So you want to publish a magazine?

So you want to publish a magazine?

A study of why we digitally self-publish.

Silje Strommen

Master of Arts Publishing LCC University of the Arts London September 2013

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Abstract During a lecture given at London College of Communication, publisher of .Cent magazine, Jo Phillips, stated that it is going to be even easier to self-publish in the future, that tablets are going to become easier and better to use and that more people are understanding how to read online (2013). Focusing on a wide range of different interests, independent digital magazines reflect a world that is now moving from mainstream into niches. This dissertation focuses on the motivation for those who digitally self-publish independent magazines and proposes a hypothesis regarding this motivation. It draws parallels between how new ideas are generated, personality attributes of the stereotypical creative and what impact environment has on fulfilment of creative ability, and the motivation for performing a creative act. The research aim and objectives were further explored by qualitative empirical research, in combination with a complex Literature Review as a secondary source of research.

By undertaking the research strategy survey the findings provide both in-depth information as a result of the qualitative approach, and also quantitative information as the proposed hypothesis was tested on a targeted sampling population.

The findings of the research indicate that the proposed hypothesis of Recognition in the Field of Interest, Wanting to Reach Ones Full Potential and Wanting Power to be valid. However, as the needed sample size to claim the finding to be representative for the targeted population was not obtained one cannot argue that this hypothesis is valid for others than the responders. Nevertheless, this dissertation produced a number of key findings: Digital self-publishers highly value their own creative ability and knowledge. They credit informal apprenticeships rather than formal as their source of knowledge. They also state community and culture to be the environment in which their creativity has been fostered and agrees with the statement that with their work on the publication they would like to influence others. The main conclusion to be drawn from these findings is that digital self-publishers publish for the personal fulfilment it gives them as it brings them joy, the feeling of being accomplished, the opportunity to achieve something, to show off knowledge and passion and to influence others. Publishing is their way of reaching self-actualization and finding peace with themselves. This research values the impact digital self-publisher’s motivation has on new digital content being created and the boundaries for how to read being pushed, and recommends continuing to acknowledge and seek out digital niche media.

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Acknowledgements I would like to thank London College of Communications and all of my teachers, especially Desmond O’Rourke and Keith Martin, and fellow students for a year full of experiences, challenges and memories.

There is do doubt that I would never have finished this dissertation without the love and support from my friends and my family. You know who you are, and I am eternally grateful for you letting me cry out my frustration, forcing you to proofread parts of this thesis and throwing ideas at you and having distracted me with all of the joys life has to offer during this past year.

Special thanks to Johan Jøsok who with his graphic design skills made this dissertation look worthy of being bound into a book. After all, “in a well-made book, where designer, compositor and printer have all done their jobs, no matter how many thousands of lines and pages, the letters are alive. They dance in their seats.

Sometimes they rise and dance in the margins and aisles.” – Robert Bringhurst.

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Table of contents

ii Abstract iii Acknowledgments

ii iii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Aim and objectives Rationale Scope

Chapter Breakdown References

6 6 6 7 7 8

CHAPTER 2: BACKGROUND, RESEARCH FOCUS AND CONTEXT

2.1 The Rise of Digital Reading

2.2 From Mainstream Print to Digital Niches

2.3 References

9 9 10 12

CHAPTER 3: LITERATURE REVIEW

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Where does creativity come from?

3.2.1 Where creativity happens

3.2.2 Coming up with a new idea

3.3 The relationship between personality-type

and creative ability 3.3.1 The stereotypical creative

3.3.2 Environmental factors for creativity

3.4 Fulfilling the creative potential 3.4.1 Motivation for creativity

3.5 Proposed motivators for digital self-publishing and

the need for empirical research

3.5.1 Proposed motivators for digital self-publishing

3.5.2 Need for empirical research

3.6 References

14 14 15 15 18 20

25 28 29

CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND DESIGN

4.1 Introduction research methods

4.2 Research strategy

4.3 Data Collection 4.3.1 Data collection method: questionnaire

32 32 33 35 35

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20 22 23 23 25

4.3.2 Sampling size

4.4 Framework for data analysis 4.4.1 Questionnaire design

4.4.2 Analysis process

4.5 Limitations and potential problems

4.5 References

36 37 37 39 39 41

CHAPTER 5: FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS OF THE EMPIRICAL RESEARCH 5.1 Introduction

5.2 Survey findings 5.2.1 Demographic findings

5.2.3 Creative ability findings

5.2.3 Main findings

5.3 Discussion and analysis of empirical research findings

5.4 Limitations with the findings of the empirical research

5.5 References

43 43 44 48 50 51 54 57 58

CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION

6.1 Research objectives: Summary of findings and conclusion

6.2 Recommendations

6.3 Self-reflection

6.4 References

60 60 63 65 66

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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APPENDIX

Appendix A: Full questionnaire design

Appendix B: Summary of survey findings

Appendix C: Declaration of authenticity

72 72 78 85

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Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 AIM AND OBJECTIVES The aim of this research study is to investigate motivation for digital independent self-publishing.

Looking into the following objectives will be done in order to investigate this aim, specifically concerning the connection between personality type, creative ability and motivation.

O1: Outline psychological theories that can indicate how novel ideas are generated O2: Investigate the connections between personality type and creative ability O3: Propose a hypothesis regarding motivation for digital self-publishing of magazines O4: Explore and evaluate digital publisher’s creativity and motivation for self-publishing O5: Evaluate the proposed hypothesis for motivation and formulate a conclusion regarding the motivation for independent digital self-publishing

1.2 RATIONALE With the increasing use of digital tools in reading (in the UK, news and entertainment are two of the top 5 activities on tablets, Terrelonge, 2013), and the shift from mainstream markets to niche markets continue (Chris Anderson, 2006), more people turn to independent self-published digital magazines. It is therefore worth looking into the motivation of those who digitally self-publish in order to better understand the process of producing the publications but also regarding the further development of digital magazines and their readership.

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1.3 SCOPE The scope for this dissertation is, as stated in the aim, independent digital selfpublishers. As the web is global, the study will be conducted without being limited to a specific country or region. However, as the researcher is fluent in English, and is conducting the research while living and studying in the UK, the empirical research will be limited to publications written in English. Even though the scope of the secondary research will be conducted on a general basis, the primary research will be limited to a specific sampled population. The overall scope will therefore be concerned with a specific group of digital self-publishers and will not be representative for a larger population, even though it is expected that some of the research will provide valuable insights into the general motivation for digital selfpublishers regardless of genre.

1.4 CHAPTER BREAKDOWN Chapter 2: Background and Research Focus and Context will provide the reader with background information on digital reading and the shift in reading patterns as new ways to read have been introduced. The research focus of the dissertation is also further explored and put in context.

Chapter 3: Literature Review provides an examination of previous published literature, specifically concerned Objective 1 and 2. This chapter will look into how new ideas are generated, the stereotypical creative and the connection to creative ability and motivation for performing creative acts.

Chapter 4: Research Methodology and Design will describe and justify the adopted research methodology including research strategy, data collection method, and framework for data analysis, limitations and potential problems.

Chapter 5: Findings and Analysis of the Empirical Research presents and discusses the findings of the empirical research.

Chapter 6: Conclusion provides a summary and conclusion to each of the dissertation’s objectives before forming an overall conclusion in regard to the study’s aim. It also provides recommendations and self-reflection.

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1.5 REFERENCES Books ANDERSON, C., 2006. The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More. New York: Hyperion.

Online TERRELONGE, Z., 2013. Tablets: the fastest growing technology in history (online), viewed September 3rd, 2013. Available from: http://www.mobileent.biz/news/read/infographic-tablets-the-fastest-growing-technologyin-history/022239.

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Chapter 2: Background, research focus and context This chapter gives an insight into the background and the focus and context of the research aim. 2.1 The Rise of Digital Reading explores the background of the dissertation: the shift in reading patterns and the use of digital tools in reading, while 2.2 From Mainstream Print to Digital Niches looks into the research focus and context with niche markets and how these shifts allow anyone with an Adobe package, internet connection and something to say the chance to self-publish a magazine.

2.1 THE RISE OF DIGITAL READING The Internet is the single biggest technological construction of our daily existence, and two billion people use it every day (Blum, 2012. p.3). During a lecture given at London College of Communication, publisher of .Cent magazine, Jo Phillips, stated that it is going to be even easier to self-publish in the future, that tablets are going to become easier and better to use and that more people are understanding how to read online (2013). The fact that printed magazine circulation is in decline is nothing new.

Mainstream publishing companies are losing money, advertisers withdraw, measures for cost-savings are introduced and to top it all off: raw material for print is becoming, as a reaction to the lower circulation figures, more expensive.

But does this mean that people are not interested in reading magazines anymore?

That print is dying does not necessarily mean that the publishing industry is. As Alex Watson of blog ‘The Wired Jester’ wrote just before the release of 2012’s ABC figures: “What we are actually seeing is that a shift in reading patters, made possible by smartphones and tablets, presents a big opportunity to media companies, both for new project and for existing magazine brands (2013). The PPA estimate that by 2016, 357 million tablets will be in use globally (2012). Figures presented in the The Tap Report 2012 supports the statement “tablets are an leisure device, not an business one”. In general, 55% of UK tablet owners have read digital newspapers or magazines on their tablet in the last three months, and 68% have read a publication that they have not previously read in print (PPA, 2012). Purely digital magazines, or i-mags

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(McKay, 2000/2013, p.190) can be read on not just tablets, but also on Mac or PC screens, providing a large set of possibilities when it comes to when and where. McKay (2000/2013) suggests spending a few minutes browsing issuu.com, a “free online magazine upload-and-publish service” that hosts thousands of titles to get an idea of the range of indy magazines online (p.190). In addition you have Zine, Ceros, Olive and Apple Newsstand which all lets you read digital magazines both offline and online.

This “shift in reading patters” is especially beneficial for new publications and projects. Where starting up and putting out a printed magazine can be both time consuming and expensive, creating it digitally can in theory be done for free.

“In the last decade the computing industry has democratized access to powerful software tools for creating and editing” writes John Naughton (2012, pp.245-246).

Software developments such as Adobe’s inDesign and Photoshop allow anyone who purchases (or downloads) the programmes to design pages and publications and edit photos to the standards of major publications. “These tools are the engines that are powering a new explosion of cultural production”, Naughton states. Although Andrew Keen (p.47) argues that “the simple ownership of a computer and an Internet connection doesn’t transform one into a serious journalist any more than having access to a kitchen makes one into a serious cook”, the shift between who can present themselves as journalists and editors and the traditional roles of sender and receiver has blurred out.

Finding and defining you readership is also becoming easier online. Instead of actively having to get your audience to go out and buy a printed magazine, a Facebook-group, a blogpost or even just a message with an URL can lead a potential reader onto your site. One click and they have opened your magazine. While discussions are made regarding how our brain works when we read online, studies shows that people tend to both concentrate and perceive less of the text when reading books digitally, it is clear that for shorter texts “screens obviously offer readers experiences that paper cannot” (Jabr, 2013). You don’t necessarily need to scroll through meters of online text on your pc, tablet or phone. You can swipe from slide to slide, click on video, sound, photos – you can bookmark, save and share. You can use timelines and links to navigate. As Jarb puts it “text is not the only way to read” (2013).

2.2 FROM MAINSTREAM PRINT TO DIGITAL NICHES As this development continues, a new market for stuff to read online has emerged.

As some large mainstream magazines hold on to the thought of a printed magazine being more valuable in terms of content and format (PPC/Lorraine Candy, 2010) we can also see that our culture increasingly shifts away from the mainstream market and moves towards the niches (Anderson, 2006. p.16). The Internet has created

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a platform for mass creativity (Leadbeater, 2008). Bradshaw and Morrish (2012) speculate that “many are attracted (to digital publishing) by the much lower costs; others because they feel it is the fashionable thing to do; and some because they simply recognize that is where the audience work, rest and play” (p.20). Naturally, you can find a lot of bad, worthless spam online. Not everything published is good.

In theory everyone who has an internet connection and the correct software can become an editor of his or her own magazine. By taking on that role of editor, the content published will have been collected, monitored, sub-edited and posted with a target audience in mind, and by so the interests of the readers have been curated, adding value in terms of content.

The Web 2.0 has taken the traditional zines, self-published magazines of a small circulation, and done so on the basis of enjoyment rather than making profit (Wikipedia, 2013), and transformed them into purely digital magazines. Being digital, they have the whole world, or the whole World Wide Web, as a potential audience.

The zine has always been there for those rejecting the “corporate dream of an atomized population broken down into discrete and instrumental target markets” (Duncombe, 1997. p.2). McKay (2000/2013) predicts that in a digital world, small, mainly indy, magazines that do a great job of serving a narrow but deep niche will continue to flourish in the future, especially if they can develop targeted distribution/ subscription services (p.201). Focusing on a wide range of different interests, digital magazines reflect a world that is now moving from mainstream into niches, as defined in Chris Anderson’s The Long Tail (2006). However, where the printed magazine is easy to define: it comes out regularly and is printed, a digital magazine can have many formats and sizes. The style of digital magazines is fast evolving, and as The Digital Magazine Awards (FAQ, 2013) puts it they can include “PDFs of print magazines, bespoke digital magazines, tablets and websites (typically which have edited magazine-style content)”. It is estimated that leading digital publishing platform issuu.com, hosts 11.7 million publications, with 20.000 new publications being uploaded daily (Issuu, 2013).

A statement that is often made about self-publishers is that they simply have to write and that, for some reason, they just have to publish (Kalmar, 1997. p.123). That self-publishing is a creative act is probably an understatement. One can argue that creativity is a necessity when it comes to independently producing magazines.

However, for creativity to occur task motivation and the relevant skills are needed (Amabile, 2012. p.3). The relevant skills can be obtained through gaining knowledge, but motivation is still the key to producing creative work. As new digital tools, the shift in reading patterns and the shift from mainstream media to niches, the motivation for those who self-publish is more interesting now than ever. So, you want to publish a magazine? This dissertation will seek out to explore why.

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2.3 REFERENCES Books AMABILE, T., 2012. Componential Theory of Creativity (pp.134-138). In: KESSLER. H. E., 2013. Encyclopedia of Management Theory. California, London, New Delhi and Singapore: Sage Publications.

ANDERSON, C., 2006. The Long Tail (Smarter Comics 2011 edition). London: Random House Business, 2006 BAGGINI, J., 2011. The Ego Trick. London: Granta Publications.

BRADSHAW, P., and MORRISH J., 2012. Magazine Edition in Print and Online (3rd edition). London and New York: Routledge.

BLUM, A., 2012. Tubes, Behind the Scenes at the Internet. London: Penguin Group.

DUNCOMBE, S., 1997. Notes From Underground – Zines and the Politics of Alternative Culture. London and New York: Verso.

KALMAR, V., 1997. Start Your Own Zine. New York: Hyperion.

KEEN, A., 2008. The Culture of the Amateur. Boston and London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing Ltd. LEADBEATER, C., 2008. We-Think: Mass Innovation, Not Mass Production.

London: Profile.

McKAY, J., 2013. The Magazine Handbook (3rd edition). New York: Routledge.

NAUGHTON, J., 2012. From Gutenberg to Zuckerberg: What You Really Need to Know About the Internet. London: Quercus.

