Theme #2: Way Read. Prior research identified several ways the Harry Potter books were read to children or by children that influenced their reaction to the books. Detailed readings, repeated readings, reading for entertainment (not as literature) or having the story read out loud by a parent, sibling, or teacher identified were all found to have significant impacts on reader interest or response (Beach & Willner, 2002, p. 106; Blackford, 2001, pp. 1-6; Borah, 2002, pp. 355-356). While not a focus of this study, many examples of the importance the way the story was read were found in responses from these readers, particularly in relation to Factor #6, Books are fun or easy to read and F9: Influence of others reading the books. Teachers or parents reading the book out loud were very frequently identified as the source of initial introduction for readers to the Harry Potter series. A strong sense of enthusiasm and excitement about sharing the books with the young readers was often included in descriptions and frequently identified as a reason the reader sought additional books in the series. Repeated reading of one or more books in the series was nearly universal among the group of readers studied with 97.5% reading at least one Harry Potter book two or more times (Figure 8), much higher than readers in other studies. Because criteria for participation in this study required readers to have read all seven books in the series at least one time and communication with readers was initiated via an article and postings on Harry Potter fan internet sites it was anticipated there would be readers who read the books multiple times; however, the degree to which this occurred was unexpected.
Theme #3: Outcome of Reading Experience. Introducing young readers to an enjoyment of reading, enabling adults to relate to a child (or a child to an adult), as well as meeting or chatting with strangers were all described as ways reading Harry Potter impacted readers. This theme was reflected in aspects of Factor #4, Envisioning self within world of Harry Potter, F6, Books are fun or easy to read, F7, Creativity and originality of writing, and F9, Influence of friends reading the books. Readers talked about why the book had such a positive response. Citing realistic characters and a fast-paced plot, many readers gave Rowling high praise as a writer. (Wood & Quackenbush, 2001) Reading the story aloud to his children, another reader “discovered diagonal humor” and loved the word plays. (Wood & Quackenbush, 2001) Beach and Willner (2002) speculated that reading Harry Potter might shape choices in future literature. Many
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books identified by readers were of the same genre, such as The Hobbit (Tolkien, 1991), the Red Wall series (Jacques, 1986), and The Chronicles of Narnia (Lewis, 1970); but others represented very different types of reading, such as Mr. Popper's Penguins (Atwater, 1938), Anne of Avonlea (Montgomery, 1909), and To Kill a Mockingbird (Lee, 1960) (Beach & Willner, 2002, p. 106). This study found similarities to prior studies with readers relating an increase in reading for pleasure, with some experiencing the feeling of getting lost in a story for the first time while reading these books. However, responses in former studies where these readers identified the books as enabling them to relate to a parent were limited almost exclusively to recollections of a parent or teacher reading the books out loud and were more likely to refer to the joy the teacher or parent found in reading in their response than to an aspect that enabled the reader to better relate to the adult. This outcome of a reading experience did not emerge from the readers in the current study. This result may be because none of the readers submitting responses for this study were adults reading to children and this benefit may not have been apparent to or recognized by these readers because of their maturity level at the time.
Theme #4: Maturation. The final theme drawn from the review of the literature and related to the research factors was the impact of maturation of the story and/or the reader on response. The maturation of the books was established with descriptions of a growing richness of language, progressive complication of story lines, and increasingly elaborate plots as the series progressed. The maturation of style and content was believed to impact the response of the reader as readers themselves matured. Readers recognized that with the increased length and density of books as the series progresses, they had “to pay attention or [they] don’t know what’s going on” (Beach & Willner, 2002, p. 105). This study considered this theme much more extensively and in more depth than was found in prior literature. Maturation was reflected in several factors identified during this study: F2, Associations with and emotional attachments to characters, F3, Storylines and connections between books, F4, Envisioning self within world of Harry Potter, and F5, Revisiting a piece of childhood. There are two reasons this study was able to consider this aspect more intensely than it had been in prior research. Most significant was the presence of a question specifically asking the young Harry Potter readers to describe the way they felt their reading experience
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changed as they matured (Q36). Additionally, because the readers participating in this study were young adults reflecting back on their reading experiences, they had the ability to consider differences in how they experienced reading the books as a child with their experiences as young adults (Q35). This is not possible for studies collecting responses from readers who are still children, and readers who were not children when they first read the book seem likely to have experienced the series differently than the readers who grew up with Harry Potter.
Over-Arching Research Question: What motivated youth to read the Harry Potter series?
The research sub-questions have illustrated many aspects of the Harry Potter reading phenomenon as perceived through the eyes of young readers and the context of prior research. The cumulative insights from these sub-questions integrate to answer the over-arching question “What motivated (these) youth to read the Harry Potter series?” The responses to these questions also demonstrate why it was so important to ask this group of readers about their experience.
