My department is working on a project for the department to try to get more systematic information about why undergrads become philosophy majors (and why students who might, don't). As one component of that project, we're planning to conduct two online surveys—one of current philosophy majors and another of students who recently took introductory-level philosophy classes. Obviously we're particularly interested in why women and members of certain racial minorities become majors at lower rates than men, and members of other racial groups. Thing is --being a philosophy department we are not over-endowed with expertise on how to frame or conduct surveys. We are going to enlist the help of experts but my colleague who is heading up the effort asked my department for initial suggestions of survey questions, and I thought, well, why not crowd-source it? Its entirely possible that other departments have already done this successfully, and it is quite likely that some of our readers will have useful suggestions of questions. So -- suggest ahead.
Frustration, dropping out and deception (about oneself or something else) is a gate to existentialism, and when it comes to you in the "middle" of an academic activity, is just forseeable that those people start seeking answers in their surroundings. In this context (leaving or almost finishing college and so on), Philosohpy becomes the only acceptable tool in order to understand the "incomplete world" recflected by their own. Unfortunately, in most of cases this defines their Philosophy view for ever. Toward Philosophy introductory classes and why do they "encourage" people to get deep into it, thats a different story.
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