Lectures PHILIPS, J., 2013. A New World of Digital Publishing (Lecture) Online DIGITAL MAGAZINE AWARDS, 2013. FAQ: What Is A Digital Magazine? (online: accessed May 28th 2013). Published 2013. Available from: http://digitalmagazineawards.com/faq/ JABR, F., 2013. The Reading Brain in the Digital Age: The Science of Paper

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versus Screens. Yahoo! News (online: accessed April 25th 2013). Published April 11th 2013. Available from: http://news.yahoo.com/reading-braindigital-age-science-paper-versus-screens-113000205.html ISSUU, 2013. About (online: accessed May 27th 2013). Published 2013.

Available from: http://issuu.com/about PPA MARKETING, 2010. The Future of Print Magazines (online: accessed April 25th 2013). Published 2010. Available from: http://www.ppa.co.uk/ marketing/future-of-publishing/feature-articles/the-joy-of-magazines/ PPA MARKETING, 2012. The Tap Report, A Study of Tablets and Publishing (online: accessed April 28th 2013). Available from: http://www.ppa.co.uk/~/ media/PPANew/PPA%20marketing/Research/TAP/TAPReport.ashx WIKIPEDIA, 2013. Zine. Accessed February 11, 2013. Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zine.

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Chapter 3: Literature review 3.1 INTRODUCTION In order to understand the motivation behind digital self-publishing one need to look into creative psychology and how people generate novel ideas. In 1996, Sternberg and Lubart, authors of The Investment Theory of Creativity, suggested that given the rate at which the world is changing, the importance of creativity to our lives is likely to increase (p.678). As seen from Chapter 1, Introduction and Chapter 2: Background, Research Focus and Context, the increasing use of digital tools in our everyday life has led to both a swift in reading patterns, introduced by tablets and digital reading, and a blurred line between who is sender and receiver in the publishing landscape. If you feel the initial pull of creativity, all you need in order to follow up on your novel idea for a publication is a computer, an Adobe package and a URL. It is interesting to see that novel ideas are being generated at every level of creativity, and that motivation is one of the driving factors for creative ability being explored within the individual. On these terms, literature for the secondary research of this dissertation was sourced out using the keywords ‘cultural entrepreneurship’, ‘creative psychology’, ‘creative innovation’ and ‘personality psychology’, among others. It should be noted that some literature sources mainly focus on creativity in art and entrepreneurship, while others focuses on creativity in science. The relevant literature was located using Sage online journals and University of the Arts library facilities, in addition to Google Scholar.

Forming the secondary research of this dissertation, the literature was then studied and will in this chapter be reviewed. Relevant theories regarding the dissertation’s objectives were explored, and as a result a hypothesis regarding motivation for digital self-publishing is presented in the last sub-section (3.5 Proposed Motivators for SelfPublishing and the Need for Empirical Research). The sub-sections of this literature review are based on the dissertation’s objectives 1, 2 and 3 (table 3.1.1), forming the following sub-sections: 3.2 Where does creativity come from, 3.3 The relationship between personality-type and creative ability, 3.4 Fulfilling the creative potential and 3.5 Proposed motivators for digitally self-publishing and the need for empirical research (table 3.1.2).

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O1: Outline psychological theories that can indicate motivators for self-publishing O2: Investigate connections between personality type and environment O3: Propose a hypothesis regarding motivation for digital self-publishing of magazines Table 3.1.1 Objectives undertaken in the literature review

3.2 Where does creativity come from?

3.3 The relationship between personality-type and creative ability 3.4 Fulfilling the creative potential 3.5 Proposed motivators for digital self-publishing and the need for empirical research Table 3.1.2 Sub-section formed after the disseratation’s objectives

Ultimately, this Literature Review will provide insights to creative ability and motivation, and lead to a hypothesis regarding motivation for digital independent self-publishing of magazines being proposed. In order to do so, investigating relevant theories connected to where good ideas come from, how creative potential is fulfilled and motivation for performing a creative act is required. The proposed hypothesis will be based on the reviewed literature within the given sub-sections, and will be further tested in the primary research in order to validate or invalidate it.

3.2 WHERE DOES CREATIVITY COME FROM? 3.2.1 WHERE CREATIVITY HAPPENS Csikszentmihalyi’s Systems Model of Creativity (1999, model 3.2.1) states that creativity is presented as an interaction between the domain (music etc.), the field (gatekeepers such as teachers, editors, critics) and the person (the creator). Freud (1910/1964), on the other hand, developed the idea that creativity arises from the tension between conscious reality and unconscious drivers. Several other theories have evolved from Freud’s Psychodynamic approach, among them Kris’s (1952) concept of Adaptive, Regression and Elaboration for creativity, which refers to the intrusion of Unmodulated Thoughts which can stimulate creative thinking both when

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Cultural

w or

r fo In

ks

Domain

n

io at

Cr ea tiv e

m

Social

Evaluations

Field

Personal Individual

Novel works Model 3.2.1 Model of creativity – Csikszentmihalyi (1999)

conscious during active problem solving but also, as Freud suggests in his theory, during daydreams or fantasies, among other states of the mind. An important aspect of generating creative ideas are the scientific approach regarding how the brain works. Research has proved that people who use the right side of their brain vs. those who use the left tend to be more creative, a feature that results in them seeing problems in new ways (Sternberg and Lubart, 1992. p.3). What actually happens when people describes new ideas coming to them “as a spark” is neurons sending electrical signals down the long cables of their axons, which connect to other neurons via small synaptic gaps (Johnson, 2010. p.99). However, as this literature review is more concerned on the philosophical and psychological approach to creativity, this will not be further discussed other than acknowledging the impact the brain has on the ability to generate new ideas.

Creativity can occur in every part of life: when you are writing up an invitation to Saturday’s party, when you have run out of eggs while baking and improvise a new recipe or when you decide that you have something to say and creates a independent digital publication. Kaufman and Beghetto (2009, p.2) define Big-C creativity as a clear-cut, eminent creative contributor whose work has/will last for centuries.

Defined by Boden (2010) as H-creativity, this direction focuses on those who come up with, from what a historical perspective is, a novel idea. Little-c creativity, on the other hand focuses on everyday creativity – or as Boden defines it “personal-

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Formal apprenticeship

Stasis

Legend

Pro–C Mini-C

Big–C

Informal apprenticeship

Greatness

Tinkering

Little–C

Reflection

Model 3.2.2 The four C model – Kaufman and Beghetto (2009)

creativity” (P-creativity): While a creative idea may not be novel to the world, it is novel to the person thinking if it. Kaufman and Beghetto (2009) argue that these two definitions of creativity are too narrow and launched The Four C Model, adding mini-c creativity and Pro-c (model 3.2.2). The advantage is clear: adding complexity to the Big-C little-c model one can easier distinguish between types of creativity and the level of achievement. For example, there is a difference between a group of students producing a student paper and a team of self-publishers who are accomplished in their field: they have a successful publication, regardless of it being mainstream or independent. Kaufman and Beghetto states that the Pro-c level will be acquired after feeling an initial pull of passion regarding a topic and then, after years of acquired experience and advanced schooling (p.6). However, as will be explored in 3.3 The Relationship Between Personality Type and Creative Ability, advanced schooling does not necessarily need to be required, as informal apprenticeships will in many cases provide the same, if not better knowledge than the one obtained by formal education.

By so one can argue that the act of self-publishing can be preformed regardless of what creative stage it may be presented in. A new idea may be generated at every point of the Four –C model, although Kaufman and Beghetto argue that domain generality becomes less likely as one moves from small-c and onto Pro-c or Big-C (p.9). Their research however shows no evidence of new ideas within a specific domain (such as a publication or publication in general) accruing.

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3.2.2 COMING UP WITH A NEW IDEA “There is no single process that we can identify as the creative process”, states Smith, Ward and Finke (1995) in The Creative Cognition Approach. In his 2010 book Where Good Ideas Come From, Steven Johnson identifies seven practical key principles in the genesis of great ideas. Pointing out The Adjacent Possible, Liquid Networks, The Slow Hunch, Serendipity, Error, Exapation and Platforms as features in the creation of good, innovative ideas, he presents a practical approach to coming up with new ideas that will be familiar to most people. Amabile (1983, 2012) proposes the Componential Model of Creativity: she argues that three individual variables are needed for creativity to occur: the domain-relevant skills, creativity-relevant skills, and task motivation, in addition to the social environment in which the individual is working. As with Johnson’s The Adjacent Possible or Serendipity, which states that relevant knowledge needs to be present in order to see the ‘red thread’, or that one need to be familiar with the past in order to open new doors, she believes that relevant skills need to be present in order for creative actions to develop. Boden (2010) suggests three types of creativity, differenced by the psychological process involved in generating the novel idea, or “understanding or appreciating them once they have arisen” (p.41). Transformational Creativity, to do something radically different, which with respect to previous accepted styles of thinking could not have arisen before (p.43), while Combinational- and Exploratory Creativity is said to be closely related: Combinational meaning to make unfamiliar combination of familiar ideas (p.31), a concept widely acknowledged in other theories, while Exploratory, which as the name suggests, is about exploring the limits and seeing new possibilities (p.33).

The Investment Theory of Creativity, described in Buy Low and Sell High: An Investment Approach to Creativity (Sternberg and Lubart, 1992), states, “one needs to know enough about a field to move it forward” and that “one cannot move beyond where a field is if one does not know where this field is” (p.684). Having the relevant knowledge of a field can therefore be understood to be a significant key to coming up with a new idea. As Johnson suggests, “good ideas are not conjured out of thin air; they are built out of a collection of existing parts, the composition of which expands (and, occasionally, contracts) over time” (p.35). This knowledge will then lead the creative to persuade ideas that, to the general public are unknown or out of fashion, but for the creative have potential and stand by it and nurture it into it becomes accepted by an audience, or buy low and sell high, as Sternberg and Lubart presents it (1996, p.683). Suggesting, “in the world of creative ideas, the analogue is evaluating what aspects of one’s own ideas will ultimately lead them to be accepted as more or less creative” (1992, p.2), Sternberg and Lubart are certain of extinctive knowledge of a subject needing to be present for new ideas to accrue. Putting these theories into the Wallas (1926) Four-Stage Model of the Creativity Process one can see that they fit into the stages (model 3.2.3). One needs to have knowledge and interest in a field in order to go through the Preparation stage, where one will define an issue, observe and study it.

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Preparation

Incubation

Illumination

Verification

Model 3.2.3 Process of Creativity – Wallas (1926)

Reviewing these theories, one can argue that passion and interest for the field needs to be present in order for the creative person to feel that initial pull because without a strong interest in a field the person would never seek out extensive knowledge without there being an academic setting for it.

During Incubation is when Freud’s theory of creativity arising from conscious reality and unconscious drivers comes into action, laying the issue away for a period but subconsciously working on it. As Johnson puts it “like any other thought, a hunch is simply a network of cells firing inside your brain in an organized pattern. But for that hunch to blossom into something more substantial, it has to connect with other ideas”.

When connecting to other ideas, either by gaining relevant knowledge, through the launch of new technologies, which turn out to be the missing key for the novel idea, or by simply capturing the power of accidental connections (Johnsson, 2010. p.108) the stage of Illumination, the moment when a new idea emerges, will be reached.

However, in order for the fourth step, Verification, to accrue, motivation needs to be present. Many will have an idea for a publication or knowledge and interest for a field, but motivation is needed for the creative to take the idea and turn it into a product: in this case a digital publication. Leadbeater (2008) states that the Internet has created a platform for mass creativity. With the cultural shift form mainstream to niches, self-studying a specific field in the Preparation stage can lead to expert in-depth knowledge that through a self-published publication can be shared to an audience.

Johnson (2010) even argues that the Web 2.0 makes it easier for serendipitous discoveries to happen, as we constantly move from one page to another when working online and by doing so being more at risk of accidentally connecting to new information and knowledge that might lead to confirming or supporting a hunch (p.112).

Having the target audience and the right tools at easy access, the Illumination stage and the Verification stage can be reached more easily and faster than what it would have been if the person was working with print. The threshold for generating new ideas and producing them has, with the Web 2.0, become lower. Also, connecting to other networks becomes easier, which will help the brain explore new ideas for creative potential to be fulfilled. When fulfilling this potential, a person may move from mini-c and little-c and to Pro-c.

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3.3 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERSONALITY-TYPE AND CREATIVE ABILITY 3.3.1 THE STEREOTYPICAL CREATIVE While creativity can occur at all levels, and be experienced by everyone, some personality types seems to have a stronger connection to producing work at a pro-C level.

What makes some people more creative than others? While some will happily go through life reading magazines, some will feel a pull of passion and interest that will lead them onto making magazines. Researchers have noted that some personality traits tend to characterize creative people (Stenberg and Lubart, 1996. p.682).

Among them are independence of judgment, self-confidence, and attraction to complexity, aesthetic orientation and risk taking. DeGraff and Lawrence (2003) profile an artist or entrepreneur as extremely flexible, open to new ideas, willing to try new things and forward looking (p.15). In his hierarchy of needs (1968, pp.137-145), Maslow credits boldness, courage, freedom, spontaneity and self-acceptance to be essential in order for a person to reach his/hers full potential. In her Piiramid of Talent Development (1993), Piirto illustrates how certain personality attributes will lead to specific talents in a domain (figure 3.3.1). Illustrating that personality attributes such as self-discipline, drive, passion, openness, naiveté, risk-taking, insight and tolerance for ambiguity, among others, will with a “minimum intellectual competence for functioning in chosen domain lead to specific talents in the following domains: arts, music, visual, theatre, science, writing, athletics and entrepreneurship” (2009, p.4). As publishing a digital independent magazine involves both writing and entrepreneurship, and often an interest in some genre of music and art, these personality attributes are highly valuable and can therefore be seen as stereotypical.

For domains such as math, dance, social, invention, academics, mechanics, business and spiritual, attributes such as volition, perfectionism, resilience, androgyny and persistence are seen as key.

