This analysis set out to answer three questions.

One, which show has

the most passionate fans. Two, is passion for a show dependent upon the

viewership. Three, is passion for the show dependent upon the genre.

Though an online survey, we answered these questions.

Passion-Viewership

The first question we asked was whether passion depends upon

viewership. Specifically, we hypothesized that the lower the viewership, the

higher the passion would be. Our hypothesis was based on the belief that

fans of shows with lower viewership would live in constant fear of their show

being canceled, and would therefore be more passionate in an effort to keep

their favorite show on the air.

In order to test this hypothesis, we conducted an OLS (Ordinary Least

Squares) regression analysis. This test measures how our passion changes

when the other variables change. We included measures of genre and race

as control variables for this model. By including these variables, we make

sure that changes in passion are accounted for by viewership and not by

these other variables. Our findings are shown in Table A.

After conducting the regression, we can conclude that for each 1-point increase in our

measure of passion, viewership decreases by about 167,000. So, our hypothesis is correct, the

smaller the viewership, the more passionate the fans. We found that viewership’s effect is

significant 99% of the time. Therefore, we can reasonably conclude that there is a relationship

between viewership and passion.

 In the model, we also found that several control variables had a

significant impact. The sitcom and drama genres were both significant 99%

of the time, and the teen drama genre was significant for 95% of the time.

All three genres had a negative coefficient, meaning that they had

significantly lower levels of passion than the other genres. The only race that

was significant was Hispanic, which was significant 99% of the time. This

measure had a positive coefficient, indicating that Hispanic respondents

tended to have higher levels of passion than respondents of other races.

Table A: Passion on Viewership

Variable Significance
Viewership -0.167***
(0.002)
Teen Drama (genre) -2.821**
(0.019)
Sitcom (genre) -4.722***
(0.000)
Crime/Procedural (genre) 0.495
(0.321)
Drama (genre) -2.657***
(0.000)
Comedy (genre) 0.017
(0.954)
African Descent -0.167
(0.753)
Asian Descent 0.015
(0.957)
Hispanic 1.372***
(0.000)
Other Race -0.033
(0.915)
Constant (Intercept) 19.607***
(0.000)
* Significant at the 0.1 level (90%)
** Significant at the 0.05 level (95%)
*** Significant at the 0.01 level (99%)

Passion-Genre
 Although we established that genre was significant in the previous

model, we wanted to further pinpoint the significance was in this

relationship. Our hypothesis was that science fiction shows would have

higher levels of passion than shows of other genres, as they create an

entirely new universe for their fans to be involved in.

In order to test this theory, we conducted an ANOVA, with plans to

conduct a follow-up Tukey’s HSD test if the results of that ANOVA were

significant. An ANOVA shows whether there are significant mean differences

between groups, and a Tukey’s HSD test shows where those differences

specifically are. The detailed output from these tests is contained in

Appendix A.

The results from the ANOVA came back very significant (99%), so we

conducted our planned Tukey’s HSD. Table B represents our results from this

test, showing the rankings associated with each genre and where there are

significant mean differences.

Table B: Passion on Genre

Group (Ranking) Significant Differences
1. Science Fiction Higher than Teen Drama, Drama,
Sitcom
2. Comedy Higher than Drama, Sitcom
3. Crime/Procedural Higher than Drama, Sitcom
4. Teen Drama Higher than Sitcom
Lower than Science Fiction
5. Drama Lower than Science Fiction,
Comedy, Crime/Procedural
6. Sitcom Lower than Science Fiction,
Comedy, Crime/Procedural
Results termed “Significant” in this table are significant at the 0.05 level (95%).
 As the table shows, some differences were significant and others were

not. The genre that we expected to have the highest mean passion (science

fiction) did have the highest mean passion, and was significantly higher than

three out of the five other genres. We can be confident that science fiction

shows’ fans are the most passionate. Another conclusion that we can make

is that sitcom fans tend to be the least passionate. The mean for sitcoms was

the lowest and significant differences were found between sitcoms and three

out of the five other genres.