Motivation The interests, habits, and attitudes of the young readers in this study plus the nine motivating factors drawn from a combined analysis of the quantitative and the qualitative portions of this study provide the answer to the over-arching question. These young readers, drawn from online communities and identified as those who had read the entire Harry Potter series from beginning to end, revealed themselves as interested in fantasy and adventure; as self-confident, avid readers who read more than the typical reader their age; and as predominantly female. Their genre interests, their reading habits, their self- images, and their gender all provide a partial answer to why they were motivated to read Harry Potter. They may or may not provide a profile of typical Harry Potter readers, but they do provide information about those who have grown up with the series. In prior research, interest has been found to play a critical motivational role (Alexander & Murphy, 1998). According to Ainley (2006, p. 391) “interest arises from either situational stimuli or well-developed individual interests and is an integration of feelings, motivation and cognition.” However, in this study, reading motivation was not considered from one particular knowledge domain or limited to one kind of motivation. Building from the motivational cognitive model of reading developed by Guthrie and Wigfield (1999, p. 200), the
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multidimensional constructs of motivation identified during analysis of the Harry Potter readers’ responses were considered from several perspectives of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. The nine factors, some of which explain the motivation for the initial reading of Harry Potter and more of which explain the motivation to continue reading Harry Potter, provide strong evidence that these avid young readers are far more intrinsically than extrinsically motivated. All but one of the nine factors (F1, Detail and depth of storylines; F2, Associations with and emotional attachments to characters; F3, Storylines and connections between books; F4, Envisioning self within world of Harry Potter; F5, Revisiting a piece of childhood; F6, Books are fun or easy to read; F7, Creativity and originality of writing; and F8, New book or movie release) refer to elements of intrinsic motivation. The in-depth discussions above and the data reported in Chapter Four demonstrate how these intrinsic motivations emerged from the perspectives of these young readers and how they compare to the perspectives of adults thinking about them. The ninth element, F9, Influence of friends reading the books, is an extrinsic motivation that resides in the socially networked world in which we live and in the community from which these readers were drawn. The readers chose to be a part of an online community discussing and theorizing about Harry Potter – even a year after the last book was published and a year before the next movie is due to appear. So it would be expected that a community of readers emerging around Harry Potter would be the one extrinsic motivating factor. Friends, parents, teachers – part of their reading community – might have motivated them to start reading, although other motivations existed also, but largely it was the intrinsic motivations that kept them reading. The one unanswered questions in the discussion of these factors is how they are weighted one against the other. Is any one of the nine factors more important than the others? The only appropriate way to answer this question seems to be one that reflects the lens through which the responses were considered, and as reader response theory would predict, ‘it depends.’ It depends on the reader, on the situation of that reader, on the needs of that reader, on an infinite list of factors that may impact the way in which an individual reader interacts with a text. The reader who is depressed and needing solace might find one factor the most important in motivating their reading while a film buff is more likely to identify aspects of another factor as more important. So the answer seems to be that there are really nine most important factors,
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with the determination of which factor ascending as the most motivating for any reader at a given moment dependent upon . . . . well, it depends.
Reader response The reasons that it was important to ask these young readers what motivated them to begin and to continue to read Harry Potter is somewhat self-evident from the answer to the over-arching question above. In sum, they are because:
1. The motivations listed were largely based upon the interaction between text and reader as indicated in the differing insights among differing readers, exactly what reader response would predict; 2. The most important motivations were substantiated by the numbers of young readers agreeing with certain motivating factors in the quantitative portions of the study; 3. The articulations of the motivations were more varied, more personal, and more richly and expansively described in the qualitative portions of this study, giving more in depth insights into what simple or surface concepts mean to young readers, or at least to these young readers, than in any textual analyses; 4. The motivations, although related to those identified by scholars, were put in different terminology by the young reader; 5. Insights into when, how, and why these motivations might come into play were documented in no way previously recorded or that could in any other way be recorded; 6. A number of previously unobserved motivations were identified.
The use of reader response theory in constructing and analyzing the study produced a wealth of new insights into motivational factors for these avid young readers of Harry Potter, into the interactions between readers and text, and into a group of readers that are unique in time.
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Implications, Limitations and Areas of Future Research
Implications
Findings of this study, conducted to understand better the reading habits, attitudes, and motivating factors of young Harry Potter readers, have several potentially important implications for theory and practice. One implication is that the results of this study provide a well-documented response to questions about what motivated young readers to initially read and to continue reading Harry Potter. These are questions about which much speculation has existed. It satisfies curiosity in a manner that is more descriptive and less speculative than previous publications. Theoretically, this study demonstrates how reader response theory and motivational theory can be applied to a single study. It substantiates the validity of reader response theory as a method to understand reading interests, habits, and attitudes of youth. It is one of the first studies emerging from the field of library and information studies that has systematically applied reader response theory. It hopefully will encourage other researchers to use this methodology to delve even more deeply into the reading experience of youth from their point of view.
Motivation to begin reading versus motivation to keep reading
Motivations to begin reading Harry Potter were primarily extrinsic while continuing to read was predominantly motivated intrinsically. Teachers and librarians may need to jump start reading with some type of extrinsic motivation, however once readers are enticed to begin reading it is intrinsic factors that motivate them to continue reading. The study documents intrinsic motivation as more important than extrinsic motivation, at least for enthusiastic readers. This finding brings into question the widespread and often controversial use of extrinsic motivators for all children in school settings.
Reading interests
The results of the current study indicate that reading interests of Harry Potter readers differ from the general population of readers. While the general population of readers prefers horror and science fiction, this study substantiates the preference of enthusiastic readers for the genres of fantasy and adventure. This difference is corroborated by the findings of Clark, Torsi,
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& Strong (2005) reinforcing the importance of recognizing the distinction in reading interests of enthusiastic readers. Recognizing genre preferences of enthusiastic readers differ from those of typical or reluctant young readers assists librarians and school media specialists in readers’ advisory work and teachers in selecting texts to teach. The study revealed that once readers committed to characters and their fates they were likely to stick with them, providing corroboration for the intense interest in series books that has surfaced since the publication of the Harry Potter books. This supports choices librarians make in development of series book collections.