In their 1992 essay Sternberg and Lubart concludes that high-risk takers are more creative than low-risk takers, an observation connected to the one made by Nelson (2013) who cites studies indicating high-risk adventures and goal-directed behaviour to increase the release of dopamine in the brain, which will work as a motivator for creativity. In her 2009 essay The Personalities of Creative Writers, Piirto demonstrates that her list of personality attributes shows that creative adults achieve effectiveness partially by force of personality (p.4). While a requirement of working in the mainstream magazine business often would be relevant education, self-publishing, especially digitally, does not carry the same requirements. The Web 2.0 and the introduction of cheap, easily used publishing tools such as Adobe has led to a large number of people publishing their own content (Anderson, 2006). Boden (2010) defines two groups of the autodidact (the self-taught) – the unschooled who

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5. The environmental aspect (The 5 suns)

Sun of School

Sun of Home

Sun of Chance

Sun of Community and Culture

Sun of Gender

Spe c Tale ific nts Art visu s, musi scie al, the c, a nce , wr ter, a i ent thletic ting, rep ren s, eur ship Min imu m com intelle c pet enc tual e Per Driv so e intu , passio nality i n t ion, , se ope lfcr n risk ness (n eativit discipl y, cu -tak ine, aíve i r t tole ng, per é), ima iosity, c g ran ce f eption inatio n or a , mbi insigh , t, guit y Gen es

In a ** ain* m do e, anc h, d ntion, t a M inve s, ial, soc ademic iness, ac s, bus . ic han ual, etc c e t i m r i sp ing tion unc omain f r Fo sen d ho in c es ibut sm, nce, Attr ioni e fect persist s), r e , p yny, ie n t i o s i t n g Voli andro s (inte magince, bilitie onal, i otor lien i a resi rexcit l, emot sychom , ove ectua l a p ll nsu inte nal, se atio es Gen

4. The aspect of talents in domains

3. The cognitive aspect 2. The emotional aspect

1. The genetic aspect

Model 3.3.1 The Piirto Piiramid of talent development – Piirto (1993)

never had the opportunity of formal education, the deviant who has a “distrust of/ or resistance to authority” and a subclass of these; the diverse deviant. Defined as a person who put in hours of reading and studying – but instead of focusing this energy on scholar work, foster an interest in a chosen subject that is not related to formal education (p.45), alikeness can be seen between this form of self-taughtness and the claim that the original self-publishers, the editors of the zines, had an urge to publish, and that they for some reason “just had to write” (Kalmar, 1997). Focusing on a chosen subject leads them to excellent in-depth knowledge in their field of interest

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(their passion), which according to several theories (see 3.2.2 Where New Ideas Come From) is one of the main keys to generate new ideas. They will also be rebellious by nature, and will not be set back by rejection, a similarity that can be seen in Piirto’s (2009) theories for ambition. A creative person, by Piirto described as creative writer, will be used to rejection, something that will contribute to an intense feeling of ambitions and envy (see 3.4.1 Motivation for creativity). Goncalo, Flynn and Kim (2010) cites a quote where Pablo Picasso states that God is an artist, just like himself, and that he therefore is God, as the stereotype of highly creative people. They are self-aggrandizing, self-indulgent and self-absorbed (p.1484). A creative person can due to his/her urge to generate a novel and stand out idea spend a great deal of time alone obsessing over their work, in addition they behold the rebelliousness previously discussed, and so appear to others as a narcissist. Goncalo, Flynn and Kim (2010) argues that a narcissist is not necessarily more creative than a non-narcissist, but will believe so, and is therefore capable of convincing others that their pitch or product is of higher standards than those less capable of this. It is worth noticing that this is a valuable personality trait when it comes to publishing, a business where getting others involved with your idea is crucial for the further development of a publication (a magazine naturally needs readers). As so, one can understand that although ‘narcissism’ traditionally is seen as a negative personality attribute, some parts of a narcissistic personality may be valuable to the publishing industry. One can argue that all creatives will have some traits of narcissism in them. Nevertheless, this ability to convince others of ones own potential will have connections to power (oxford dictionary, 2013) and the power to influence the choice of others in a particular context.

3.3.2 ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS FOR CREATIVITY That some people come off as more creative than others can be a result of many things. Keufman and Beghetto (2009) believe that nearly all aspects of creativity can be experienced by nearly everyone (p.6) and Sternberg and Lubart (1996) advise that creativity can be developed (p.685). In her model, Piirto (1993) introduces five “suns” in which environment may foster talent or creativity. Suggesting that the aspects of chance, home, school, community and culture and gender can make the difference between talent being developed or not, it is understood that individual personality needs to be in the right environment to foster creativity on a higher level.

Boden (2010) acknowledges that an unschooled autodidact may retain a lifelong sense of inferiority and diffidence, especially if they have internalized any negative cultural expectations of their entire class, caste or gender (p.47). Nevertheless, she concludes that an out-of-school experience that has been comparably rich will lead a person to foster creativity in terms of combining ideas at the same level as someone who is educated (p.46). Possessing the stereotypical attributes for a creative personality does not necessarily lead to generating new ideas outside a mini-c level,

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and most certainly not on a Pro-c or Big-C level. Nevertheless, education is not an isolated environmental factor for fostering talent and creativity. Rome was not built in one day, and one person did not build it. Even though a person might have a novel idea, he/she might not possess the right skills to bring this idea to life. It is rumoured that the idea for Facebook came to Mark Zuckerberg when he was approached by two peer students who wanted help to code a website. They had a novel idea for creating a social network, but they did not have the relevant skills needed for building the site (2010). Zuckerberg did. Creative ability can in addition be present in behaviour rather than, or in addition to, personality. Belbin’s Team Role Theory’s first role (2008/2009), The Plant, will be much connected to Sternberg and Lubart’s Investment Theory, as The Plant generate initial ideas (p.21). Belbin demonstrates that The Plant is placed in a team to come up with the “eureka” moments and that they plant the seed for new ideas that with the help of the team will be further developed. She argues that having the space to be creative will benefit the team (pp.22-21). This environment, an open community and/or the culture of the office will, by allowing The Plant to explore his/her creativity, foster it. Seeing this in context with digital publication of self-published magazines, one can argue that the founder (and most likely editor) will not, as in Sternberg and Lubart’s Investment Theory sell the idea, but keep nurturing it until he/she decides that the publication will dissolve or move forward.

It can be proposed that since a creative is rebellious of nature and beholds a strong belief in his/her own creative ability, a self-publisher can be categorized as a diverse deviant (Boden, 2010). His or her initial interest for a subject and hunt for knowledge may have been triggered during formal education, but the stereotypical personality attributes indicate that they would have gone on to further self-studies via informal apprenticeship. It can therefore be speculated that it is this non-formal environment that would have been crucial for the further motivation for fulfilling a creative potential.

3.4 FULFILLING THE CREATIVE POTENTIAL 3.4.1 MOTIVATION FOR CREATIVITY A number of theorists have hypothesized on the motivation behind creativity. Freud’s proposition of creative work being a result of unconscious wishes such as power, richness, fame, honour or love (1919/1964) indicates that the motivation for creative work often can be found in wanting to achieve something (Vernon, 1970). Franken (2002) as sited in Nelson (2013), supports the hypothesis, believing that there is an “underlying cause for every action or behaviour”.

For Autodidacts, Boden (2010) claims that their rebelliousness, self-assurance and courage will help them “win against the cultural system” (p.47). One can speculate if this rebelliousness, which often characterizes the original makers of the Zine, has

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led the autodidacts to the mindset of “proving them wrong”. “Them” will in this case be the cultural system, and a motivator would be to prove themselves against this system of educated academics. Boden suggests that the self-taught are unlikely to be discouraged by the disapproval of the accepted experts of culture. Maslow (1954) credits the curiosity of a creative person as a “second naiveté” (p.161). Naiveté is a feature inherent in human nature from birth, but as Maslow describes it “most often lost, burned or inhibited as the person gets enculturated”. One can therefore ask if an informal education rather than a formal will foster creativity on a higher level than within those who has undergone formal apprenticeship and by so become enculturated.

Motivation for creativity is often divided into two categories: task-focused (rather than goal focused and intrinsic (rather than extrinsic) (Sternberg and Lubart, 1992. p.4). Sternberg and Lubart suggest that creative’s care deeply about what they do, a claim that is supported by Maslow (1954) who debates for self-actualizing creativeness being mostly concerned with personality rather than achievements (p.166). In addition, people performing creative innovation often attribute willingness to overcome obstacles and willingness to take sensible risks (Sternberg and Lubart, 1996. p.684.) Piirto (2009) suggest that all creative producers need ambition, but that this ambition can often produce feeling of envy and anxiety due to the personal connection to the work presented and the high rate of rejection, which again may lead to “intense ambition” (p.8). That intense ambition may lead to features often cited as typical narcissistic features, such as rating ones creative ability higher than others and strongly believing in the work produced. Ambition as a driving force can therefore lead to wanting power being a motivator for producing a publication. Experiencing disapproval will, as Boden debates, lead the creative to strive even more as he/she will think that the work he/she is producing is more creative and of higher quality than others. One can argue that these are features generally represented by publishers and self-publishers as their profession requires them to produce work which they themselves see as good enough to present to an audience who look to them for influence and inspiration. This attribute will therefore not be a negative personality feature, but instead work as motivation. In addition it has been suggested that people are generally motivated to perform actions that lead to positive feelings (Nelson, 2013. p.1). This can indicate why those who have a strong interest in a specific subject choose to publish a publication dedicated to this subject independently – it gives them happiness. The self-actualization need, proposed by Maslow (1954) on the top of his Hierarchy of Needs (figure 3.4.1), suggest a human desire for self-fulfilment in order to reach full satisfaction in life (p.22). The feeling of reaching ones full potential will therefore be a motivator for performing a creative act.

If one or several of these motivational forces can be found within a person, he or she has the required task-motivation which in combination with domain-related skills and creative-related skills, and put in the right social environment, will allow the creative potential to be fulfilled (Amabile, Componential Model of Creativity, 2012).

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Self–actualization Realizing your full potential. “becoming everything one is capable of becoming.”

Aesthetic needs Beauty – in art and nature – symmetry, balance, order, form.

Cognivive needs Knowledge and understanding, curiosity, exploration, need for meaning and predictability.

Esteem needs The esteem and respect of others and self-esteem and self-respect. A sens of competence.

Love and belongingness Recieving and giving love, affection, trust and acceptance.

Affiliating, being part of a group (family, friends, work) Safety needs Protection from potentially dangerous objects or situations, e.g. the elements,physical illness. The threat is both phsyical and psychological.

Physiological needs Food, drink, oxygen, temperature regulation, elimination, rest, activity, sex

Model 3.4.1 Hierarchy of Needs – Maslow (1943)

3.5 PROPOSED MOTIVATORS FOR DIGITAL SELF-PUBLISHING AND THE NEED FOR EMPIRICAL RESEARCH 3.5.1 PROPOSED MOTIVATORS FOR DIGITAL SELF-PUBLISHING Model 3.5.1 presents the hypothesis Proposed Motivators for Digital Self-Publishing.

Recognition in the Field of Interest (M1), Feeling of Reaching Ones Full Potential (M2) and Wanting Power (M3) is proposed as a possible motivators for digitally selfpublishing. As established in this literature review, knowledge and a passion for a subject can foster creativity. The creative potential is developed and fulfilled when motivation and environment is present and can occur on all levels, from small-c to Big-C. M1: Recognition in the Field of Interest is proposed generated from Goncalo, Flynn and Kim’s (2010) Are Two Narcissists Better Than One? The Link Between

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Narcissism, Perceived Creativity, and Creative Performance. As mentioned in 3.3.1 The Stereotypical Creative, believing in own work will help a publisher pitch the publication to others, and by believing in own creative ability influence others in the same field to recognise the publisher as an equal. Recognition in the Field of Interest as motivation will lead a publisher to believe that what they do will help move the field forward. The knowledge they have generated through years of self-study, in terms of either formal or informal apprenticeship will have led them to excellent in-depth knowledge which according to many theories explored in 3.2.2 Coming Up With a New Idea, is the main key to generating novel ideas. They will, as Amabile (1983) suggests, “love what they do�, and therefore want to share their knowledge with others. One theory proposed here is that they hold attributes that make them likely to persuade the industry as they are curious, have self-confidence, are open to new ideas and are attracted by complexity (Goncalo, Flynn and Kim, 2010). An assumption is that they approach the music, fashion and culture industry without the talent for, as an example, playing an instrument, and therefore persuade publishing a magazine about it as they are self-confident that they have something to bring to the field but lack the talent of performing it in other ways. Publishing a magazine would thereby be their way of expressing their creativity within the field.

M2: Feeling of Reaching Ones Full Potential is proposed on the background of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. As explored in 3.4.1 Motivation For Creativity, Maslow (1954, p.22) argues that in order for people to be at peace with themselves, they must be what they can be. By having gained knowledge and developed a deep feeling of understanding and interest for a subject, a person would need to express this knowledge trough a medium in order to be truly satisfied and happy. In the case of a self-publisher who beholds a stereotypical personality where their attributes will have led them to hours of informal-apprenticeship, and who will be will be selfconfident, independent and bold (see 3.3.1 The Stereotypical Creative), not producing a publication will lead them to restlessness. It may be that it is this restlessness that has led them into environments that have helped them move from the preparation stage to the verification, and also from a mini-C level to a pro-C level, as explored in 3.3.2 Environmental Factors for Creativity and 3.2.2 Coming Up With a New Idea.

As seen from 3.2.2 Coming Up With a New Idea, it can in addition be argued that the Web 2.0 has increased the methods for reaching ones full potential, as easy access to a platform, an audience and tools for producing a publication will help with the self-actualization. The motivation for producing being a self-publisher will be the publishers wish to reach his or her full potential.

M3: Wanting Power is like M1 and M2 linked to the psychological process of generating new ideas. However, where M2 is linked to reaching ones full potential and more concerned with the personality rather than the product and M1 to the wish for recognition in a field of interest, M3 is more linked to the stereotypical creative in terms of believing in own creative ability and the wish to influence others with

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M1: Recognition in the Field of Interest

M3: Wanting Power

M2: Feeling of reaching ones full potential

Model 3.5.1 Motivators for digitally self-publishing – Strommen (2013)

their knowledge. These narcissistic attributes, described in 3.4 Fulfilling the Creative Potential and discussed in 3.3.1 The Stereotypical Creative, has led to M3: Wanting Power to be proposed. As Piirto (2009) suggest, the personal connection and the high rate of rejection that may have occurred in the publisher’s background may lead to intense ambition. The proposed motivator is also connected to Freud’s theory of creative work being a result of an unconscious wishes such as power, and that the motivation behind this work can be found in wanting to achieve something (Vernon, 1970).

A creative person with personality attributes often concerned with narcissisms would in the case of self-publishing channel his/her creativity through a publication in order to show off their knowledge and passion for a subject, and since they have a great deal of belief in their own ability to produce good work, they will by nature think that others should see their produced work. With digital tools this would be easily accessible.

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3.5.2 NEED FOR EMPIRICAL RESEARCH This literature review has explored the following of this dissertation’s objectives: O1: Outline psychological theories that can indicate motivators for self-publishing O2: Investigate the connection between personality type and environment O3: Propose a hypothesis regarding motivation for digital self-publishing of magazines By reviewing relevant literature, the outlined psychological theories for the creative process and the explored connections between creative ability, personality and environment has led to a hypothesis regarding motivation being proposed.

This hypothesis is, as seen in 3.5.1 Propose Motivators for Digital Self-Publishing, generated from the literature explored in this chapter. In order to validate or invalidate this hypothesis, empirical research is needed. In context with the reviewed theories for creative motivation and the stereotypical creative, it will be interesting to see if self-publishers share the theorist’s perceptions.

Repeating this dissertation’s rationale: With the increasing use of digital tools in reading (in the UK, news and entertainment are two of the top 5 activities on tablets, Terrelonge, 2013), and the shift from mainstream markets to niche markets continue (Chris Anderson, 2006), more people turn to independent self-published digital magazines. It is therefore worth looking into the motivation for those who digitally self-publish in order to better understand the process of producing the publications but also regarding the further development of digital magazines and their readership.

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3.6 REFERENCES Books AMABILE, T., 2012. Componential Theory of Creativity (pp.134-138). In: KESSLER. H. E., 2013. Encyclopedia of Management Theory. California, London, New Delhi and Singapore: Sage Publications.

ANDERSON, C., 2006. The Long Tail (Illustrated by Shane Clester, Adapted

by Cullen Bunn - 2011). London: Illinois: Writers Of The Round Table Press/ SmarterComics.

BELBIN, M., 2008/2009. The Belbin Guide to Succeeding at Work. London: A&C Black Publishers Ltd. BODEN, M., 2010. Creativity & Art – three roads to surprise. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

JOHNSON, S., 2010. Where Good Ideas Come From – the natural history of innovation. London, New York, Toronto, Dublin, Victoria, New Delhi, North Shore, and Johannesburg: Penguin Group KALMAR, 1997. Start Your Own Zine. New York: Hyperion.

KEEN, A., 2008. The Cult of the Amateur: How blogs, MySpace, YouTube, and the rest of today’s user-generated media are destroying our economy, our culture, and our values. New York: Random House.

LEADBEATER, C., 2008. We-Think: Mass Innovation, Not Mass Production.

