the results of a survey conducted for an assignment in Educational Research at Cleveland State University, Spring 2013 - uploaded here for the purpose of sharing with all our respondents who connected with the survey through facebook. THANKS EVERYONE! :-)

2. Methodology
• Our research group created a short ten question survey of open-ended
questions regarding what participant felt may define what it means to be
happy. The survey was created through an online survey tool called Survey
Monkey. We field tested the survey in a pre-sample of ten respondents, two
selected from each of our own personal acquaintances. The responses
received from our field test elicited results the group felt would be
applicable to our final questions. Each researcher distributed the survey
electronically by personal and professional e-mails, plus social media sites
such as LinkedIn and Facebook. The survey was made accessible to all
participants from March 11th through March 19th. Two hundred twenty-
seven individuals responded to our electronic survey over the course of one
week. Individuals were encouraged to invite others upon receiving our
invitation to participate in this survey.

3. Demographics
• In order to protect anonymity of our respondents, we kept the demographic
inquiry to a minimum since we surveyed our own sphere of contacts.
Demographic information asked of participants included
race/ethnicity, age, gender, income level, and geographic location (zip code). Of
the 227 respondents, only 11.4 declined to answer the demographic items. The
majority of respondents in our survey were White (82.9%) and Female (70.4%).
The age groups of respondents was evenly dispersed between 21 and 60, with the
highest percentage of respondents ranging from 21-29 (37.4%). Income levels of
our respondents were also evenly dispersed among all ranges with the highest
percentage (23.1%) of respondents’ income level being reported approximate
household income range being $25K - $49K. Of the 215 participants that offered
their zip code, 94 respondents (43%) reported Ohio zip codes. No other zip codes
were listed more than half as much as those from Ohio. However, we received
participation from zip codes across the entire United States and several foreign
countries. We received responses from the Netherlands, The UK, Spain, Chile &
Peru.

4. Analysis
1. In response to Question 1; What does it mean to be happy?; most
respondents defined this as a sense of contentment and fulfillment with
regard to home, work, family, and life.
2. In response to Question 2; Who influences happiness?; the majority of
responses cited themselves (you, yourself, and oneself) as the major
influences of happiness.
3. In response to Question 3; What influences happiness?; the majority of
respondents answered with the words of love, commitment to
goals, money, actions, health, religion and job in that order.
4. In response to Question 4; When you see the word “Happy”, What are the
next three words you think of?; most of respondents answered with the
words of joyful, smile, laugh, love, family, peace and content in that
order.
5. In response to Question 5; Where do you find happiness?; most
respondents said they find happiness in themselves. Home, family, and
friends were a close second. In third place came events involving nature
(i.e. hiking, outdoors, etc).

5. Analysis (cont’d)
6. In response to Question 6; What three material things make you happy?; the majority of
responses related that being at home made them happy. Other suggestions were:
Disney, his or her workforce, outdoors, vacation house, or Disney. Money was highly
interpreted in most individual’s lives, along with material items, such as clothing and
accessories (jewelry and shoes).
7. In response to Question 7; What locations make you happy?; the majority of respondents
answered with words of home, being outdoors, being near water and being with
Family, in that order. The idea of being someplace that invoked a sense of
contentment was a common theme in responses to this question.
8. In response to Question 8; What life events reflect happiness?; an overwhelming number
of responses had to do with Weddings/Anniversaries and Births/Birthdays. Other
themes that were strong were accomplishments such as graduations and promotions
with family gatherings rounding out the top 5. Connecting with people was also a
common theme in responses to this question.
9. In response to Question 9; How can you tell if someone else is happy?; a large number of
answers addressed the act of smiling, body language, and facial expressions.
10. In response to Question 10; How do you show happiness?; the majority of respondents
answered with a smile, body language, or laughter.

6. Conclusion
The answer to our overarching question, and
the purpose of our survey,
‘What does it mean to be happy?’,
Seems to be that the respondents
are happy when they
feel content, fulfilled and connected
in or at a warm safe place that creates joy.

7. Demographics Charts

8. Demographics Charts

9. Demographics Charts

10. Demographics Charts