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Table 11 Implications of study for target audiences Target Audience Implications
Library and Information Libraries enable the social process of reading. Facilitating Studies Educators young reader opportunities to discuss books and share areas of interest promotes construction of deeper understanding. Reading interests of young readers are not uniform. Recognizing genre preferences of enthusiastic readers differ from those of typical or reluctant young readers will facilitate provision of appealing materials Development of series book collections is supported by the intense interest of these young readers. Once readers have committed to characters and their fates they are likely to stick with them. Library and Information Reader response contributes an important and somewhat Studies Researchers unique perspective when examining motivation to read. It has rarely appeared in LIS research and therefore could change the methodology for researchers. Reading interests of young readers are not uniform. Recognition that genre preferences of enthusiastic readers differ from those of typical or reluctant young readers extends the scope of reading interest research. Children’s Librarians / Libraries enable the social process of reading. Facilitating School Media Specialists young reader opportunities to discuss books and share areas of interest promotes construction of deeper understanding. Reading interests of young readers are not uniform. Recognizing genre preferences of enthusiastic readers differ from those of typical or reluctant young readers will facilitate provision of appealing materials Development of series book collections is supported by the intense interest of these young readers. Once readers have committed to characters and their fates they are likely to stick with them. Teachers Highly motivated readers identified intrinsic motivation to be more important than extrinsic motivation. Activities that encourage reflection and recognition of intrinsic reading motivations are more likely to promote continued reading. Teachers and librarians may need to jump start reading with some type of extrinsic rewards. Once readers are enticed to get started they will develop their own motivations for continuing to read
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Limitations The quantitative and qualitative components of this study were deliberately designed to inform one another. This mixed methods approach enabled collection of rich and descriptive data exploring how the Harry Potter book series has influenced young reader motivation, however as with any study, the limitations of this study must also be recognized. The sample size for this study was small when compared to the population of Harry Potter readers; it is purposeful but was not random. Reponses to open-ended survey questions and interview questions were limited by the readers’ ability to express thoughts and ideas. Eliminating the limitation of physical location meant limiting responses from readers who either do not have access to the internet or do not connect with one of the Harry Potter fan sites. All of the data collected were self-reported responses. Although there is no reason to believe that the readers would not give accurate information there was no way to verify the accuracy of individual responses given by the study participants.
Future Research
The scope of this project was limited to young readers who grew up in the United States at least 90% of the time while they were reading the Harry Potter series. A total of 2170 survey responses were received with 649 submitted by readers meeting the research criteria and who agreed to participate in the study. An additional 383 responses were received from readers who did not grow up in the United States at least 90% of the time while they were reading Harry Potter. They were not included in the analysis and results of this study because they were outside the scope of the research criteria; however, these young reader survey responses will be analyzed in the future and compared to the responses of the young readers who grew up in the United States. Although this study identified and explored a number of factors influencing young readers to read the Harry Potter series, more research is needed. Future studies should expand the scope of young readers considered and expand understanding of factors motivating young readers. Findings from the present study raise important questions and provide the groundwork for future research examining Harry Potter reader motivation as well as other aspects of young children's reading motivation. Another avenue of further inquiry could also include the impact of librarians and teachers in fueling Harry Potter reading interest in their patrons and students.
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Use of international Harry Potter reader surveys to investigate whether the findings of the present study are consistent and identify areas of similarities or differences in motivation factors identified. One example of this would be a comparison between the young readers who grew up in the United States the differences found between them and readers who grew up in other areas of the world in their self-concept as readers and value of reading (Table 1, p. 52; Table 2, p. 53; Appendix E, p. 120, Q24). It would be fascinating to follow some of these young readers into the future to see what happens to their motivations and interests as they mature even more. A longitudinal study could provide even more insight into growing up with Harry Potter. What about new young readers? Those who did not grow up with the books and now have the ability to read the books one after another. How does their experience and motivation differ from this group of young readers? The differences found in the reading interests of Harry Potter readers from the general population of readers is another rich area of future research. This study established that these readers prefer genres different from the general population of young readers. While differences in genre preference have also been found between reluctant and enthusiastic readers by Clark, Torsi, & Strong (2005) additional inquiry may enable identification of differences in groups of young readers and the ability to more accurate targeting of reading materials that are likely to interest and engage these young readers. Many other unresearched questions remain to be answered that could be addressed through the same methodology. What happened to the youth who did not continue reading after one, two, or more of the books? Were they less enthusiastic readers in general, less enchanted by fantasy, or are there other reasons? No one has studied the defectors thus far, and the differences between the enthusiastic readers of Harry Potter considered in this research and readers who were not enchanted with the world of Harry Potter could provide useful insights in aspects of both reading motivation and reader response. And, as mentioned above, Rosenblatt’s reader response theory was applied quite successfully to elicit responses from young readers. Encouraged by this, further research studies might apply the theory to other types of youth reading experiences.