London: Profile.

PIIRTO, J., 2009. The Personality of Creative Writers. In: KAUFMAN S. B. and KAUFMAN J.C. The Psychology of Creative Writing. New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 3-22.

FREUD, S., 1919/1964. Leonardo da Vinci and a memory of his childhood.

In: STERNBERG, R., J. and T. I. LUBART, 1996. Investing in Creativity.

American Psychologist (online), 51 (7), 677-688 (viewed June 18, 2013).

Available from: JSTOR. MASLOW, A., H., 1954. Motivation and Personality (third edition). New York, Reading, Massachusetts, California, England, Ontario, Sidney, Madrid, Mexico City, and Amsterdam: Longman.

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MASLOW, A., H., 1968. Toward a Psychology of Being. New York: Van Nostran Reinhold.

SMITH, S. M., WARD, T. B., and FINKE, R. A. (1995). The Creative Cognition Approach.

Cambridge: MIT Press.

VERNON, P.E., 1970. Creativity: Selected Readings. In: STERNBERG, R., J. and T. I. LUBART, 1996. Investing in Creativity. American Psychologist (online), 51 (7), 677-688 (viewed June 18, 2013). Available from: JSTOR. eJournals: database Amabile, T. M., 1983. Social psychology of creativity: A componential conceptualization. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (online), 45 (2), 997-1013 (viewed June 16, 2013). Available from: PsycARTICLES GONCALO, J. A., F. J. FLYNN, and S. H. KIM, 2010. Are Two Narcissists Better Than One? The Link Between Narcissism, Perceived Creativity, and Creative Performance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (online), 36 (11), 1484-1495 (viewed: July 9, 2013). Available from: Sage STERNBERG, R. J., and T. I. LUBART, 1996. Investing in Creativity. American Psychologist (online), 51 (7), 677-688 (viewed June 18, 2013). Available from: JSTOR. STERNBERG R. J., and T. I. LUBART, 1992. Buy Low and Sell High: An Investment Approach to Creativity. Current Directions in Psychological science (online), 1 (1), 1-5 (viewed: June 18, 2013). Available from: Sage aps on behalf of Association for Psychological Science. eJournals: internet KAUFMAN, J. C., and R. A. BEGHETTO, 2009. Beyond Big and Little: The Four C Model of Creativity. Review of General Psychology (online), 13 (1) 1-12 (viewed June 26, 2013). Available from: http://pages.uoregon.edu/ beghetto/KaufmanBeghetto2009.pdf EISENBERGER, R., and L. SHANOCK, 2003. Rewards, Intrinsic Motivation, and Creativity: A Case Study of Conceptual and Methodological Isolation.

Creative Research Journal (online), 15 (2, 3), 121-130. (Viewed July 9, 2013).

Available from: http://eisenberger.psych.udel.edu/files/00B_Rewards_ Intrinsic_Motivation_and_Creativity_A_Case_Study.pdf Models

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CSIKSZENTMIHALYI, M., 1999. Csikszentmihalyi’s Systems Model of Creativity PIIRTO, J., 1993. The Piirto Piiramid of Talent Development MASLOW, A., 1943. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs STROMMEN, S., 2013. Motivators for Digital Self-Publishing WALLAS, G., 1926. The Four-Stage Model for the Creativity Process Newspapers and Magazines DeGRAFF J., and K. A. LAWRENCE, 2003. Creativity at Work, Navigating the Roadmap to Value Creation. Divided (online), spring 2003, 14-16. Available from: http://competingvalues.com/competingvalues.com/wp-content/ uploads/2009/07/Creativity-at-Work-Navigating-the-Roadmap-to-ValueCreation.pdf Online CARLSON, N., 2010. At Last – The Full Story of How Facebook Was Founded (online). Business Insider, March 5. 2010. Viewed: August 18th 2013. Available from: http://www.businessinsider.com/how-facebookwas-founded-2010-3?op=1 OXFORD DICTIONARY, 2013. Power: definition of power (online). Viewed: July 12, 2013. Available from: http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/ english/power TERRELONGE, Z., 2013. Tablets: the fastest growing technology in history (online), viewed September 3rd, 2013. Available from: http://www.mobileent.biz/news/read/infographic-tablets-the-fastest-growing-technologyin-history/022239.

Research papers NELSON, K., 2013. Motivation and the Brain: How incentives affect the brain and motivation (online), (viewed June 19, 2013). Minneapolis, The Lantern Group. Available from: http://www.lanterngroup.com/papers/ motivebrain.pdf

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Chapter 4: Research methodology and design 4.1 INTRODUCTION RESEARCH METHODS This research dissertation has five objectives related to motivational factors for digital self-publishing: O1: Outline psychological theories that can indicate creativity and motivators for self-publishing O2: Investigate the connections between personality type and creative ability O3: Propose a hypothesis concerning motivation for digitally self-publishing of magazines 04: Explore and evaluate digital publisher’s creativity and motivation for selfpublishing O5: Evaluate the proposed hypothesis for motivation and formulate a conclusion regarding why independent digital publishers self-publish.

The opportunity to test out the hypothesis proposed as objective 3 in objective 4: Explore and evaluate digital publisher’s creativity and motivation for self-publishing, is a valuable aspect to this research dissertation. That “creative potential is not fulfilled unless the individual is motivated to do so” and that “creative solutions are not found unless the individual is motivated to apply his or her skills” (Runco, 2005. p.609) suggest the value of empirical research of motivators within self-publishing.

This objective will therefore form the primary research of this study. Gaining a representative view on the hypothesis will contribute to a better understanding of self-publishing. In the end, this can lead to a better understanding of digital publishing, a medium that is evolving quickly and becoming an even bigger part of our everyday life.

The hypothesis due to be tested in this empirical research is generated from chapter

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M1: Recognition in the Field of Interest

M3: Wanting Power

M2: Feeling of reaching ones full potential

Model 4.1.1 Proposed motivators for digitally self-publishing –Strommen (2013)

3: Literature Review and is a result of the research put into objective 1: Outline psychological theories that can indicate creativity and motivators for self-publishing and Objective 2: Investigate connections between personality type and creative ability – which again led to objective 3: Propose a hypothesis concerning motivation for digitally self-publishing of magazines. Chapter 3 proposed Recognition in the Field of Interest (M1), Feeling of Reaching Ones Full Potential (M2) and Wanting Power (M3) as motivators for digital self-publishing (model 4.1.1). The mentioned proposed motivators were generated relevant literature found using Google Scholar, Sage Journals and the University of the Arts Library Facilities. Especially Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and Boden’s theories on creativity resulted in the following being proposed.

This chapter will provide details on which research strategy has been adopted in order to test the hypothesis, in addition to how the data will be collected and analysed, and also point out potential problems and limitations with this approach.

4.2 RESEARCH STRATEGY John Biggam points out in short that a survey is used when seeking representative views; experimental strategy is used when interested in casual relationships;

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historical research is used for events that occurred in the past and a case study is used when seeking in-depth information (2008. p.95). For testing out the proposed hypothesis, a representative view on the proposed motivators is needed in order to validate or invalidate it. Being a practical objective, Objective 4: explore and evaluate digital publisher’s creativity and motivation for self-publishing, indicates that the empirical study is of an exploratory sort. Biggam (2008) quotes Myers (1997) when he states that students and researchers usually mix and match between qualitative and quantitative research (p.86). A general perception is that a qualitative study answers the why questions while a quantitative study answers the how questions (Biggam, 2008. p.86). Where qualitative research relates to studying “things in their normal settings, attempting to make sense of or interpret phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them” (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005, p. 3), quantitative research is “a means for testing objective theories by examining the relationship among variables” (Creswell, 2009. p.4). By nature, this research dissertation is of a qualitative sort. It seeks to understand the motivation, the driving force, for those who digitally self-publish. However, as the study seeks to validate or invalidate a hypothesis, it will also be of a quantitative sort. By getting the overview of how many of the sampled population agree or disagree with a proposed motivator, the study can conclude with the proposed hypothesis being valid or invalid. As limiting the research to just quantitative or qualitative will exclude validating/invalidating the hypothesis or exclude doing in-depth research, both methods will be conducted. One can therefore say that in the process of collecting qualitative data, quantitative data will be collected as a natural response to attempting to validate or invalidate the hypothesis.

This study is primarily concentrated on the motivation for self-publishing, and is therefore more specified than an experimental strategy would indicate as it does not have an interest in casual relationships. The shift in reading patterns, from print to digital is one only made possible by recent technology breakthroughs, as the tools used for producing content online have only been available for a certain number of years. Conducting a historical research would therefore be worthless. The researcher is interested in exploring the motivators for digital self-publishing of magazines, and the stakeholders are editors and publishers who digitally self-publish. In order to validate or invalidate the proposed hypothesis, representative views from these stakeholders need to be examined. However, in order to understand the hypothesis, in-dept information about why it proves to be valid or invalid needs to be provided.

One research method adopted in this primary research, related to research strategy, is a survey. The survey will provide a representative opinion of the hypothesis, at the same time, as it will give a deeper understanding of why it is validated or not by observing the characteristics of the group being studied. Quantitative research can often employ survey techniques within social settings states Biggam (2008, p.221).

Concerning this research dissertation, the survey itself will be a mix of quantitative and qualitative: by testing out the hypothesis on a representative sample of the

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targeted population, it answers the how questions (how many of the sampled population agree with the proposed hypothesis to be a motivator), but also the why question, as each motivator will be tested by in-depth questions (see 4.3 Data Collection).

By doing so it further explores why the hypothesis is valid or invalid. As the research is dependent upon human participation and the study itself is of a qualitative nature the researcher has adopted an interpretative philosophy. As the result of the empirical research is altered by the personal experiences of the sampled population it is by nature time and context dependent as it focuses on individual perception of motivation. Unlike a positivist researcher’s approach, who would argue that his/hers research is more reliable than the one executed by the researcher of this dissertation, this dissertation will attempt to describe and explain events and acknowledges that that human participation is fundamental to the research (Biggam, 2008. p. 94).

4.3 DATA COLLECTION 4.3.1 DATA COLLECTION METHOD: QUESTIONNAIRE Regarding the research strategy survey, the data will be collected using an online questionnaire. Advantages of a web-based self-completion questionnaire is that the respondent can complete it in their own time, it allows for longer lists of response options and open-ended questions can generate richer answers as the respondent type in their answer unedited (Taylor, 2000). As mentioned, this research strategy is a result of a combination of qualitative and quantitative research – both answering how many of the respondents relate to the hypothesis and also why they relate to the hypothesis – in order to validate or invalidate it. The researcher intends to send out the questionnaire to digital independent publishers, as collecting data from this target audience is stated in the research dissertation’s aim “motivators for digital self-publishing”. Sampling everyone who independently produces digital publications would be time consuming and, given the endless amount of digital content available online, the sample has therefore been limited to a specific group of self-publishers (see section 4.3.2 Sampling Size). As this dissertation aims to explore motivators for those who uses digital tools to self-publish and who do so online, a web-based self-completed questionnaire has several advantages as data collection method. First, and most importantly, an editor of a digital publication is expected to be familiar with techniques such as web-based surveys. Also, as the sampled population is expected to be resident in not only the UK, but also other English-speaking countries such as The US, Canada and other nationalities, an online questionnaire will allow for easier access to their responses, rather than conducting it using other self-completion surveys such as paper questionnaires, which would involve manual distribution and would also involve the participant having to return it. Such a technique would prove both time-consuming and expensive. As the expected respondents already have an “online life”, it is easier to access them “where they are” rather than to reach them via other mediums.

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4.3.2 SAMPLING SIZE Sampling everyone who digitally self-publishes would be impossible for many reasons, among them time and the large scale of publications that it would involve (digital publishing site Issuu.com has 25.000 new publications being uploaded daily). Instead, the sampling size has been limited to publications published on the free publishing service Issuu.com (issuu.com/about), as this is the largest host for digital independent publications with over 11 million publications (Zino and Apple’s Newsstand is paid-for services mainly often by mainstream media). Again, sampling 11.7 million publications would, considering the time limit of researching this dissertation be non-realistic. Therefore, the sample for research strategy survey has been further limited to publications within the genre of music, fashion and culture, and written in English. This has been done in order to get a realistic overview of how many responses the survey can be expected to generate, and also for this number of respondents to be representative of a specific group. One can therefore say that the overall sampling technique has been convenience sampling. It has been convenient for the researcher to limit the search to the mentioned criteria, as the study would not be doable without certain limitations in terms of sample size. Using a non-probability approach to sampling, meaning that the sample has not been randomly picked, can make the research results vulnerable to criticism as one cannot argue that they are representative for a larger population – if the proposed motivators are validated/ invalidated, this may not be representative for everyone who digital self-publishes (Biggam, 2008. p.89).

In order to claim that the results of the survey are representative for the chosen population, a sample size is needed. As of May 28th 2013 there were 663 publications within the genera of music, fashion and culture, and written in English of Issuu.com.

Using http://www.surveysystem.com to determine the sample size, it is calculated that the sample size needed for the results to be representative are 63 (or 10%, see figure 4.3.1). The Confidence Level is set at 95%, with a Confidence Interval at 11.75, meaning that one can be 95% sure of the survey results being the true percentage of the population who will pick an answer.

In order to obtain the needed number of participants, an initial email will be sent out to 63 randomly picked publications from within the decided sampled population with a request for participation in an MA Publishing research dissertation. The overall technique for approaching the questionnaire is an E-mail URL embedded survey – where the respondent is invited by e-mail to the survey-site by a short message containing the URL to the survey (Bradley, 1999).

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4.4 FRAMEWORK FOR DATA ANALYSIS 4.4.1 QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN The questionnaire will be designed using survey-design service http://surveymonkey. net, which provides a range of standard formats for questionnaire design. A basic plan (priced £19 a month) allows the researcher to custom the survey design and the URL, ask unlimited questions and collect 1000 responses each month. To help focus the questionnaire on validating the hypothesis, but also give background information on the publication, the participant’s perception of own creativity and to what level they agree or disagree with the proposed motivators, the questionnaire is designed over five pages. The technique of basing the survey on separate pages is by Brace (2004) seen as one of the advantages of web-based surveys in comparison to paper questionnaires (p.30). Not allowing the participant to read through all of the questions before answering them allows the questions to be presented in the sequence that the researcher wants them to be, and even though the participant can go back over previous answered questions and change the answers, Brace sees this as unlikely to be done (p.33). Brace (2004) states that a questionnaire is most commonly divided into three sections: exclusion or security questions, screening questions and, main questionnaire. However, as the survey is sent out to those belonging to the research population, exclusion questions designed to exclude respondents who can be biased and screening questions designed to screen the respondents for eligibility have been excluded. Nevertheless, one can say that these measures have been done manually, as some measures to determine that the randomly picked publications enquired for participations was magazines, not newspapers or catalogues, that they are not a direct replica of a printed publication and that they are still active.

The first two pages of the questionnaire contain questions related to the publication and the editor. These demographic questions allow for collection of information about 1) the publisher and his/her background; age, relationship with the publication and so on (see Appendix A for the full questionnaire design), and 2) the frequency, the medium the publication can be found in and where the participant sees this publication in two years. This information can be used to form a stereotypical picture

Figure 4.3.1 Sampling size – Calculated sampling size using http://www.surveysystem.com

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of the digital self-publisher and can also help understand the overall field of digital publishing (such as where they see the publication in the future, and their level of education connected to where they feel they have obtained their knowledge).