Viewership and Genre

Initially we offered two differing hypotheses as to why different shows

would have different levels of passion. The first was that passion was related

to the viewership. The second was that passion was related to the genre of

the show. After testing both of these hypotheses, our analysis showed that

both were true. This finding suggested that a relationship existed between

viewership and genre, so we were obliged to test this.

To test for a relationship between viewership and genre we conducted

an OLS regression on viewership and the genre present in the shortlist

survey. There were three genres of shows with enough responses: scifi,

procedurals, and comedies. The results from the regression indicate that

there is a strong relationship between viewership and genre. Procedurals

have the highest viewership, followed by comedies, then scifi.

This finding suggests that both the previous hypotheses are correct,

although the reasoning may not be. We are inclined to believe that the
viewership is smaller for scifi shows because they appeal to a smaller

segment of the TV watching population. At the same time the fans of scifi

shows are more inclined to extremely passionate behavior. We believe this is

because the segment of the population drawn to scifi tend to be more

creative period. This predisposes them the types of behavior associated with

a passionate fandom (creating fanart, fanvid, fanfic, and attending

conventions).

Passion and Show

The core question we addressed in our analysis, and the initial

question which prompted our inquiry was simply: Which show had the most

passionate fans?

First, we conducted an ANOVA test of the shows to determine if the

difference in passion for the shows was statistically significant. An ANOVA

test compares the averages (means) between groups and calculates whether

the differences in the averages actually come from a real difference or are

simply a result of random chance. Our test resulted in a Prob > F of 0.000

indicating that the differences between the shows was more than 99% likely

to result from an actual difference.

To determine which differences were specifically important, we

followed standard statistical methodology and conducted a Tukey HSD test.

This analysis compares each group against the others and determines which

differences are significant. These results are reported in Appendix B.

 Finally, to determine exactly how much the passion of fans differed

between shows, we conducted an Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression.

This test determines exactly how much and in what way the passion of fans

varied among shows. In our OLS model we examined whether the passion of

fans depended on the show. To determine this we created dummy variables

for each of our shows. Dummy variables allow us to compare the shows

against each other on an equal basis. When using dummy variables, one of

the variables must be left of the model. The results of the model are

understood to be relation to the variable left out of the model. After running

a series of tests in accordance with standard statistical procedures, we

determined that Supernatural was the correct variable to leave out of the

final model. This does not mean Supernatural was not important, simply that

it was the correct show to compare the other shows to. In addition we

included variables for age, employment status, education, and income.

These are control variables and were included because it is reasonable to

assume these factors could influence the relationship between the passion of

fans for their show. The results of the OLS model are included in Table C.

The results of the OLS regression provide us with interesting and

significant results. First according to the OLS model, Supernatural has the

most passionate fans compared to the other shows. This is indicated because

every other show’s coefficient is negative, meaning their passion level

compared to Supernatural decreases. A complete rank ordering of the shows

is in Table D.
TABLE C: Passion levels of fans by show:
-1.496**
Bones (0.003)
-2.704**
Burn Notice (0.002)
-0.610**
Castle (0.031)
-1.183***
Chuck (0.000)
-1.112*
Community (0.014)
-2.504***
Fringe (0.000)
-4.855***
Glee (0.000)
-1.179*
Hawaii 5-0 (0.080)
-1.706***
Leverage (0.000)
-6.552***
Mad Men (0.000)
-0.932
Smallville (0.245)
The Vampire -2.312***
Diaries (0.000)
-0.047
Age (0.491)
-0.091*
Employment (0.082)
-0.296***
Education (0.000)
0.086**
Income (0.010)
20.825***
Constant (0.000)
Adjusted R2 0.1075
* =p<.10
**=p<.01
***=p<.001
Second, several of our control variables were also significant.

Employment was significant with a negative coefficient, indicating that the

lower the level of employment a person has, the more passionate they are

likely to express. This is most likely because individuals who are students or

who work less than full time have more time and energy to dedicate to their

passion. Education was also significant and had a negative coefficient,

indicating that the lower the level of education, the more passion an
individual expresses. This probably relates to the employment variable.