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Conclusion
While a definitive answer to the overarching research question remains elusive, this study has deepened understanding of the reading motivations of this group of long term and enthusiastic Harry Potter readers. Many of the findings verify what had already been established through prior research. They expand the scope, emphasis and meaning of literary critical analysis themes by validating them with carefully elicited responses from young readers. They demonstrate that reader response provides insights into which factors are most important in motivating young readers, into how these readers express those factors (often not in the same language as that of scholars), and peer into the depth of emotion and feeling that lies behind the largely intrinsic motivations. The study also validates reader response theory in that many of the motivating factors reflect a personal transaction that occurs between an individual reader and the text. What was thought or assumed before about youth reading Harry Potter can now be discussed with more certainty and with more insight. In addition, a few previously unresearched motivations surfaced. Most of the Harry Potter readers in this study did not feel it was important to feel ‘in’ with their friends, although they were very likely to encourage friends to read the books. As a group they perceived themselves to be early adapters of the books, and therefore, while reading the books to feel ‘in’ was not identified as a motivating factor for this group, it may be because they felt they were part of the group before everyone else was. The previously unresearched motivations of most interest, however, were those describing this group of young readers responses changed as they matured from children into young adults. When reflecting on first reading Harry Potter, at the age of eight or nine years old, many readers described reading Harry Potter novels as simple outlets of escape. The first few books were described as adventures into Rowling's extravagantly imagined universe, tempting readers to lose themselves in the pages of the books. Nevertheless, as Harry's world grew successively darker readers began to describe many different aspects of often-harsh aspects of reality reflected within the story instead of finding the books enchanting flights of fantasy. The Death- Eater attacks ravaging Harry's world were identified by readers as having frightening similarity to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Harry’s struggles with loss and betrayal as the wizarding world became a war zone and scenes where Hermione scans the daily paper for the latest casualty toll were identified as being sadly familiar to readers with family or friends serving in Iraq.
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So why did these readers keep reading? Considering the international atmosphere of fear and terror, where every week seemed marked by heightened security alerts and suicide bombings, it seems counterintuitive for these readers to seek escape in a world that often mirrored their own increasingly worrisome reality. Yet somehow, readers found enough hope within the pages to sustain a sense of belief that in the end, good really would triumph over evil and justice granted to those who deserve it. Harry was described as an endearingly normal hero, enduring the same romantic insecurities, pressures of friendship, and mood swings or irritability that these young readers experienced and found these shared challenges heartening. Schafer (2002) found that Harry fulfills many of the criteria of mythical heroes including acquisition of self-knowledge, maturing during an ordeal and the ability of readers to “identify with Harry’s experiences and recognize parallels in their own lives” (p. 130). If a rather ordinary boy, not so very different from themselves, was able to achieve such extraordinary things readers are able to see they also may have potential to make positive changes. The extent of future Harry Potter reading has yet to be determined. Jahangir’s (2007) conversation with a 22-year old graduate from Hampshire, England encapsulates the feelings of many Harry Potter readers prior to the publication of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:
It will be weird not having more books and adventures to look forward to or being able to discuss theories and predictions with friends. I can’t think of many things in daily life, and certainly few other books that create such a level of excitement, anticipation and enthusiasm in so many people. It seems likely that the enthusiasm for this series will continue. The extrinsic motivation of new books in the series may no longer exist, but the intrinsic motivations remain, and it is these intrinsic motivations and readers’ interactions with the text seem likely to keep young readers happily reading Harry Potter for many years to come.
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APPENDIX A INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE
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APPENDIX B LIST OF WEBSITES WHERE INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE WAS POSTED
Site name Internet Address Description Contact Information Mugglenet http://www.mugglene MuggleNet states it is the Internet's largest and most visited Webmaster/founder: Emerson t.com/ fan-run Harry Potter website. Founded Fall 1999. The site Spartz is composed of news, editorials, synopses of the Harry Contact Form: Potter books and films, an encyclopedia of the books, an http://www.mugglenet.com/fee IRC Network, a discussion forum, and media such as dback/ screenshots, theatrical trailers and book covers. The Leaky http://www.the- An all-purpose site for Harry Potter enthusiasts. It started in Web Mistress: Melissa Anelli Cauldron leaky-cauldron.org 2000 as a one-page roll of news; it has now turned into a (www.penbitten.com) destination for fan entertainment and discussion, and has Contact form: http://www.the- become the Harry Potter site of record, hosting the oldest leaky- and most comprehensive Potter news archive on the Web. cauldron.org/info/contactus
HPANA www.hpana.com The Harry Potter Automatic News Aggregator: HPANA is a Jeff Guillaume (a.k.a. Cheeser) Harry Potter fansite created in 2002 to monitor news on the Editor in Chief - Internet about J. K. Rowling's series of novels about the [email protected]. eponymous wizard. Harry http://www.harrypott harrypotterfanfiction.com is the oldest dedicated Harry Site Owner/Founder: jay Potter Fan erfanfiction.com/ Potter Fanfiction site on the net. Founded in February 2001, harrypotterfanfiction.com Fiction they currently hold over 50,000 stories and podcasts and receive, on average, over 40 million hits per month.