Starting out with general questions can, according to Brace (2004), help the respondent ease into the subject and “recall their overall behaviour” (p.41). The questions in this section are multiple-choice (one answer only) and by so, closed question in terms of them only being generated from a finite number of possible precoded responses (Brace, 2004. p.45). The exception of this is Q4: “Your relationship with this publication is…” as the responders can undertake more positions within a publication. Pages 4-5 of the questionnaire (questions 9-13) are of a different sort.

Page 4 asks questions related to creativity and is exploring the respondent’s attitude – these are more likely to be open questions (Brace, 2004. p.47). However, like the closed demographic questions, these are all pre-coded. Concerning objective 4: Explore and evaluate digital publisher’s creativity and motivation for self-publishing, the questions on page 4 are based on theory reviewed in the Literature Review (see chapter 3). Question 9: The following statements are related to the theory of three different types of creativity. Please indicate which of the following statements are related to your publication, is generated from Boden’s three types of creativity (2010); Transformational Creativity; Combinational Creativity; Exploratory Creativity (see 3.2.2 Coming Up With a New Idea). In terms of the psychological process connected to generating a novel idea it is interesting to see which type of creativity the respondents feels they are executing. It is widely understood among theorists that environment has a big influence on creative potential being fulfilled and explored within the individual. Amabile, among others, proposed in her Componential Model of Creativity (1983) that in addition to the domain-relevant skills, creativity-relevant skills, and task motivation, the social environment in which the individual is working is needed for creativity to occur. Question 10 is generated from Piirto’s Piiramid of Talent Development (1993) where she illustrates five “suns” representing different environments that may foster talent or creativity. Suggesting that an individual needs to be in the right environment to foster a higher level of creativity, it will be interesting to see which of the five “suns”, (chance, home, school, community and culture and gender), the respondents feel have had an impact on their creativity being developed (see 3.3.2 Environmental Factors for Creativity). Page five is directly related to validating/invalidating the hypothesis proposed. Applying that “On this page you will find a number of statements related to motivation. For each statement, please indicate how much you agree or disagree that it applies to you”, four statements related to the theory that underpins the proposed motivator are proposed. Scale grid with radio buttons have been shown to be preferred by respondents (Brace, 2004. p.155) and is therefore used to present the statements and the alternatives for agreeing/disagreeing.

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4.4.2 ANALYSIS PROCESS “Qualitative researches need to be storytellers”, advises Wolcott (1994, p.17).

As mentioned, the research method of this dissertation takes use of the survey as a research strategy, and will combine the use of qualitative and quantitative data using a web-based self-completed questionnaire as its data collection method.

The analysis process will take use of both the secondary research (literature review) and the primary research (empirical research). First the data collected from the survey will be analysed and compared to the findings of the literature review, and by doing so produce a more meaningful analysis of the empirical data and, most importantly, determine whether a quantitative representative group believe the proposed hypothesis to be validated or not. One clear advantage with using the collection method of web-based self-completed survey is that the tool used for creating the survey, SurveyMonkey, automatically collect the data and presents it in graphs that can be downloaded as spreadsheets. Considering the time limit of this research dissertation, not having to manually collect and analyze the results of a quantitative study is an advantage. This process for analyzing and presenting the findings of the empirical research is based on Wolcott’s term “Description, Analysis and Interpretation” described in Transforming Qualitative Data (1994). Overall, the analysis process will be conducted using the following steps described by Wolcott (pp.10-11, model 4.4.1): Description: letting the data speak for itself.

Analysis: Expand and extend beyond “purely descriptive account with an analysis that proceeds in some careful, systematic way to identify key factors and relationships among them”.

Interpretation: making sense of what goes on “to reach out for understanding or explanation beyond the limits of what can be explained with the degree of certainty usually associated with analysis”.

This method for data analysis is strongly connected to objective 5: Evaluate the proposed hypothesis for motivation and formulate a conclusion regarding why independent digital publishers self-publish.

4.5 LIMITATIONS AND POTENTIAL PROBLEMS Several factors indicate limitations with this empirical research. First and foremost there is the limitation of time. As the masters programme is stretching over 12 months, the time frame should in theory not be a limitation, however, due to other obligations within the programme leaving one semester to focus on the research

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Description

Analysis

Interpretation

Model 4.4.1 Data analysis process – Wolcott in Transforming Qualitative Data (1994)

dissertation, one must acknowledge that there are parts of the field creative psychology and entrepreneurship, as well as theories for creative motivation, that could have been further researched. Time-issues have made the researcher limit the study to certain theories on creativity. However, the researcher has put a great deal of time into exploring theories that can indicate creativity and motivation for self-publishing and investigating connections between personality type and creative ability. As a result the Literature Review is comprehensive and reflected, leaving the proposed motivators to be proposed based on a valid background.

Another concern is limiting the primary research to a small group of self-publishers within a certain genre and publishing platform. Such a limitation in terms of sample size was needed in order to reach a representative conclusion regarding the proposed hypothesis. However, this is not seen as a major limitation as the researcher seeks out to get the representative opinion of the mentioned sample size, and by doing so validating or invalidating the proposed hypothesis within the given frame. A potential problem with the study is however to collect the needed sample in order for the results to be representative. Nevertheless, every measure will be taken for this to be done. An obvious limitation with having a web-based self-completed questionnaire as the main source of research is that the researcher is not present at the time the survey is being conducted in case of confusion around the questions. Another limitation can be the number of respondents choosing the “neither agree or disagree� ratio button.

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4.6 REFERENCES Books AMABILE, T., 2012. Componential Theory of Creativity (pp.134-138). In: KESSLER. H. E., 2013. Encyclopedia of Management Theory. California, London, New Delhi and Singapore: Sage Publications.

BIGGAM, J., 2008. Succeeding with your Master’s Dissertation. Berkshire: Open University Press.

BODEN, M., 2010. Creativity & Art – three roads to surprise. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

BRACE, I., 2004. Questionnaire design (2nd edition). London and Philadelphia: Kogan Page.

BRADLEY, N., 1999. Sampling for Internet surveys: an examination of respondent selection for Internet research. In BRACE, I., 2004.

Questionnaire design (2nd edition). London and Philadelphia: Kogan Page.

COHEN, L. and MANION, L., 1995. Research Methods in Education. London: Routledge.

CRESWELL, J. W., 2009. Research Design. Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches (3rd edition). California, New Deli, London and Singapore: Sage Publications.

DENZIN, N., and LINCOLN, Y., 2005. Handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed.). California: Sage Publications.

MYERS, M. D., 1997. Qualitative Research in Information Systems, MISQ Discovery (online). In BIGGAM, J., 2008. Succeeding with your Master’s Dissertation. Berkshire: Open University Press.

PIIRTO, J., 2009. The Personality of Creative Writers. In: KAUFMAN S. B. and KAUFMAN J.C. The Psychology of Creative Writing. New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 3-22.

RUNCO, M.A. (2005). Motivation, competence, and creativity. In A. Elliot and C. Dweck (Eds.), Handbook of competence and motivation, 609-623.

New York: Guilford Press TAYLOR, H., 2000. Does Internet research work? In BRACE, I., 2004.

Questionnaire design (2nd edition). London and Philadelphia: Kogan Page.

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WOLCOTT, H., F., 1994. Transforming Qualitative Data: Description, Analysis, and Interpretation. California, London and New Deli: Sage Publishing.

Online ISSUU.COM, 2013. About (online) (viewed September 5th 2013). Available from: http://issuu.com/about CREATIVE RESEARCH SYSTEMS, 2012. Sample Size Calculator (online) (viewed June 10th 2013). Available from: http://www.surveysystem.com/ sscalc.htm

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Chapter 5: Findings and analysis of the empirical research 5.1 INTRODUCTION This chapter will report the results of the survey discussed in chapter 4: Research Methodology and provide an analysis of the overall findings of the secondary research: the Literature Review and the primary research: the empirical research and by so provide a qualitative insight into the motivation for independent digital self-publishers.

As discussed in chapter 4: Research Methodology the analytical process undertaken in this chapter will be conducted using the three steps of data analysis presented

by Wolcott (1994). By following the steps of Description (5.1 Survey Findings) and Analysis and Interpretation (5.2 Discussion and analysis of findings), Objective 5: Evaluate the proposed hypothesis for motivation and formulate a conclusion regarding the motivation for independent digital self-publishers will be explored.

The survey undertaken as research strategy in this empirical research set out to validate or invalidate the proposed hypothesis from Chapter 3: Literature Review, and also, by applying qualitative methods, look into why it is valid or invalid. Put in context with the new demands of the publishing industry, specifically looking at the shift from mainstream media to more independent niche magazines produced by independent publishers, and the increasing use of digital tools for reading, the findings of the survey will provide valuable information about the motivation for those who independently self-publish online. An in depth view of the digital self-publisher will be provided by analysing the findings from the Literature Review, looking at to what extent the respondents agree or disagree with statements linked to the proposed motivators, and also their background and perception of own creative ability.

The questionnaire was designed grouped after themes. This approach will allow for the analysis of the empirical research to be grouped systematically in order to get a clearer overview. The full questionnaire can be found in Appendix A and the full summary of the survey results in Appendix B.

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5.2 SURVEY FINDINGS The survey undertaken as research strategy in this empirical research was open for respondents in the period of July 18th and August 18th. As mentioned in the 4.3.2 Sampling Size, an initial email was sent out to 63 potential responders requesting their participation, as 63 respondents would represent 10% of the total sampling population. As a result of this, the researcher was early made aware of the lack of participants, and therefore had time to request participation from more potential respondents within the same sampling population. The emails were sent out at different stages. 1) request for participation in MA Publishing research, 2) a reminder of the request, 3) a short email with the link to the survey, asking for participation and 4) final request for participation. Not all stages of the email correspondence were sent out to everyone, and the overall feedback in the request for participation by those who responded was positive. Within the survey’s closing date August 18th the survey had been completed by 40 respondents, representing a 6.29% present of the targeted population. In order for the results to be representative for the whole sampling population, a number of 63 respondents was needed. As mentioned in 4.5 Limitations and Potential Problems, one of the potential problems and limitations with this study was getting the needed sampling size to participate in order for the results to be representative. As seen from this paragraph, measures were taken in order to obtain the wanted number of participants. However, the wanted number of participants was not obtained, making the findings of the questionnaire not representative. Nevertheless, as 6.29% of the targeted sampling population (63.49% of the sample size) has taken part in the research, the findings will still have valuable

Q4 Your relationship with this publication is... (if you belong to more than one, please indicate so) (Answered 40 – Skipped 0)

Editor Publisher Founder

0%

20%

40%

60%

Answer choices

Responses

#

Editor

77.50%

31

Publisher

42.50%

17

Founder

87.50%

36

Figure 5.2.1 Q4: Your relationship with this publication is‌

44

80%

100%

Q1 What is your age?

(Answered 40 – Skipped 0)

18-20 21-24 25-30 31-35 36-40 40+ 0%

20%

40%

Answer choices

Responses

#

18-20

5%

2

21-24

32.50%

13

25-30

40%

18

31-35

12.5%

5

36-40

5%

2

40+

5%

2

60%

80%

100%

60%

80%

100%

FIGURE 5.2.2 Q1: What is your age?

Q2 What is the highest level of education you have completed?

(Answered 40 – Skipped 0)

High School Undergraduate Post-graduate 0%

20%

40%

Answer choices

Responses

#

High School

20%

6

Undergraduate

57.50%

23

Post-graduate

22.50

9

FIGURE 5.2.3 Q2: What is the highest level of education you have completed?

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Q3 Within your field of publishing, do you feel that you have obtained your knowledge by...

(Answered 40 – Skipped 0)

High School

Undergraduate

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

Answer choices

Responses

#

Informal apprenticeship (self-thought/self-studies/relevant experiences)

90%

36

Informal apprenticeship (self-thought/self-studies/relevant experiences)

10%

4

100%

FIGURE 5.2.4 Q3: Within the field of publishing, do you feel that you have obtained your knowledge by…

Q5 Do you consider your work on this publication to be a...

(Answered 40 – Skipped 0)

Full-time job Part-time job Hobby

0%

20%

40%

60%

Answer choices

Responses

#

Full-time job

40%

16

Part-time job

35%

14

Hobby

25%

10

80%

FIGURE 5.2.5 Q5: Do you consider your work on this publication to be a…

46

100%

Q6 Frequency of publication (Answered 39 – Skipped 1)

Monthly Bi-monthly Quarterly Twice a year Once a year

0%

20%

40%

Answer choices

Responses

#

Monthly

28.21%

11

Bi-monthly

35.90%

14

Quarterly

28.21%

11

Twice a year

5.13%

2

Once a year

2.56%

1

60%

80%

100%

60%

80%

100%

FIGURE 5.2.6 Q6: Frequency of publication

Q7 The publication can be found in the following mediums: (Answered 39 – Skipped 1)

Full-time job Part-time job Hobby

0%

20%

40%

Answer choices

Responses

#

Full-time job

51.28%

20

Part-time job

2.56%

1

Hobby

46.15%

18

FIGURE 5.2.7 Q7: The publication can be found in the following mediums:

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Q8 Where do you see the publication in two years?

(Answered 39 – Skipped 1)

Evolving as a digital publication Established as both print and digital

Print only Dissolved Other (please specify)

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

Answer choices

Responses

#

Evolving as a digital publication

30.77%

12

Established as both print and digital

53.85%

21

Print only

0%

0

Dissolved

7.69%

3

Other (please specify)

7.69%

3

100%

1: Publishing new mediums and platforms 2: In space 3: I am unsure what will happen. I’d like to grow into a media company, but it may just become nothing more than a personal magazine style blog.

FIGURE 5.2.8 Q8: Where do you see the publication in two years?

insights to the motivation for digital self-publishing, and will indicate weather the hypothesis is valid or not, even though these results are not representative.

5.2.1 DEMOGRAPHIC FINDINGS The questionnaire was sent out to individuals named editor or publisher of publications within the genre music, fashion and culture and published in English on Issuu.com. Therefore, it was expected that the respondents would all be within the targeted population when entering the survey. Nevertheless, Q4: Your relationship with this publication is… (if you belong to more than one, please indicate so) shows that most of the editors are also the founder. Of the 40 respondents 31 answered that they are the editor while 35 answered that they founded the magazine, with 17 responding that they are the publisher. The question was designed to be multiple choice, letting the respondent tick whatever boxes he/she found suitable and so was expected to generate more answers per responder.

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Q9 The following statements are related to the theory of three different types of creativity.

Please indicate which of the following statements are related to your publication (Answered 39 – Skipped 1)

It is radically different from anything done before.

It has been created based on familiar ideas, but it has beenproduced by putting three familiar ideas together in new ways.

It is exploring the limits and sees new possibilities

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

Answer choices

Responses

#

It is radically different from anything done before.

2.56%

1

It has been created based on familiar ideas, but it has beenproduced by putting three familiar ideas together in new ways.

61.54%

24

It is exploring the limits and sees new possibilities

35.90%

14

100%

FIGURE 5.2.9 Q9: The following statements are related to the theory of three different types of creativity.

Please indicate which of the following statements are related to your publication.

The demographic findings show that within the population of the survey respondents 85% are aged between 21-35 (21-24 = 32.5%, 25-30 =40% and 31-35 =12.50%). The findings also show that 80% have gone to university. 57.50% has completed an undergraduate course, while 22.50% have done a post-graduate course and 20% have high school as the highest level of education. However, it is interesting to see that within the field of publishing, 90% feel that they have obtained their knowledge by informal apprenticeship such as self-studies and relevant experiences and consider themselves to be self-taught. Only 10% answers that they have obtained their knowledge by formal apprenticeship such as formal education. 40% consider their work on the publication to be a full-time job, while 35% consider it a part-time job and 25% a hobby indicating that a total 75% consider their work on the publication to be work related rather than done for leisure.