Individuals with higher levels of education are more likely to be employed full

time, and therefore have less time to dedicate to fandom activities. Finally,

income was significant and positive indicating that as income increases so

does passion. Honestly, we are at a loss as to the reasoning behind this

result. Typically, employment, income, and education are all positively

correlated (as one increases so do the others). In this analysis, this was not

the case. This is one area of our analysis which could use more research. A

final interesting result is that age was not significant, meaning that the level

of passion is not related to age. This contradicts the common perception that

extremely passionate fans are young. Our analysis indicates this is not true.

TABLE D: Rank order of shows by passion level:

RANK SHOW
1 Supernatural
2 Castle
3 Smallville
4 Community
5 Hawaii 5-0
6 Chuck
7 Bones
8 Leverage
9 The Vampire Diaries
10 Fringe
11 Burn Notice
12 Glee
13 Mad Men

Appendix A

Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)

Source SS df MS F Prob > F
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Between groups 2526.16635 5 505.233271 37.63 0.0000
 Within groups 44006.059 3278 13.4246672
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total 46532.2253 3283 14.1736903

Bartlett's test for equal variances: chi2(5) = 38.1059 Prob>chi2 = 0.000

Tukey HSD pairwise comparisons for variable genre

studentized range critical value(.05, 6, 3278) = 4.0323979
uses harmonic mean sample size = 37.587

mean
grp vs grp group means dif HSD-test
-------------------------------------------------------
1 vs 2 16.5000 13.6364 2.8636 4.7917*
1 vs 3 16.5000 18.3750 1.8750 3.1374
1 vs 4 16.5000 15.9657 0.5343 0.8941
1 vs 5 16.5000 18.5000 2.0000 3.3466
1 vs 6 16.5000 19.0732 2.5732 4.3058*
2 vs 3 13.6364 18.3750 4.7386 7.9291*
2 vs 4 13.6364 15.9657 2.3293 3.8976
2 vs 5 13.6364 18.5000 4.8636 8.1382*
2 vs 6 13.6364 19.0732 5.4369 9.0974*
3 vs 4 18.3750 15.9657 2.4093 4.0315
3 vs 5 18.3750 18.5000 0.1250 0.2092
3 vs 6 18.3750 19.0732 0.6982 1.1684
4 vs 5 15.9657 18.5000 2.5343 4.2406*
4 vs 6 15.9657 19.0732 3.1076 5.1998*
5 vs 6 18.5000 19.0732 0.5732 0.9592

Appendix B
anova passion show

Number of obs = 3092 R-squared = 0.0951

Root MSE = 3.41658 Adj R-squared = 0.0916

Source | Partial SS df MS F Prob > F

-----------+----------------------------------------------------
Model | 3777.66018 12 314.805015 26.97 0.0000
|
show | 3777.66018 12 314.805015 26.97 0.0000
|
Residual | 35941.2464 3079 11.6730258
-----------+----------------------------------------------------
Total | 39718.9065 3091 12.8498565