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APPENDIX C METHOD, POPULATION AND SAMPLES STUDIED IN SELECTED HARRY POTTER READER STUDIES
Study Data Collection Sample Population Method Anderson, H. (2003). Reading Harry Potter with Observation Size: not identified “All students who read Navajo Eyes. In E. E. Heilman (Ed.), Harry Age: adult, 15-year-old, 10 these books” (p. 107) Potter's World: Multidisciplinary Critical year olds Perspectives (Pedagogy and Popular Culture) (pp. 97 - 107). New York, NY: Falmer Press. Beach, S. A., & Willner, E. H. (2002). The Power Interview Size: not identified “children and adolescents” of Harry: The Impact of J.K. Rowling's Harry Written Response Age: 5th, 6th, & 8th graders (p. 103) Potter Books on Young Readers. World Literature Today, 76(1), 102 - 106. Black, S. (2003). Harry Potter: Enchantment for Observation Size: 3 children “gifted individuals” (p. All Seasons. Gifted Child Today, 26(3), 46-54. Age: 7, 10, and 23 years 48) old Black, S. (2003). The Magic of Harry Potter: Observation Size: 2 children Not identified Symbols and Heroes of Fantasy. Children's Interview Age: 10 years and college Literature in Education, 34(3), 237-247. Blackford, H. (2001, December 2001). And Why Interview Size: 33 girls “girls” (p. 1) Do Girls Like Harry Potter? Paper presented at (socioeconomic & racially the Modern Language Association, New Orleans, diverse) LA. Age: range not defined 2 case studies: 10 & 11 year old girls
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Study Data Collection Sample Population Method Borah, R. S. (2002). Apprentice Wizards Observation Size: 30 “Harry Potter fans” (p. Welcome: Fan Communities and the Culture of Interview Age: “school age” children 345) Harry Potter. In L. A. Whited (Ed.), The Ivory and adults. Tower and Harry Potter: Perspectives on a Literary Phenomenon (pp. 343-364). Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press. Dixey, B. P., & D'Angelo, A. M. (2002). Harry Written Response Size: 350 Students in grades 5-8 Who? An Investigation of Students' Reading of Age: students in grades 5-8 from 2 selected south US the Harry Potter Series. Research in Middle Level (public & private schools) cities (p. 1) Education, 25(2). MacDonald, M. (2006). Harry Potter and the fan Questionnaire Size: 25 surveys sent, 10 “slash1 writers” (p. 29) fiction phenom. The Gay and Lesbian Review returned Worldwide, 13(1), 28(23). Malu, K. F. (2003). Ways of Reading Harry Observation Size: 13 children (p. 87) “Children and grownups” Potter: Multiple Stories for Multiple Reader Interview Age: 5th & 6th grade (p. 75) Identities. In E. E. Heilman (Ed.), Harry Potter's students and adult friends World: Multidisciplinary Critical Perspectives (pp. 75-94). New York, NY: RoutledgeFalmer. Mynott, G. (1999). Harry Potter and the public Critical analysis of Not identified “the reader” (p. 17) school narrative. The New Review of Children's text Literature and Librarianship, 5, 13-27.
1 Slash refers to “Slash Fiction”, fan fiction with a gay theme.
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Study Data Collection Sample Population Method Natov, R. (2001). Harry Potter and the Conclusions drawn Not identified “Children readers’” (p. Extraordinariness of the Ordinary. The Lion and about child readers; 315) the Unicorn, 25, 310-327. methodology not provided Opar, T. (2002). Why Do Children Love Harry? Conclusions drawn Not identified “children” (p. 32) Journal of Youth Services in Libraries, 15(3), 32- about child readers; 33. methodology not provided Stuart, G. A. (2006). Exploring the Harry Potter Reading opinion Size: 463 students Unclear; refers to both: book series Unpublished Ph.D., Utah State survey completed the opinion “variably motivated University, United States -- Utah. Interviews survey and 12 were adolescents students” and interviewed “these particular seventh- th Ages: 7 graders grade students” Titus, T. W. (2003). Muggle Studies 101: What Observation Size: 11 “young readers”, magic motivates so many children to read Harry Interview Age: elementary and high “students”(p. 2), and Potter? , California State University, Long Beach. Written Response school students “children” (p. 3) 2 sites – public high school with a primarily Latino population (5 students) & private elementary (6 students) All participants had read the first four Harry Potter books.
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Study Data Collection Sample Population Method Wolf, J. L. (2006). "I just hope there's a sequel." Literary analysis Size: 52 teen reviewers “any group of teens.” (163) What we can learn from young adult novels and Observations of teen with 15 interviewed the teens who read them. Unpublished Ph.D., reviewers groups Ages: 12-18 Stanford University, United States -- California. Semi-structured interviews Wood, S. N., & Quackenbush, K. (2001). The Observation Size: 50 “readers” (p. 98) Sorcerer’s Stone: A Touchstone for Readers of all Interview Ages: 7 to 62 Ages. English Journal, 90(3), 97-103. Sample of convenience 50% read at least one Harry Potter book
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APPENDIX D VISUAL DIAGRAM OF STUDY METHODOLOGY
Phase One - Online Survey Phase Two - Interviews
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APPENDIX E PHASE ONE INSTRUMENT – ONLINE QUESTIONNAIRE
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APPENDIX F HPANA ARTICLE
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APPENDIX G USE OF HUMAN SUBJECTS IN RESEARCH APPROVAL MEMO
From: Human Subjects [[email protected]] Sent: Mon 7/21/2008 1:53 PM To: [email protected] Cc: Dresang, Eliza Subject: Use of Human Subjects in Research - Approval Memorandum
Office of the Vice President For Research Human Subjects Committee Tallahassee, Florida 32306-2742 (850) 644-8673 · FAX (850) 644-4392
APPROVAL MEMORANDUM
Date: 7/21/2008
To: Colette Drouillard Address: 4120 Dept.: COLLEGE OF INFORMATION
From: Thomas L. Jacobson, Chair
Re: Use of Human Subjects in Research GROWING UP WITH HARRY POTTER: WHAT MOTIVATED YOUTH TO READ?
The application that you submitted to this office in regard to the use of human subjects in the proposal referenced above have been reviewed by the Secretary, the Chair, and two members of the Human Subjects Committee. Your project is determined to be Expedited per 45 CFR § 46.110(7) and has been approved by an expedited review process.
The Human Subjects Committee has not evaluated your proposal for scientific merit, except to weigh the risk to the human participants and the aspects of the proposal related to potential risk and benefit. This approval does not replace any departmental or other approvals, which may be required.