Within the given genre, 28.21% of the publications are published monthly, 35.90% bi-monthly and 28.21% quarterly, with only two publications being published twice a year and one once a year. Of the 40 respondents, roughly 50% of the publications are strictly digital, while the other 50% exist both in print and digital. One reply

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Q10 Which of the following environments do you feel has helped foster your creativity?

(Answered 40 – Skipped 0)

Home School Chance Community and culture Gender Other (please specify) 0%

20%

40%

60%

Answer choices

Responses

#

Home

10.26%

4

School

10.26%

4

Chance

17.95%

7

Community and culture

51.28%

21

Gender

2.56%

1

Other (please specify)

7.69%

3

80%

100%

1: Creativity can be sparked by anything around us.

FIGURE 5.2.10 Q10: which of the following environments do you feel has helped foster your creativity?

indicates print only, but as all publications were sourced and contacted via a digital edition of the magazine, one can only assume that the respondent has misunderstood the question or clicked wrong. Regarding the future, the respondents predict their publication to be evolving as a digital publication (30.77%), established as both print and digital (53.85%) or dissolved (7.69%).

5.2.2 CREATIVE ABILITY FINDINGS Q9: The following statements are related to the theory of three different types of creativity. Please indicate which of the following statements are related to your publication is generated from Boden’s three types of creativity (2010): Transformational, Exploratory and Combinational. Only one respondent answers that his/her publication is radically different from anything done before, while 61.54% answers that it has been created based on familiar ideas, and that it has been

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Q11 Plase indicate how much you agree or disagree that the following statements applies to you: (Answered 39 – Skipped 1)

I feel that by publishing this magazine, I become part of the music, fashion and cluture (or related) business.

15.79% (6) 2.63% (1)

23.08% (9) 43.59% (17) 25.64% (10) 7.69% (3)

I feel that people belonging to this business (music, fashion, culture) will see me as an equal because of my work with this publication.

I feel that being a part of the environment around this business helps foster my creativity.

30.77% (12) 10.26% (4)

0%

Agree

56.41% (22) 38.46% (15)

5.13% (2)

I have a deep knowledge of the field I am publishing about and this knowledge can help the field move forward.

Agree strongly

42.11% (16) 39.47% (15)

Neither agrees nor disagrees

20%

40%

Disagree

58.97% (23)

60%

80%

100%

Disagree strongly

FIGURE 5.2.11 Q11: Please indicate how much you agree or disagree that the following statements applies to you:

produced by putting these familiar ideas together in new ways and 35.90% believes their publication to be exploring the limits and seeing new possibilities. Of Piirto’s (2009) “five suns of environment” in which creative potential is fostered, Q10: which of the following environments do you feel has helped foster your creativity, 51.28% believes community and culture to be the environment in which their creativity has been fostered. The remaining respondents are equally split between school and home (which each got 10.26%) and chance (17.95%) Only one of the respondents replied gender.

5.2.3 MAIN FINDINGS The main findings are related to the validation/invalidation of the proposed hypothesis Motivators for Digital Self-Publishing.

Q11: Please indicate how much you agree or disagree that the following statements apply to you: I feel that by publishing this magazine I become a part of the music,

51

Q12 Plase indicate how much you agree or disagree that the following statements applies to you: (Answered 39 – Skipped 1) 30.77% (12) 51.28% (20) 15.38% (6)

As the editor of a self -published magazine I feel accomplished.

2.56% (1) As the editor of a digital self-published magazine I feel that I’m challenging myself.

10.26% (4)

Publishing/editing this magazine brings me joy

2.63% (1)

The following personality attributes applies to me: boldness, courage, freedom, spontaneous, self-acceptance

Agree

Neither agrees nor disagrees

20%

63.16% (24)

34.21% (13)

12.82% (5)

0%

Agree strongly

51.28% (20) 38.46% (15)

38.46% (15) 48.72% (19)

40%

Disagree

60%

80%

100%

Disagree strongly

FIGURE 5.2.12 Q12: Please indicate how much you agree or disagree that the following statements applies to you:

fashion and culture (or related) business; I feel that people belonging to this business (music, fashion, culture) will see me as an equal because of my work with this publication; I feel that being a part of the environment around this business helps foster my creativity; I have a deep knowledge of the field I am publishing about and this knowledge can help the field move forward is related to proposed motivator M1.

As determined in Chapter 3: 3.5 Proposed Motivators for Digital Self-Publishing, these questions are generated based on the assumptions of the stereotypical creative and the psychological process of generating novel ideas. The findings show that 81.58% agree with the statement “I feel that by publishing this magazine I become a part of the music, fashion and culture (or related) business”, and of those 42.11% agree strongly while only one respondent disagrees. 66.67% agree and 7.69% disagree with the statement: “I feel that people belonging to this business (music, fashion, culture) will see me as an equal because of my work with this publication”, with 23.08% strongly agreeing. 94.87% of the respondents agree that “I feel that being a part of the environment around this business helps foster my creativity”, with 56.41% agreeing strongly. 89.74% agree, 30.77% of them agree strongly, with the statement:

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Q13 Plase indicate how much you agree or disagree that the following statements applies to you: (Answered 39 – Skipped 1)

With this publication I would like to influence others.

7.89% (3)

I feel confident in my own creative ability.

2.56% (1)

23.08% (9) 12.82% (5) 5.13% (2)

Ambition is for me a driving force.

0%

Agree

41.03% (16) 56.41% (22)

23.08% (9) 30.77% (12) 33.33% (13) 7.69% (3) 5.13% (2)

I feel more creative than my peers.

Agree strongly

63.16% (24)

28.95% (11)

Neither agrees nor disagrees

20%

40%

Disagree

58.97% (23)

60%

80%

100%

Disagree strongly

FIGURE 5.2.13 Q13: Please indicate how much you agree or disagree that the following statements applies to you:

“I have a deep knowledge of the field I am publishing about and this knowledge can help the field move forward”.

Q12: Please indicate how much you agree or disagree that the following statements apply to you: As the editor of a digital self-published magazine I feel accomplished; As the editor of a digital self-published magazine I feel that I’m challenging myself; Publishing/editing this magazine brings me joy; The following personality attributes applies to me: boldness, courage, freedom, spontaneous, self-acceptance is related to proposed motivator M2.

The findings show that 82.05% of the respondents feel accomplished as the editor of a digital self-published magazine, with 30.77% agreeing strongly to this statement. One of the respondents disagrees strongly. 89.74% of the respondents feel that, as the editor of a digital self-published magazine, they are challenging themselves with 51.28% strongly agreeing to this statement. Almost all of the respondents, 97.37% agree that publishing/ editing their publication brings them joy, with 63.16% strongly agreeing to the statement.

87.18% agree that boldness; courage, freedom, spontaneity and self-acceptance are personality attributes that apply to them, with 38.46% agreeing strongly.

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Q13: Please indicate how much you agree or disagree that the following statements apply to you: With this publication I would like to influence others; I feel confident in my own creative ability; I feel more creative than my peers; Ambition is for me a driving force is related to the validation/invalidation of proposed motivator M3. The findings of the questionnaire show that 92.11% of the respondents, and of those 63.16% agreeing strongly, agrees that with their publication they would like to influence others. 97.44% of the respondents feel confident in their own creative ability, with 41.03% agreeing strongly to this statement. 53.85% agree in the statement that they feel more creative than their peers, with 23.08% agreeing strongly. 12.82% disagrees, and of those 5.13% disagrees strongly. 82.05% of the respondents agree to the statement that ambition for them is a driving force, with 58.97% agreeing strongly.

5.13% disagree to this statement.

5.3 DISCUSSIONS AND ANALYSIS OF EMPIRICAL RESEARCH FINDINGS The proposed motivators seen in 3.5 Proposed Motivators were generated from relevant literature being reviewed as a part of this dissertation’s secondary research.

The statements presented in the questionnaire that formed the primary research were in addition generated from the same sources. The overall findings of the empirical research give evidence of, on the terms of the needed sampling size not being obtained, the proposed hypothesis being valid. On these terms, one can state that recognition in the field of interest, wanting to reach ones full potential and wanting power work as motivators for digital self-publishing.

The level of the indications given to whether the respondents agree or disagree to the statements presented as a part of the primary research questionnaire is worth analysing. As seen from Chapter 3: Literature Review, a stereotypical narcissist will be self-aggrandizing, self-indulgent and self-absorbed, and while they won’t necessarily be more creative than their peers, they will believe that they are (Goncalo, Flynn and Kim, 2010. p.1484). As discussed, a creative person may seem to others as beholding these personality attributes as they tend to have an urge to generate novel ideas, which they will then obsess over and believe in regardless of criticism. The findings of the empirical research shows that 97.44% of the respondents feel confident in their own creative ability, with 53.85% feeling more creative than their peers. 75% consider their contribution to the publication to be work-related (40% consider it being a fulltime job while 35% consider it a part-time job), understanding that they are seriously invested in the time they spend producing it and that they do not see it as something done as a side project or hobby. It is also interesting to note that most of the editors are also the founder, understanding that they have a long and personal relationship with the publication. As it is not possible on the terms of this dissertation to measure the level of the creative work produced by the responding self-publishers, one can only assume that they produce creative work of high standards. Nevertheless, on

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Goncalo, Flynn and Kim’s terms, one can speculate that the respondents behold some narcissistic personality attributes. However, as argued in the Literature Review, these attributes will in publishing be essential as key factor for success. It is unlikely that a publication will survive past its first issue, or even publish a first issue; if its publisher doesn’t have faith in the work being produced as good and worthy of an audience. The researcher will therefore propose the term “Creative Narcissism”. All of the proposed, now validated, motivators are strongly connected to the belief in own creative ability. As seen in 3.3.1 The Stereotypical Creative, Boden (2010) identifies two groups of the self-taught, the unschooled autodidact and the deviant, and a sub-section of the latter, the diverse deviant. One of the most interesting findings from the empirical research is that 80% of the respondents have university education, something that would indicate them not being autodidacts by nature. However, 90% answered that they feel they have obtained their knowledge within their field of publishing by informal apprenticeship by being self-taught, by preformed self-studies or by gaining relevant experiences. Only 10% answers that formal apprenticeship such as relevant education is where they have gained their knowledge. Also gaining a low level of responses is the environment of school when it comes to which environment the responders feel has helped foster their creativity.

Gaining only 10.26% of the responses, up against the 51.28% who cite community and culture as having the bigger impact on their creativity being fostered. These findings match with Boden’s diverse deviant: the respondents have university education, but it can be speculated whether they have chosen to focus more of their energy on out of school activities and so gained knowledge and a passion that has led them to the knowledge they have today. However, as 22.50% of the responders have completed post-graduate courses, one must assume that they behold some interest and passion for their choice of education as completing a MA programme without this interest would be, to most, unbearable.

This interest in a chosen subject has led them to excellent in-depth knowledge and it can be argued based on the theories presented in the Literature Review, such as Johnson’s The Adjacent Possible or Serendipity (2010), Boden’s three types of creativity (2010) and The Investment Approach to Creativity proposed by Sternberg and Lubart (1992), that this knowledge has led them to exploring their creative ability and gaining the novel idea to publish a digital self-published magazine. The result of questioning the respondents about which of Boden’s three types of creativity they felt most related to 61.54% of the replies indicate that their publication is based on familiar ideas (knowledge) being put together in new ways, demonstrate a use of combinational creativity. Wanting recognition in the field of interest (M1) will therefore be a driving force for digital self-publishers. This motivator is also hinted in the findings of 66.67% agreeing with the statement that people in the related business will see them as equal because of their work on the publication, and that 94.87% agree in the statement that being a part of the environment around the business helps foster their creativity. The publisher will have/feel that he/she has the

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same amount of knowledge as publisher of a mainstream or major publication, and with the use of digital tools, he/she will be able to do something about it and show of this passion by creating a magazine. By “really loving what they do”, they produce a publication because they believe in their own creative ability so much that they want to be recognized for it. The shift in reading patterns, with more people searching online for reading material rather than just buying printed media, and the increasing demand for niche media rather than mainstream, as explored by Chris Anderson in The Long Tail (2006), has opened a new market for individuals feeling this “urge” to publish, and so it is easier for digital self-publishers to take that step and move into publishing.

The responders also think that they have knowledge that can help move the field forward (roughly 90% of the respondents agree or agree strongly to that statement), and selfpublishing will be a source of showing this off. The findings from Q13, which asked the respondents to indicate how much they agreed or disagreed with statements related to M3: wanting power, gives evidence of 92.11% of the respondents wanting to influence others. In order to wanting to influence others, or to have power, as it also indicates the respondents must to some extent have great trust in their own creative ability and their own knowledge – beliefs that naturally will be perceived as narcissistic behaviour.

But ask yourself this - would anyone seek out to produce anything if they did not believe that the work was good? On those terms, everyone who is executing creative work is to some extent narcissistic, without it being proposed as a negative attribute but rather a necessary one in order to succeed.

As seen from the literature review and also the proposed motivator M2, Maslow (1954) argues that in order for people to be at peace with themselves, they must be what they can be. 97.37% of respondents of the empirical research either agree or strongly agree that publishing their publication brings them joy. The findings from Q12 also show that the self-publishers feel challenged and accomplished as a result of their work on the digital self-published publication. The high level of agree or strongly agree replies correspond to the theories proposed in the literature review, mainly Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (1954) which states that not letting their passion shine through will lead them to restlessness due to the personality attributes they behold.

In the Literature Review the general perception of the publishers of the original zines, the predecessor to today’s independent digital niche magazines, was highlighted as an example of what passion and knowledge for a specific genre can lead to.

Highlighting how they were known for “just having to publish” (Kalmar, 1997). The findings of the empirical research give evidence of the same attribute being present in the modern self-publisher. They agree that publishing brings them joy, it makes them feel accomplished and they feel as if they belong somewhere by editing and publishing a magazine related to a specific business. These feelings generate the feeling of self-actualization, which is on top of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

The self-publishers publish for personal reasons and so recognition in the field of interest (M1), wanting to reach ones full potential (M2) and wanting power (M3) is motivation for doing so.

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5.4 LIMITATIONS WITH THE FINDINGS OF THE EMPIRICAL RESEARCH The most obvious limitation of the findings from the empirical research is that the survey only generated 40 responders, 63.49% of the needed 63, in order to claim the results representative to the targeted population of 663 digital self-publishers within the genre of music, fashion and culture, who have published their English written publication on Issuu.com. The results presented, and the claim that the proposed hypothesis is valid is therefore not representative. Nevertheless, as the 12 statements presented in Q11-Q13 overall have generated clear majority of “agree” or “agree strongly” responses, one can to some extent expect that the remaining 36.51% of the sample size needed for claiming the results to be representative would have provided the same results. It is however worth noticing that even though the survey has generated 40 respondents, one respondent has chosen to not complete the survey past questions six. As a result, the remaining survey only has 39 respondents (some questions have also just generated 38). An issue here is that the researcher should have included a code that would not let the responders continue to the next question without providing an answer, as suggested in Brace’s Questionnaire Design (2004). Another issue that is caused by using a self-completed questionnaire is the code “neither agrees or disagree” which in some cases has generated up to 33.33% of the responses. The highest score of respondents answering, “neither agree or disagree” is on Q13: Please indicate how much you agree or disagree with the following statement: I feel more creative than my peers. It can be speculated that this statement, for some reason, left the responders not wanting to answer it, even though the questionnaire was completed anonymously. It is no doubt that not providing a “neither agree or disagree” code would have let the survey to have more useful insights, but at the same time one can argue the value of an answer provided unwillingly or as a random choice (Bruce, 2004. p.158).

