Results for the Summer 2011 International Furry Survey led by Dr. Gerbasi and Nuka were released last month, and some are quite surprising. The study attracted 1940 participants (179 'non-furry'). 45% came from Anthrocon 2011; the rest filled out the survey online.

The same team ran an online survey last January, and a follow-up at Furry Fiesta 2011.

This survey swept in members of several related groups, most of whom saw themselves as distinct from furries. 74.4% of participants identified solely as furry, while 8.8% claimed to be therians and 4.7% otherkin. 3.6% felt they belonged to both furry and one of these groups.

Significant differences were found between furries and therians, and male and female furs.

To better help understand the "Furry Fandom" - the mindsets of the participants, and how we compare to and differ from other fandoms (i.e. sci-fi and fantasy based fandoms), the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada and Niagara County Community College in Sanborn, New York, are conducting an international online survey of the Furry Fandom.

Conducting the study is Courtney "Nuka" Plante, a furry social psychology graduate student at the University of Waterloo and Dr. Kathy Gerbasi, a social psychologist at the Niagara County Community College in Sanborn, New York.

Dr. Gerbasi and Courtney (Nuka) have been studying furries through the use of rigorous scientific methodology in the hopes of understanding furries and their fandom. There is a lot of bad media and misinformation about furries, and they hope that by scientifically studying the furry fandom they can do away with misconceptions regarding the furry fandom.

Continue reading at Furry News Network, and see Flayrah's prior coverage of Dr. Gerbasi's work.

Update (20 Feb): The survey has concluded, with almost 7000 responses – wildly exceeding the 250–1000 anticipated. Now the analysis begins!

Preliminary statistical results from May's fandom survey are now available. Furry fandom was well-represented, but the survey was intended to reflect fandom generally.

Over 50% of respondents were under 25, and the vast majority were Caucasian. 62% were single. Over three-quarters came from the US, with another 10% from Canada, the UK and Australia. Nearly 70% were enrolled in or had graduated from an undergraduate or graduate degree. Non-students tended to be in computer or customer-service related occupations.

Bad behaviour was selected as the worst issue at conventions, with overcrowding a distant second. Other people's hygiene and overall cost took third and fourth place.

A survey on fandom activity and conventions has been announced. It is not necessary to have attended conventions to complete the survey.

The researcher, Covarla, is pursuing a doctorate in cultural anthropology at New York at Buffalo, with a tentative dissertation title of Fan Conventions and the Rise of Fan Culture. Her prior work covers representations of homosexuality in Yaoi, and witchcraft in America.

Read more: The results so far, and additional background.

A group at the University of Alaska is running a survey of the furry community.

The online survey - led by Dr. Tim Lower and Eric Olson - appears to focus on the community aspects of being a furry, and seeks to establish the effect of participating on individuals (also a goal of prior surveys by Dr. Kathleen Gerbasi at Anthrocon).

Read more: Survey of the efficacy of furry subculture online/in-person support network

(Source: Another furry survey --- links, thoughts by rex)

Preliminary results have been released for a psychological survey taken at Anthrocon 2009 this July.^{[1][2][3][4][5]} The survey team was led by Dr. Kathy Gerbasi, a social psychologist and anthrozoologist at the Niagara County Community College, and supervised by the Kent State University Institutional Review Board.

The team has run surveys at Anthrocon since 2006, covering topics such as connections with other species, species dysphoria and gender identity disorder, happiness and social rejection, transliminality, the essential characteristics of being a furry, and the reasons furry fans wear (or do not wear) fursuits.^[6] Many topics were chosen to address prevalent stereotypes. The first portion of their work was published in the academic journal Society and Animals in 2008.^[7][8]

This year's survey focussed on determining sociability, empathy, sex role identification, and social desirability.^[9] There were 275 participants; fewer than in previous years due to IRB restrictions intended to prevent distribution of forms to minors.^[10]

Give feedback on your life in the Furry Survey 2009, where we will again find out the nature of all that is fuzzy!

We here at FT love to know about the make up of the fandom, and it seems that one Alex Osaki does too! Following the huge response to the 2008 Furry Survey, in which over 5000 people took part (the largest known response to a furry survey to date), it only seems fitting to do another one.

Osaki, the man behind klisoura.com and the Furry Research Center, is presenting an improved version of the 2008 survey with more questions concerning non-furry activities and convention attendance - both topics rarely covered by other surveys of the fandom - and with a turnout expected higher than that of last year, it proves an invaluable source of information on fandom life.

The results of the Furry Sociological Survey held by Kyle Evans in 2006-2007 have finally been released to the public. Based greatly off David Rust’s survey in 1998, it shows a few significant changes in the state of the fandom. The fandom is younger, more heterosexual and is now composed out of many more ethnic minorities. I won’t ramble on, but be sure to check out the results of Evan’s survey.

In issue 4 of the Furtean Times, I announced my "Furry Sexuality Survey" - the first survey solely dedicated to the one issue that appears time and time again for us furries and media representations of the fandom. Well, the results are in - thanks to the 192 people who took part.

Before I reveal them, I understand that there have been one or two complaints about the survey. For example, I heard that people complained about when I asked the gender of the people answering their gender, that they augured over the fact that I only included two answers (male and female) and that this would therefore be unfair towards people who were transgender, pangender and so forth. I would like to apologise towards everyone who has brought up issues, and will act upon them if I do another survey at some other time in the future.

The University of California, Davis Department of Psychology has released results of a survey of the furry fandom.^[1] The online survey was intended to identify the types and motivations of people within the fandom, and included both general demographic questions and sets designed to measure perceptions of furries towards themselves and their view of the perceptions of others towards furries. Over 600 furs participated through 22-26 February.^[2][3]

phantos@visi.com ">David J. Rust has posted a basic study on furry sociology. While his data is up to four years old, it does provide an interesting snapshot of some fandom demographics.