If the project has not been completed by 7/20/2009 you must request a renewal of approval for continuation of the project. As a courtesy, a renewal notice will be sent to you prior to your expiration date; however, it is your responsibility as the Principal Investigator to timely request renewal of your approval from the Committee.
You are advised that any change in protocol for this project must be reviewed and approved by the Committee prior to implementation of the proposed change in the protocol. A protocol change/amendment form is required to be submitted for approval by the Committee. In addition, federal regulations require that the Principal Investigator promptly report, in writing any unanticipated problems or adverse events involving risks to research subjects or others.
By copy of this memorandum, the Chair of your department and/or your major professor is reminded that he/she is responsible for being informed concerning research projects involving human subjects in the department, and should review protocols as often as needed to insure that the project is being conducted in compliance with our institution and with DHHS regulations.
This institution has an Assurance on file with the Office for Human Research Protection. The Assurance Number is IRB00000446. Cc: Eliza Dresang, Advisor HSC No. 2008.155
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APPENDIX H RATIONALE FOR PHASE ONE INSTRUMENT QUESTIONS
Research questions used to define focus and The instrument question(s) addressing Rationale Rationale References parameters of this study: each of the research questions: 1 Year subject was born 2 Subject resides in the United States 3 Year subject first read a Harry Potter book 4 Subject has read each of the seven Screening or demographic Harry Potter books at least one time? questions Screening questions Screening questions 6 Sex of subject 7 Ethnic background 8 Highest level of education 10 Way subject learned about the questionnaire 9 How well does the subject believe they Edmunds & Bauserman (2006) read Everhart (2005) 16 Does subject reread books often Guthrie (2001) Motivation to read McQuillan (1997) 24b Reading a book is something done Wigfield & Guthrie (1995) Research Question #1: often What are the general 24c Friends think they are a good reader reading interests, habits, 24d Read better than most friends Rosenblatt (1935 & 1978) and attitudes towards Massey, et al. (2005) 24e Close friends think reading is fun Response to reading reading of the young Vandergrift (1990) 24f Tell friends about good books readers who participated in this study? 24g Comfortable discussing reading in a group Guthrie & Wigfield (1999) 24j Didn’t read for fun before Harry Ivey & Broaddus (2001) Reading interests Potter Children’s Literature Research 24k Reading Harry Potter was important Center (1996)
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Research questions used to define focus and The instrument question(s) addressing Rationale Rationale References parameters of this study: each of the research questions: to feel “in” with friends Sturm (2003a) 25 Like to read books that are part of a series 26 Favorite types of books to read 29 Frequency of pleasure reading Assessing motivation to read Gambrell, et al.(1996) (motivation to read Pitcher, et al. (2007) profile – MRP) Guthrie & Wigfield (1999) Reading interests Ivey & Broaddus (2001) Children’s Literature Research Research Question #2: 11 Where first learned about Harry Center (1996) What factors do young Potter Sturm (2003a) readers identify as initially 12 Why began to read Harry Potter Edmunds & Bauserman (2006) attracting them to Harry 24k Reading Harry Potter was important Everhart (2005) Potter? to feel “in” with friends Motivation to read Guthrie (2001) McQuillan (1997) Wigfield & Guthrie (1995) 15 Motivation for rereading Research Question #3: Guthrie & Wigfield (1999) What factors do young 23 Why reread Harry Potter if not Ivey & Broaddus (2001) readers identify as frequent rereader Reading interests Children’s Literature Research motivating them to 24b Reading a book is something done Center (1996) continue to read Harry often Sturm (2003a) Potter? 24i Believe Harry Potter books motivated
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Research questions used to define focus and The instrument question(s) addressing Rationale Rationale References parameters of this study: each of the research questions: reading frequency 34 Grew from adolescent to YA with HP Edmunds & Bauserman (2006) 36 Change in rereading experience as Everhart (2005) subject aged Motivation to read Guthrie (2001) McQuillan (1997) Wigfield & Guthrie (1995)
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APPENDIX I PHASE ONE QUESTIONS LEVEL OF MEASUREMENTS AND ANALYTICAL PROCEDURES
Question Level of Analytical Procedure Instrument Question Measure Number • Summary of responses Year subject was born Interval 1 • % selecting each response Year subject first read a Harry • Summary of responses Interval 3 Potter book • % selecting each response • Summary of responses 6 Sex of subject Nominal • % selecting each response • Summary of responses 7 Ethnic background Nominal • % selecting each response • Summary of responses 8 Highest level of education Ordinal • % selecting each response
• Summary of responses 9 How well they think they read Nominal • % selecting each response
Way subject learned about the • Summary of responses 10 Nominal questionnaire • % selecting each response Where first learned about Nominal • Summary of responses 11 Harry Potter Qualitative • % selecting each response Why began to read Harry 12 Qualitative • Summary of responses Potter Has subject reread Harry 13 Nominal • Summary of responses Potter • Summary of responses 14 Number of times each read Interval • % selecting each response 15 Motivation for rereading Qualitative • Summary of responses Why reread Harry Potter if not 23 Qualitative • Summary of responses frequent rereader Close friends think reading is • Summary of responses 24e Nominal fun • % selecting each response • Summary of responses 24a Like to read Nominal • % selecting each response
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Question Level of Analytical Procedure Instrument Question Measure Number Reading a book is something • Summary of responses 24b Nominal done often • % selecting each response Friends think they are a good • Summary of responses 24c Nominal reader • % selecting each response • Summary of responses 24d Read better than most friends Nominal • % selecting each response • Summary of responses 24f Tell friends about good books Nominal • % selecting each response Comfort level discussing • Summary of responses 24g Nominal reading in a group • % selecting each response Encouraged friends to read • Summary of responses 24h Nominal Harry Potter • % selecting each response Believe Harry Potter books • Summary of responses 24i Nominal motivated reading frequency • % selecting each response Read books for fun before • Summary of responses 24j Nominal Harry Potter • % selecting each response Reading Harry Potter was • Summary of responses 24k important to feel “in” with Nominal • % selecting each response friends Harry Potter led to interest in • Summary of responses 24l Nominal reading other books • % selecting each response After reading Harry Potter felt • Summary of responses 24m more confidence in reading Nominal • % selecting each response ability Choose books by same author Nominal • Summary of responses 25 a-d & series Qualitative • % selecting each response Frequency reading each kind of • Summary of responses 26 a-k Ordinal book • % selecting each response • Summary of responses 29 Frequency read books for fun Ordinal • % selecting each response Hours per week read for • Summary of responses 30 Interval pleasure • % selecting each response Impact of experience of 34 growing up at the same time as Qualitative • Summary of responses Harry Potter
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Question Level of Analytical Procedure Instrument Question Measure Number Change in rereading experience 35 Qualitative • Summary of responses as subject aged Willingness to participate in Nominal • Summary of responses 37 follow-up interview
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APPENDIX J PHASE TWO INSTRUMENT – SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEW GUIDE
Date:
Time:
Subject email address:
Subject phone number or messaging ID:
Thank you so much for your willingness to help with my research. Before we begin, I need to confirm that you have read the consent form and have agreed to participate in this interview.