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5.5 REFERENCES Books AMABILE, T., 2012. Componential Theory of Creativity (pp.134-138). In: KESSLER. H. E., 2013. Encyclopedia of Management Theory. California, London, New Delhi and Singapore: Sage Publications.

ANDERSON, CHRIS, 2006. The Long Tail. Hyperion.

BRACE, I., 2004. Questionnaire Design (second edition).

BODEN, M., 2010. Creativity & Art – three roads to surprise. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

KALMAR, 1997. Start Your Own Zine. New York: Hyperion.

JOHNSON, S., 2010. Where Good Ideas Come From – the natural history of innovation. London, New York, Toronto, Dublin, Victoria, New Delhi, North Shore, and Johannesburg: Penguin Group MASLOW, A., H., 1954. Motivation and Personality (third edition). New York, Reading, Massachusetts, California, England, Ontario, Sidney, Madrid, Mexico City, and Amsterdam: Longman.

MASLOW, A., H., 1968. Toward a Psychology of Being. New York: Van Nostran Reinhold.

PIIRTO, J., 2009. The Personality of Creative Writers. In: KAUFMAN S. B. and KAUFMAN J.C. The Psychology of Creative Writing. New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 3-22.

WOLCOTT, H., F., 1994. Transforming Qualitative Data: Description, Analysis, and Interpretation. California, London and New Deli: Sage Publishing. eJournals: database AMABILE, T. M., 1983. Social psychology of creativity: A componential conceptualization. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (online), 45 (2), 997-1013 (viewed June 16, 2013). Available from: PsycARTICLES GONCALO, J. A., F. J. FLYNN, and S. H. KIM, 2010. Are Two Narcissists Better Than One? The Link Between Narcissism, Perceived Creativity, and Creative Performance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (online),

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36 (11), 1484-1495 (viewed: July 9, 2013). Available from: Sage STERNBERG R. J., and T. I. LUBART, 1992. Buy Low and Sell High: An Investment Approach to Creativity. Current Directions in Psychological science (online), 1 (1), 1-5 (viewed: June 18, 2013). Available from: Sage aps on behalf of Association for Psychological Science.

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Chapter 6: Conclusion This concluding chapter will go through each of the dissertation’s objectives, and lead up to a final conclusion regarding the dissertation’s main aim. It will first provide an introduction, summing up the findings of the empirical research, and then continue to summary of findings and a conclusion before it will provide recommendations and the researcher’s self-reflection on the dissertation process.

The overall aim of this dissertation was to investigate motivation for digital independent self-publishing. The research objectives were: O1: Outline psychological theories that can indicate how novel ideas are generated O2: Investigate the connections between personality type and creative ability O3: Propose a hypothesis regarding motivation for digital self-publishing of magazines O4: Explore and evaluate digital publisher’s creativity and motivation for self-publishing O5: Evaluate the proposed hypothesis for motivation and formulate a conclusion regarding the motivation for independent digital self-publishing

6.1 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES: SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION This sub-section will provide a summary and conclusion regarding each of this dissertation’s objectives, before it will provide an overall conclusion regarding the research aim.

Objective 1: Outline psychological theories that can indicate how novel ideas are generated was explored in the secondary research of this dissertation, in Chapter 3: Literature Review. The chapter outlined knowledge to be the main criteria for generating novel ideas, as stated by Johnson (2010), Sternberg and Lubart

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(1992/1996), Boden (2010) and Amabile (2012). As Freud (1919/1964) suggests, creativity is arisen from the tension between conscious and unconscious wishes, and performing a creative act is a way of expressing this. However, as seen from Wallas’ Model for the Process of Creativity (1926), and also argued by Amabile in her Componential Model of Creativity (1983/2012) – one needs to have the domainrelevant skills, creativity-relevant skills, and task motivation, in addition to the social environment in which the individual is working for creativity to occur beyond an simple idea. As seen, the main conclusion drawn from this objective is that knowledge needs to be present for generation novel ideas. Where this passion comes from is further discussed in the Literature Review and is connected to Objective 2: Investigate connections between personality type and creative ability. The primary research shows that of Boden’s three types of creativity: combinational, exploratory and transformational, combinational – to generate a novel idea by using familiar ideas and knowledge and put them together in a new way, is the most commonly used process among the responders (61.54%). The Literature Review states that “while creativity can occur at all levels, and be experienced by everyone, some personality types seems to have a stronger connection to producing work at a pro-C level”. The stereotypical creative, as explored in the secondary research, beholds personality attributes such as independence of judgment, self-confidence, and attraction to complexity, aesthetic orientation and risk taking (Stenberg and Labart, 1996. p.682). In the primary research, 87% of the responders indentify with boldness, courage, freedom, spontaneity and self-acceptance, as proposed by Maslow (1968, pp. 137-145) as being attributes connected to those achieving self-actualization. The literature review gives little doubt that there is a strong connection between personality type and creative ability, and by so answers to research objective 2: Investigate the connections between personality type and creative ability. The Literature Review also indicate that these attributes are in direct connection to fulfilling creative potential, as long as they are placed and explored in the right environment, as suggested by Piirto’s Piiramid of Talent Development (1993) and confirmed by primary research.

As a result of the Literature Reviewed in Chapter 3, a hypothesis regarding motivation for digital self-publishing of magazines was proposed, and thereby research Objective 3 was achieved. The hypothesis (model 6.1.1) was then tested out as a part of the dissertation’s empirical research. The findings validate the hypothesis, and so the researcher can suggest recognition in the field of interest, wanting to reach ones full potential and wanting power to be motivators for digital self-publishing.

However, the results are not representative neither for a larger population nor the targeted population the sampling size was based on. In the process of testing the proposed hypothesis with empirical research, Objective 4: explore and evaluate digital publisher’s creativity and motivation for self-publishing, was researched. The results were, as mentioned in context with Objective 1 and 2, coherent with the theories for generating novel ideas presented in the Literature Review. It was interesting to see that most of the resppndents consider their publications to be generated from

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familiar ideas put together in new ways (proposed by Boden, 2010, as combinational creativity), but that they feel that they have obtained their knowledge which these ideas are based on by informal apprenticeship rather than formal, even though 80% have university education. This indicates, as stated in the Literature Review, creativity to be highly personal. Maslow (1954) suggests that by being enculturated, a person will “lose his or her curiosity”, and defines the curiosity of a creative person as a “second naiveté” (p.161), which may indicate why informal apprenticeship such as community and culture as environment is credited as a bigger source of fostering creative ideas and knowledge among the respondents. The findings also suggest that the responders feel the same way, as almost all agree with the statement that being a part of the environment around the business helps foster their creativity.

Nevertheless, the results of the empirical research show that most respondents see themselves as highly creative, and some more creative than their peers. They trust that their work is of high enough quality to be viewed by the public, and they would with their work like to influence others. This exploration into the creativity and motivation of digital publishers has led to a conclusion of creative narcissism being a common phenomenon among digital self-publishers. Unlike a mainstream publisher who has been employed to do a job, a self-publisher publish of “free will” because they think what they produce should be viewed by an audience. To value ones own creative ability is by Goncalo, Flynn and Kim (2010) suggested to be a narcissistic attribute, however one can argue that in order to produce creative work aimed at an audience, such as a magazine, the publisher needs to believe that the work is good – and so one can say that all creatives who produce work aimed to influence others have narcissistic attributes to their personality.

To answer the concluding Objective 5: evaluate the proposed hypothesis for motivation and formulate a conclusion regarding the motivation for independent digital selfpublishing: the proposed hypothesis is, based on the empirical research conducted, valid. It is however not argued that it is valid for a larger population or for the sample size, as the needed number of answers was not obtained. Nevertheless, as this is a qualitative study by nature, it fulfils its purpose of attempting to make sense of the digital self-publishers motivation. As reviewing relevant literature and theories for motivation and creativity formed the hypothesis, one can expect it to be relevant to creative performers, regardless of the empirical research. However, the validation of the hypothesis suggests that digital self-publishers publish for the personal fulfilment it gives them. They publish because it brings them joy, fulfilment, it makes them feel accomplished, that they are achieving something; they get to show off their knowledge and influence others – and they have ambition. The empirical research indicates that the responding self-publishers see themselves as highly creative, and publishing is a way of them to reach self-actualization – the ultimate goal in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (1954), which is the overlaying motivation for the proposed hypothesis.

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In terms of what impact or insights these findings have on digital self-publishing: the findings indicate that self-publishing is highly personal. It is based on the passion for a subject, which has led the publishers to gain in-depth knowledge about it.

This knowledge, combined with the right personality attributes placed in the right environment has led them to generate an idea for a publication. The publisher will believe that his/her passion and knowledge is worth publishing, and since they believe in their own creative ability and that they behold knowledge that can help move the field forward. This indicates that the further development of digital selfpublished magazines is up to those producing them. Digital tools will continue to develop the technical possibilities of how to publish. Johnson (2010) points out in his theory about Adjacent Possible (p.39) that you can not be “ahead of your time” as important breakthroughs often is needed for the last piece of your creative idea to be fulfilled. As new technical possibilities are created, content to fill these new possibilities will be created by those passionate about it. The empirical research show that roughly 53% of the responding self-publishers state that within two years they would see their publication established as both print and digital, giving evidence of print still being a platform to reach for. However, roughly 30% of the responders see their publication evolving as a digital publication, with one of the “other” responses stating that they see their publication “pushing new mediums and platforms” giving evidence of a digital platform in development to becoming a even more desired platform for publishers.

6.2 RECOMMENDATIONS Based on this concluding paragraph the researcher would give the following recommendations: continue to acknowledge and seek out niche media as the publishers of independent self-publications gain their knowledge and produce creative work based on passion for a subject, rather than the assumption of duty or financial benefits. That their motivation for publishing is self-actualization: in terms of wanting to reach ones full potential, recognition in the field of interest and wanting power, can contribute to a more nuanced publishing industry that will continue to push the boundaries for publishing and ways to present a magazine to the public. That 30% of the responding self-publishers of the empirical research see their publication evolving as a digital publication, while 50% sees it evolving as both print and digital, versus none who sees their publication evolving into a print only publication indicate that publishers are growing accustomed to using digital only as a platform. That tablets in August 2013 were named the fastest growing technology in history, with 88% using it for news and 81% for entertainment (such as reading magazines) every day (Terrelonge, 2013), shows evidence that self-publishers should continue to explore into digital solutions as it is an accessible tool for them to express their creativity and reach for self-actualization.

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M1: Recognition in the Field of Interest

M3: Wanting Power

M2: Feeling of reaching ones full potential

Model 6.1.1 Proposed motivators for digitally self-publishing –Strommen (2013)

As for further research, the researcher would recommend looking further into the findings suggesting that even though the responding self-publishers have university education, they do not give formal education credit for their knowledge or state that it is the environment in which their creativity has been fostered. It could prove some useful insight into the generating of novel ideas to further research into the connection between apprenticeship and creative ability. As a result of the proposed hypothesis being valid, another recommendation for further research, which would have been undertaken if the work on this dissertation was not time limited, would be to include the research strategy case study to the mix in order to deepen the qualitative research on motivation for digital self-publishing. Gaining further insight on how the validated motivators motivate the self-publishers in real life, and how this affects their choices would without a doubt give valuable insights to understanding self-publishers and their motivation.

6.3 SELF-REFLECTION For the researcher, the work on this research dissertation has been conducted with great interest and enjoyment. As a digital self-publisher herself, the researcher has found the research challenging but also rewarding, as it has given many insight into

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own creative ability and provided a deeper understanding of the urge to publish and produce creative work. The work on this dissertation has without a doubt provided the researcher with useful insights that will continue to have an impact on her creative work in the future.

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6.4 REFERENCES Books AMABILE, T., 2012. Componential Theory of Creativity (pp.134-138). In: KESSLER. H. E., 2013. Encyclopedia of Management Theory. California, London, New Delhi and Singapore: Sage Publications.

BODEN, M., 2010. Creativity & Art – three roads to surprise. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

JOHNSON, S., 2010. Where Good Ideas Come From – the natural history of innovation. London, New York, Toronto, Dublin, Victoria, New Delhi, North Shore, and Johannesburg: Penguin Group PIIRTO, J., 2009. The Personality of Creative Writers. In: KAUFMAN S. B. and KAUFMAN J.C. The Psychology of Creative Writing. New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 3-22.

MASLOW, A., H., 1954. Motivation and Personality (third edition). New York, Reading, Massachusetts, California, England, Ontario, Sidney, Madrid, Mexico City, and Amsterdam: Longman.

MASLOW, A., H., 1968. Toward a Psychology of Being. New York: Van Nostran Reinhold. eJournals: database AMABILE, T. M., 1983. Social psychology of creativity: A componential conceptualization. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (online), 45 (2), 997-1013 (viewed June 16, 2013). Available from: PsycARTICLES GONCALO, J. A., F. J. FLYNN, and S. H. KIM, 2010. Are Two Narcissists Better Than One? The Link Between Narcissism, Perceived Creativity, and Creative Performance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (online), 36 (11), 1484-1495 (viewed: July 9, 2013). Available from: Sage STERNBERG, R. J., and T. I. LUBART, 1996. Investing in Creativity. American Psychologist (online), 51 (7), 677-688 (viewed June 18, 2013). Available from: JSTOR. Models PIIRTO, J., 1993. The Piirto Piiramid of Talent Development STROMMEN, S., 2013. Motivators for Digital Self-Publishing

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WALLAS, G., 1926. The Four-Stage Model for the Creativity Process Online TERRELONGE, Z., 2013. Tablets: the fastest growing technology in history (online), viewed September 3rd, 2013. Available from: http://www.mobileent.biz/news/read/infographic-tablets-the-fastest-growing-technologyin-history/022239.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Books AMABILE, T., 2012. Componential Theory of Creativity (pp.134-138). In: KESSLER. H. E., 2013. Encyclopedia of Management Theory. California, London, New Delhi and Singapore: Sage Publications.

ANDERSON, C., 2006. The Long Tail (Smarter Comics 2011 edition). London: Random House Business, 2006 BAGGINI, J., 2011. The Ego Trick. London: Granta Publications.

BELBIN, M., 2008/2009. The Belbin Guide to Succeeding at Work. London: A&C Black Publishers Ltd. BIGGAM, J., 2008. Succeeding with your Master’s Dissertation. Berkshire: Open University Press.

BLUM, A., 2012. Tubes, Behind the Scenes at the Internet. London: Penguin Group.

BODEN, M., 2010. Creativity & Art – three roads to surprise. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

BRACE, I., 2004. Questionnaire design (2nd edition). London and Philadelphia: Kogan Page.

BRADLEY, N., 1999. Sampling for Internet surveys: an examination of respondent selection for Internet research. In BRACE, I., 2004.

Questionnaire design (2nd edition). London and Philadelphia: Kogan Page.

BRADSHAW, P., and MORRISH J., 2012. Magazine Edition in Print and Online (3rd edition). London and New York: Routledge.

BAUMAN, Z., 2004. Identity. Cambridge and Malden: Polity Press.

CHANEY, P., 2009. The Digital Handshake: Seven Proven Strategies to Grow Your Business Using Social Media. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Inc. COHEN, L. and MANION, L., 1995. Research Methods in Education. London: Routledge.

