Myers-Briggs survey results (long)

[lyndsey -dot- amott -at- docsymmetry -dot- com]

1. There are 5,000 subscribers to TECHWR-L. I received 28 responses, a 
response rate of, er, well, somebody else will have to do the math.
Possible Conclusions:
a) Only 28 techwriters have done the Myers-Briggs test
b) There are not really 5,000 subscribers to the list
c) There are 5,000 subscribers, but hardly anyone actually reads the posts
d) People feel that revealing their Myers-Briggs type is akin to wearing a 
see-through blouse to work
e) Ho hum, Myers-Briggs is soooooo booooooooring
f) There are 4972 lurkers on this list, all of whom are terrified of Isaac 

2. Eleven males and 17 females.
Probable Conclusion:
a) More females than males are techwriters 

3. The majority of immediate responses to the survey came from N types; the 
majority of next-day responses came from S types; the majority of today's 
responses have come from N types.
Possible Conclusions:
a) Sensing (S) types are very sensible people; therefore, they get the 
Digest version and set aside half an hour a day to read it
b) Some iNtuitives (N) types are so fascinated with all the new ideas 
fluttering around them each day that they forget to read the list postings 

4. Overall, the majority of respondants were Ns.
Possible Conclusions:
a) Most techwriters are Ns
b) The sensible Esses don't have time to waste on surveys 

5. Four respondants indicated that they were either this type or that type, 
depending on the day.
Possible Conclusions:
a) 14% of technical writers have multiple personality disorder
b) ? 

6. Of the four noted above, regardless of the things that change, the N/S 
part remains constant. So, while an E might feel like an I sometimes, or a J 
might be a P once in a while, an N never becomes an S and an S never becomes 
an N.
Possible Conclusions:
a) This is an important observation and ought to be studied further
b) This is a red herring--over the next two days I will receive 4,972 emails 
from people who are either N or S depending on the day 

7. The table below indicates the distribution of types among 28 technical 
writers. Due to the difficulty of indicating the four undecided types, I 
have decided, in my role as Survey Grand Pooh-Bah, that they are actually 
eight different types. Thus, a person who said he was a cross between one 
type and another has been counted as both. Asterisks indicate the types that 
fall into this category
ISTJ - 7*
ISTP - 0
ESTP - 0
ESTJ - 1
ISFJ - 1*
ISFP - 0
ESFP - 0
ESFJ - 0
INFJ - 4*
INFP - 2*
ENFP - 1
ENFJ - 1
INTJ - 7*
INTP - 2
ENTP - 4
ENTJ - 2
MYOB - 1 (or, possibly, 4972) 

8. In my role as Survey Grand Pooh-Bah, I have determined that the four 
undecideds were just being difficult, and so I have placed them where I 
think they ought to be. Gender distribution among all types is indicated 
with nM or nF.
ISTJ - 7 (6F, 1M)
ISTP - 0
ESTP - 0
ESTJ - 1 (1M)
ISFJ - 0
ISFP - 0
ESFP - 0
ESFJ - 0
INFJ - 3 (1F, 2M)
INFP - 0
ENFP - 1 (1F)
ENFJ - 1 (1F)
INTJ - 7 (2F, 5M)
INTP - 2 (1F, 1M)
ENTP - 4 (4F)
ENTJ - 2 (1F, 1M)
MYOB - 1 (or, possibly, 4972) 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lyndsey Amott
www.docsymmetry.com
Winnipeg, MB  R3G 2J3