YES NO
Introduction 1. Introduce myself and thank the participant for agreeing to be interviewed. 2. Explain the purpose of the interview and remind the subject that their responses will be confidential. 3. Explain the purpose for recording the interview and confirm that it is all right to do so. 4. Remind the participant that there are no correct or incorrect answers and that what they say is an essential element of my ability to answer my research questions. It is their opinions and experiences I am interested in and their honesty and willingness to be candid is what makes my research possible.
Questions
Ice breaker – 5 minutes: Questions about subject’s current educational or work activities and areas of interest: Just to get us started can you tell me a little bit about yourself? Going to school? Working? Activities or hobbies they enjoy?
After no more than 5 minutes, segue from ice breaker questions into those focused on the concepts.
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Overarching Questions Possible Probes themes (follow up questions)
Insert response to Question 12 What happened or was said that first led you to Had you been interested in
read a Harry Potter book? Build reading it prior to her loaning
question & possible probes from original you the book?
response: Influence of How familiar were you with friends or others I saw on your response that you first Harry Potter before then? who were reading read Harry Potter after a friend’s the books mother lent you the book. What did they tell you about
the book? Why did they tell you about this book? Insert appropriate quote from response to What about motivations for Question 15 or 23 primary reason you reading Harry Potter – did the decided to read Harry Potter: reasons that motivated you to begin writing relate to the You mentioned that you began to write reasons you continued to read Detail and depth after you read Harry Potter – that she Harry Potter? of storylines made being an author important and motivational. What particular aspects?
Why? What was it about the Harry Potter books that motivated you to begin writing? Insert appropriate quote from Question Were there any times when 37 or a response from another question if you felt like you shared an there is a more appropriate quote linking experience with her or really motivation and characters: felt like you had something in Associations/ common with either Harry or You identified Harry as your favorite attachments to Hermione? character, but said you related more to characters Hermione. Why was this? Can you describe this?
Any personal connections to the Did it cause you to read any character or shared experiences that of the books again & if so increased motivation to read? which ones?
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Overarching Questions Possible Probes themes (follow up questions)
Insert appropriate quote relating to Can you think of any other envisioning self in world of HP or reading experiences that gave revisiting childhood: you this same feeling? What title/kind of book? “ its like waiting for a best friend to Envisioning self come visit every year. and after youve How was the experience within world of read the book (and your friend leaves) similar/different from while Harry Potter or you're only left with pictures (the read reading Harry Potter? revisiting book.)” childhood
Did this experience happen while you were reading or did the thought motivate you to begin reading the books?
Close interview – 5 minutes • Can you think of any questions about your experience reading Harry Potter that you think I should have asked you or should ask the other readers I’m interviewing? • Any additional Harry Potter stories or comments that you’d like to share? • Any additional questions or comments?
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Debriefing Statement: Thank you for participating in this follow-up interview.
All the information we collected in today’s study will be confidential, and there will be no way of identifying your responses in the data archive. I am not interested in any one individual’s responses; rather my interests are focused on the general patterns that emerge when the data are aggregated together.
Your participation today is appreciated and will help us learn more about the ways Harry Potter has influenced young readers. If you have any questions or concerns, you are welcome to talk with me at (850) 644-0240 or [email protected]. If you have any questions about subjects’ rights, you may contact the FSU IRB Secretary at (850) 644-8633. If your participation in this study has caused you concerns, anxiety, or otherwise distressed you, you may contact the FSU Counseling Center at (850) 644-1234. If you would like to learn more about this research topic, we suggest the following references:
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION.
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APPENDIX K PHASE TWO INTERVIEW INVITATION AND IRB CONSENT EMAIL
From: Drouillard, Colette L
To:
Subject: "Growing Up with Harry Potter" - request for follow-up interview
Hi!
Thanks so much for your response to my “Growing Up with Harry Potter” survey. I am conducting the follow-up interviews, am hoping you are still willing to talk about your Harry Potter reading experience and available to talk either by phone or instant messenger sometime the week of Monday, September 22, 2008 through Friday, September 26, 2008.