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CRESWELL, J. W., 2009. Research Design. Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches (3rd edition). California, New Deli, London and Singapore: Sage Publications.

DENZIN, N., and LINCOLN, Y., 2005. Handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed.). California: Sage Publications.

DUNCOMBE, S., 1997. Notes From Underground – Zines and the Politics of Alternative Culture. London and New York: Verso.

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JOHNSON, S., 2010. Where Good Ideas Come From – the natural history of innovation. London, New York, Toronto, Dublin, Victoria, New Delhi, North Shore, and Johannesburg: Penguin Group KALMAR, V., 1997. Start Your Own Zine. New York: Hyperion.

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LEADBEATER, C., 2008. We-Think: Mass Innovation, Not Mass Production.

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MASLOW, A., H., 1954. Motivation and Personality (third edition). New York, Reading, Massachusetts, California, England, Ontario, Sidney, Madrid, Mexico City, and Amsterdam: Longman.

MASLOW, A., H., 1968. Toward a Psychology of Being. New York: Van Nostran Reinhold.

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NAUGHTON, J., 2012. From Gutenberg to Zuckerberg: What You Really Need to Know About the Internet. London: Quercus.

PALMER, A., 2004. Introduction to marketing - theory and practice (2nd edition). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

PIIRTO, J., 2009. The Personality of Creative Writers. In: KAUFMAN S. B. and KAUFMAN J.C. The Psychology of Creative Writing. New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 3-22.

SMITH, S. M., WARD, T. B., and FINKE, R. A. (1995). The Creative Cognition Approach.

Cambridge: MIT Press.

VERNON, P.E., 1970. Creativity: Selected Readings. In: STERNBERG, R., J. and T. I. LUBART, 1996. Investing in Creativity. American Psychologist (online), 51 (7), 677-688 (viewed June 18, 2013). Available from: JSTOR. WHITTAKER, J., 2008. Magazine production (illustrated edition). London and New York: Routledge Ltd. WOLCOTT, H., F., 1994. Transforming Qualitative Data: Description, Analysis, and Interpretation. California, London and New Deli: Sage Publishing. eJournals: database Amabile, T. M., 1983. Social psychology of creativity: A componential conceptualization. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (online), 45 (2), 997-1013 (viewed June 16, 2013). Available from: PsycARTICLES GONCALO, J. A., F. J. FLYNN, and S. H. KIM, 2010. Are Two Narcissists Better Than One? The Link Between Narcissism, Perceived Creativity, and Creative Performance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (online), 36 (11), 1484-1495 (viewed: July 9, 2013). Available from: Sage STERNBERG, R. J., and T. I. LUBART, 1996. Investing in Creativity. American Psychologist (online), 51 (7), 677-688 (viewed June 18, 2013). Available from: JSTOR. STERNBERG R. J., and T. I. LUBART, 1992. Buy Low and Sell High: An Investment Approach to Creativity. Current Directions in Psychological science (online), 1 (1), 1-5 (viewed: June 18, 2013). Available from: Sage aps on behalf of Association for Psychological Science.

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eJournals: internet KAUFMAN, J. C., and R. A. BEGHETTO, 2009. Beyond Big and Little: The Four C Model of Creativity. Review of General Psychology (online), 13 (1) 1-12 (viewed June 26, 2013). Available from: http://pages.uoregon.edu/ beghetto/KaufmanBeghetto2009.pdf EISENBERGER, R., and L. SHANOCK, 2003. Rewards, Intrinsic Motivation, and Creativity: A Case Study of Conceptual and Methodological Isolation.

Creative Research Journal (online), 15 (2, 3), 121-130. (Viewed July 9, 2013).

Available from: http://eisenberger.psych.udel.edu/files/00B_Rewards_ Intrinsic_Motivation_and_Creativity_A_Case_Study.pdf Nespapers and Magazines DeGRAFF J., and K. A. LAWRENCE, 2003. Creativity at Work, Navigating the Roadmap to Value Creation. Divided (online), spring 2003, 14-16. Available from: http://competingvalues.com/competingvalues.com/wp-content/ uploads/2009/07/Creativity-at-Work-Navigating-the-Roadmap-to-ValueCreation.pdf Online CARLSON, N., 2010. At Last – The Full Story of How Facebook Was Founded (online). Business Insider, March 5. 2010. Viewed: August 18th 2013. Available from: http://www.businessinsider.com/how-facebook-wasfounded-2010-3?op=1 OXFORD DICTIONARY, 2013. Power: definition of power (online). Viewed: July 12, 2013. Available from: http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/ english/power TERRELONGE, Z., 2013. Tablets: the fastest growing technology in history (online), viewed September 3rd, 2013. Available from: http://www.mobileent.biz/news/read/infographic-tablets-the-fastest-growing-technologyin-history/022239.

Research papers NELSON, K., 2013. Motivation and the Brain: How incentives affect the brain and motivation (online), (viewed June 19, 2013). Minneapolis, The Lantern Group. Available from: http://www.lanterngroup.com/papers/ motivebrain.pdf

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Appendix A Full questionnaire design MA Publishing Research - Motivators for self-publishing Hi there,

Thank you for agreeing to participate in my research. This questionnaire has a total of 13 questions over four pages, with each page connected to a category.

Time: It will take no more than maximum five minutes to complete.

Privacy: This questionnaire will be anonymously.

Please answer all questions.

HiIf you have any questions about this questionaire, please email siljestrommen@gmail.com. there,

MA Publishing Research - Motivators for self-publishing

Thank you for agreeing to participate in my research. This questionnaire has a total of 13 questions over four pages, with each page connected to a category.

Time: It will take no more than maximum five minutes to complete.

Privacy: This questionnaire will be anonymously.

Please answer all questions.

If you have any questions about this questionaire, please email siljestrommen@gmail.com.

Page 1

72

Page 1

MA Publishing Research - Motivators for self-publishing Category: You as a Publisher

This page will ask a few questions about your relationship with the publication.

*1. What is your age? j 18­20 k l m n j 21­24 k l m n j 25­30 k l m n j 31­35 k l m n j 36­40 k l m n j 40+ k l m n

*2. What is the highest level of education you have completed? j High School k l m n

j Undergraduate k l m n j Post­graduate k l m n

*3. Within your field of publishing, do you feel that you have obtained your knowledge

by...

j Informal apprenticeship (self­thought/self­studies/relevant experiences) k l m n j Formal apprenticeship (relevant education) k l m n

*4. Your relationship with this publication is… (if you belong to more than one, please

indicate so) c Editor d e f g

c Publisher d e f g c Founder d e f g

*5. Do you consider your work on this publication to be a… j Full­ time job k l m n j Part­time job k l m n j Hobby k l m n

Page 2

73

MA Publishing Research - Motivators for self-publishing Category: Your Publication

On this page we will ask you a few questions about your publication.

*6. Frequency of publication:

j Monthly k l m n

j Bi­monthly k l m n j Quarterly k l m n

j Twice a year k l m n j Once a year k l m n

*7. The publication can be found in the following mediums: j Digital k l m n j Print k l m n j Both k l m n

*8. Where do you see the publication in two years? j Evolving as a digital publication k l m n

j Established as both print and digital k l m n j Print only k l m n j Dissolved k l m n

j Other (please specify) k l m n

Page 3

74

MA Publishing Research - Motivators for self-publishing Category: Creativity

On this page we will ask a few questions about your relationship to creativity.

*9. The following statements are related to the theory of three different types of

creativity. Please indicate which of the following statements are related to your publication. j It is radically different from anything done before k l m n

j It has been created based on familiar ideas, but it has been produced by putting these familiar ideas together in new ways k l m n j It is exploring the limits and sees new possibilities k l m n

*10. Which of the following environments do you feel has helped foster your

creativity? j Home k l m n

j School k l m n

j Chance k l m n

j Community and culture k l m n j Gender k l m n

j Other (please specify) k l m n

Page 4

75

MA Publishing Research - Motivators for self-publishing Category: Motivators

On this page you will find a number of statements related to motivation. For each statement, please indicate how much you agree or disagree that it applies to you.

*11. Please indicate how much you agree or disagree that the following statements applies to you: I feel that by publishing

Agree strongly

Agree

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

Neither agrees nor

Disagree

Disagree strongly

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

disagrees

this magazine I become a part of the music, fashion and culture (or related) business.

I feel that people belonging to this business (music, fashion, culture) will see me as an equal because of my work with this publication.

I feel that being a part of the environment around this business helps foster my creativity.

I have a deep knowledge of the field I am publishing about and this knowledge can help the field move forward.

*12. Please indicate how much you agree or disagree that the following statements

applies to you:

As the editor of a digital

Agree strongly

Agree

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

Neither agrees nor

Disagree

Disagree strongly

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

disagrees

self­published magazine I feel accomplished.

As the editor of a digital self­published magazine I feel that I’m challenging myself.

Publishing/editing this magazine brings me joy.

The following personality attributes applies to me: boldness, courage, freedom, spontaneous, self­acceptance

Page 5

76

MA Publishing Research - Motivators for self-publishing

*13. Please indicate how much you agree or disagree that the following statements applies to you: With this publication I

Agree strongly

Agree

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

Neither agrees nor

Disagree

Disagree strongly

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

j k l m n

disagrees

would like to influence others.

I feel confident in my own creative ability.

I feel more creative than my peers.

Ambition is for me a driving force.

Page 6

77

Appendix B Summary of survey findings Q1 What is your age?

(Answered 40 – Skipped 0)

18-20 21-24 25-30 31-35 36-40 40+ 0%

20%

40%

Answer choices

Responses

#

18-20

5%

2

21-24

32.50%

13

25-30

40%

18

31-35

12.5%

5

36-40

5%

2

40+

5%

2

60%

80%

100%

60%

80%

100%

Q2 What is the highest level of education you have completed?

(Answered 40 – Skipped 0)

High School Undergraduate Post-graduate 0%

20%

40%

Answer choices

Responses

#

High School

20%

6

Undergraduate

57.50%

23

Post-graduate

22.50

9

78

Q3 Within your field of publishing, do you feel that you have obtained your knowledge by...

(Answered 40 – Skipped 0)

High School

Undergraduate

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

Answer choices

Responses

#

Informal apprenticeship (self-thought/self-studies/relevant experiences)

90%

36

Informal apprenticeship (self-thought/self-studies/relevant experiences)

10%

4

100%

Q4 Your relationship with this publication is... (if you belong to more than one, please indicate so) (Answered 40 – Skipped 0)

Editor Publisher Founder

0%

20%

40%

Answer choices

Responses

#

Editor

77.50%

31

Publisher

42.50%

17

Founder

87.50%

36

60%

80%

100%

60%

80%

100%

Q5 Do you consider your work on this publication to be a...

(Answered 40 – Skipped 0)

Full-time job Part-time job Hobby

0%

20%

40%

Answer choices

Responses

#

Full-time job

40%

16

Part-time job

35%

14

Hobby

25%

10

79

Q6 Frequency of publication (Answered 39 – Skipped 1)

Monthly Bi-monthly Quarterly Twice a year Once a year

0%

20%

40%

Answer choices

Responses

#

Monthly

28.21%

11

Bi-monthly

35.90%

14

Quarterly

28.21%

11

Twice a year

5.13%

2

Once a year

2.56%

1

60%

80%

100%

60%

80%

100%

Q7 The publication can be found in the following mediums: (Answered 39 – Skipped 1)

Full-time job Part-time job Hobby

0%

20%

40%

Answer choices

Responses

#

Full-time job

51.28%

20

Part-time job

2.56%

1

Hobby

46.15%

18

80

Q8 Where do you see the publication in two years?

(Answered 39 – Skipped 1)

Evolving as a digital publication Established as both print and digital

Print only Dissolved Other (please specify)

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

Answer choices

Responses

#

Evolving as a digital publication

30.77%

12

Established as both print and digital

53.85%

21

Print only

0%

0

Dissolved

7.69%

3

Other (please specify)

7.69%

3

100%

1: Publishing new mediums and platforms 2: In space 3: I am unsure what will happen. I’d like to grow into a media company, but it may just become nothing more than a personal magazine style blog.

Q9 The following statements are related to the theory of three different types of creativity.

Please indicate which of the following statements are related to your publication (Answered 39 – Skipped 1)

It is radically different from anything done before.

It has been created based on familiar ideas, but it has beenproduced by putting three familiar ideas together in new ways.

It is exploring the limits and sees new possibilities

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

Answer choices

Responses

#

It is radically different from anything done before.

2.56%

1

It has been created based on familiar ideas, but it has beenproduced by putting three familiar ideas together in new ways.

61.54%

24

It is exploring the limits and sees new possibilities

35.90%

14

81

100%

Q10 Which of the following environments do you feel has helped foster your creativity?

(Answered 40 – Skipped 0)

Home School Chance Community and culture Gender Other (please specify) 0%

20%

40%

60%

Answer choices

Responses

#

Home

10.26%

4

School

10.26%

4

Chance

17.95%

7

Community and culture

51.28%

21

Gender

2.56%

1

Other (please specify)

7.69%

3

80%

100%

1: Creativity can be sparked by anything around us.

Q11 Plase indicate how much you agree or disagree that the following statements applies to you: (Answered 39 – Skipped 1)

I feel that by publishing this magazine, I become part of the music, fashion and cluture (or related) business.

15.79% (6) 2.63% (1)

23.08% (9) 43.59% (17) 25.64% (10) 7.69% (3)

I feel that people belonging to this business (music, fashion, culture) will see me as an equal because of my work with this publication.

I feel that being a part of the environment around this business helps foster my creativity.

30.77% (12) 10.26% (4)

0%

82

Agree

56.41% (22) 38.46% (15)

5.13% (2)

I have a deep knowledge of the field I am publishing about and this knowledge can help the field move forward.

Agree strongly

42.11% (16) 39.47% (15)

Neither agrees nor disagrees

20%

40%

Disagree

58.97% (23)

60%

80%

100%

Disagree strongly

Q12 Plase indicate how much you agree or disagree that the following statements applies to you: (Answered 39 – Skipped 1) 30.77% (12) 51.28% (20)

As the editor of a self -published magazine I feel accomplished.

15.38% (6) 2.56% (1)

As the editor of a digital self-published magazine I feel that I’m challenging myself.

Publishing/editing this magazine brings me joy

12.82% (5)

0%

Agree

20%

Neither agrees nor disagrees

63.16% (24)

34.21% (13)

2.63% (1)

The following personality attributes applies to me: boldness, courage, freedom, spontaneous, self-acceptance

Agree strongly

51.28% (20) 38.46% (15)

10.26% (4)

38.46% (15) 48.72% (19)

40%

60%

Disagree

80%

100%

Disagree strongly

Q13 Plase indicate how much you agree or disagree that the following statements applies to you: (Answered 39 – Skipped 1)

With this publication I would like to influence others.

7.89% (3)

I feel confident in my own creative ability.

2.56% (1)

23.08% (9) 12.82% (5) 5.13% (2)

Ambition is for me a driving force.

0%

83

Agree

41.03% (16) 56.41% (22)

23.08% (9) 30.77% (12) 33.33% (13) 7.69% (3) 5.13% (2)

I feel more creative than my peers.

Agree strongly

63.16% (24)

28.95% (11)

Neither agrees nor disagrees

20%

40%

Disagree

58.97% (23)

60%

80%

100%

Disagree strongly

Appendix C Declaration of authenticity

This report is my own work, contains my own original research and has not been submitted for any other degree of diploma.

Signed Silje Strommen

84

Date

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