I have about ten questions to ask all my interview subjects, but the time the interview will last will be determined by the time you have available and on our conversation. I have estimated each interview will last about 30 minutes. My schedule is pretty flexible between 8am and 11pm Eastern Standard time – I have outlined some potential times below, but please send me an email if the times don’t work with your schedule – if it’s at all possible I’ll happily accommodate your schedule preferences!
If you are willing to talk with me I need you to “respond” to this email after you’ve reviewed the FSU Behavioral Consent Form at the bottom of the page. You’ll need to enter an “X” or your initials to indicate your response to each of the questions. I’ve also added a table so you can tell me the name you’d like me to call you, whether you’d prefer talking via phone or instant messenger, and the days/times you’re available this week.
Thanks so much – I’m really looking forward to talking to you!
Colette Drouillard Doctoral Candidate, Florida State University, College of Information
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Name: (Whatever name you’d prefer I address you with – it seems like it might be awkward to use your email address as your name!) Type of Interview Preferred Phone: Please enter phone number including area ( ) code if this is the way you’d prefer I contact you. Instant Messenger: Please enter your preferred messenger system & IM ID if this is the way you’d prefer I contact you. Day & Time Preferred Please identify one or two times you would prefer & will be available – if these times or days don’t work, just write a quick note in the top box below & let me know your availability or preference. Monday (September 22nd):
Between 5 pm & 11 pm Tuesday (September 23rd): Between 10 am & 2 pm Between 3 pm & 11 pm Wednesday (September 24th): Between 8 am & noon Between 5 pm & 11 pm Thursday (September 25th):
Between 8 am & 11 pm Friday (September 26th):
Between 8 am & 11 pm
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FSU Behavioral Consent Form
Growing Up With Harry Potter: What Motivated Youth To Read?
You are invited to participate in the second phase of a research study exploring what motivated youth to read the Harry Potter series of books. You were selected as a possible participant because you identified yourself as being willing to participate in a follow-up interview while completing the initial phase of this research. We ask that you read this form and ask any questions you may have before agreeing to be in the study.
This study is being conducted by Colette Drouillard, Doctoral Candidate at Florida State University, College of Information.
Background Information:
The purpose of this study is the identification of factors young readers report as motivating them to read Harry Potter. Data collected from Harry Potter readers will be used to expand current knowledge and understanding of reading motivations, interests, habits and attitudes.
Procedures:
If you agree to participate in this phase of the study, we would ask you to be interviewed either by phone or via the internet using an audio or text client and be completed in 30 to 60 minutes. .
Interview questions will explore and refine understanding of significant themes found in responses to Phase One questions and/or clarify and obtain additional detail in regards to unanticipated responses.
This study involves digital recording of your interview with the researcher. Neither your name nor any other identifying information will be associated with the recording or the transcript. Only the researcher(s) will be permitted to listen to the recording.
Immediately following the interview, you will be given the opportunity to have the recording deleted.
Please select one of each pair of options. I consent to have my interview recorded. I do not consent to have my interview recorded.
I consent to have my recorded interview transcribed into written form. I do not consent to have my recorded interview transcribed.
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The recording will be transcribed by the researcher. Quotations from your interview may be reproduced in whole or in part in the dissertation, presentations or other written products that result from this study. Neither your name nor any other identifying information (such as your voice) will be used any presentations or written products resulting from the study.
I consent to the use of quotations from my interview in the dissertation, presentations or other written products resulting from this study, provided that neither my name nor other identifying information will be associated with the transcript. I do not consent to the use of quotations from my interview in the dissertation, presentations or other written products resulting from this study.
Your participation is voluntary, and you can stop the survey or interview at any time.
Risks of being in the Study: There have been no risks identified as resulting from participation in this study.
Confidentiality: The records of this study will be kept private and confidential to the extent permitted by law. In any sort of report we might publish, we will not include any information that will make it possible to identify a subject. Research records will be stored securely and only researchers will have access to the records.
Voluntary Nature of the Study: Participation in this study is voluntary. If you decide to participate, you are free to not answer any question or withdraw at any time.
Contacts and Questions: The researcher conducting this study is Colette Drouillard. If you have any questions you are encouraged to contact me by email ([email protected]) or phone (850)644-9240. My dissertation advisor, Dr. Eliza T. Dresang, can be reached via email ([email protected]).
If you have any questions or concerns regarding this study and would like to talk to someone other than the researcher, you are encouraged to contact the FSU IRB at 2010 Levy Street, Research Building B, Suite 276, Tallahassee, FL 32306-2742, or 850-644-8633, or by email at [email protected].
Statement of Consent: I have read the above information. I have asked questions and have received answers. I consent to participate in the study.
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Colette Drouillard completed her doctoral degree at the Florida State University College of Information. Her research interests focus on reader response, reading motivation, and reading interests of young readers and the role this plays in the information needs of youth. Prior to entering the College of Information doctoral program, she worked for one year as a librarian at Florida State University’s London Study Centre and held a faculty position as the children’s collection and information studies distance student librarian during her final three years of doctoral work. Prior to becoming a librarian, work experience included nearly ten years as a training program manager, instructional designer and statewide training program coordinator for the Florida Department of Labor’s Division of Safety and three years as a training designer and developer with the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Engineering Laboratory’s safety training unit. While at FSU she served as the book review coordinator for The Library Quarterly and participated as a member of many college and university committees. She holds the MEd in education from Idaho State University and the MSLIS from Florida State University. Her BS, from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, is in elementary education.
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