mean
grp vs grp group means dif HSD-test
-------------------------------------------------------
1 vs 2 18.1458 16.6875 1.4583 2.7325
1 vs 3 18.1458 19.0920 0.9462 1.7729
1 vs 4 18.1458 18.6111 0.4653 0.8718
1 vs 5 18.1458 18.6379 0.4921 0.9220
1 vs 6 18.1458 17.1496 0.9962 1.8666
1 vs 7 18.1458 14.8636 3.2822 6.1498*
1 vs 8 18.1458 18.4074 0.2616 0.4901
1 vs 9 18.1458 17.8852 0.2606 0.4883
1 vs 10 18.1458 12.7083 5.4375 10.1882*
1 vs 11 18.1458 18.8421 0.6963 1.3046
1 vs 12 18.1458 19.7112 1.5654 2.9331
1 vs 13 18.1458 17.7194 0.4265 0.7991
2 vs 3 16.6875 19.0920 2.4045 4.5054
2 vs 4 16.6875 18.6111 1.9236 3.6043
2 vs 5 16.6875 18.6379 1.9504 3.6545
2 vs 6 16.6875 17.1496 0.4621 0.8658
2 vs 7 16.6875 14.8636 1.8239 3.4174
2 vs 8 16.6875 18.4074 1.7199 3.2226
2 vs 9 16.6875 17.8852 1.1977 2.2442
2 vs 10 16.6875 12.7083 3.9792 7.4558*
2 vs 11 16.6875 18.8421 2.1546 4.0371
2 vs 12 16.6875 19.7112 3.0237 5.6656*
2 vs 13 16.6875 17.7194 1.0319 1.9334
3 vs 4 19.0920 18.6111 0.4809 0.9011
3 vs 5 19.0920 18.6379 0.4541 0.8508
3 vs 6 19.0920 17.1496 1.9424 3.6395
3 vs 7 19.0920 14.8636 4.2284 7.9227*
3 vs 8 19.0920 18.4074 0.6846 1.2828
3 vs 9 19.0920 17.8852 1.2068 2.2611
3 vs 10 19.0920 12.7083 6.3837 11.9611*
3 vs 11 19.0920 18.8421 0.2499 0.4683
3 vs 12 19.0920 19.7112 0.6192 1.1602
3 vs 13 19.0920 17.7194 1.3727 2.5719
4 vs 5 18.6111 18.6379 0.0268 0.0503
4 vs 6 18.6111 17.1496 1.4615 2.7384
4 vs 7 18.6111 14.8636 3.7475 7.0216*
4 vs 8 18.6111 18.4074 0.2037 0.3817
4 vs 9 18.6111 17.8852 0.7259 1.3601
4 vs 10 18.6111 12.7083 5.9028 11.0600*
4 vs 11 18.6111 18.8421 0.2310 0.4328
4 vs 12 18.6111 19.7112 1.1001 2.0613
4 vs 13 18.6111 17.7194 0.8917 1.6709
5 vs 6 18.6379 17.1496 1.4883 2.7887
5 vs 7 18.6379 14.8636 3.7743 7.0719*
5 vs 8 18.6379 18.4074 0.2305 0.4319
5 vs 9 18.6379 17.8852 0.7527 1.4103
5 vs 10 18.6379 12.7083 5.9296 11.1103*
5 vs 11 18.6379 18.8421 0.2042 0.3826
5 vs 12 18.6379 19.7112 1.0733 2.0111
5 vs 13 18.6379 17.7194 0.9186 1.7211
6 vs 7 17.1496 14.8636 2.2860 4.2832
6 vs 8 17.1496 18.4074 1.2578 2.3567
6 vs 9 17.1496 17.8852 0.7356 1.3784
6 vs 10 17.1496 12.7083 4.4413 8.3216*
6 vs 11 17.1496 18.8421 1.6925 3.1712
6 vs 12 17.1496 19.7112 2.5616 4.7997*
6 vs 13 17.1496 17.7194 0.5698 1.0676
7 vs 8 14.8636 18.4074 3.5438 6.6400*
7 vs 9 14.8636 17.8852 3.0216 5.6616*
7 vs 10 14.8636 12.7083 2.1553 4.0384
7 vs 11 14.8636 18.8421 3.9785 7.4544*
 7 vs 12 14.8636 19.7112 4.8476 9.0829*
7 vs 13 14.8636 17.7194 2.8557 5.3508*
8 vs 9 18.4074 17.8852 0.5222 0.9784
8 vs 10 18.4074 12.7083 5.6991 10.6783*
8 vs 11 18.4074 18.8421 0.4347 0.8145
8 vs 12 18.4074 19.7112 1.3038 2.4430
8 vs 13 18.4074 17.7194 0.6880 1.2892
9 vs 10 17.8852 12.7083 5.1769 9.7000*
9 vs 11 17.8852 18.8421 0.9569 1.7929
9 vs 12 17.8852 19.7112 1.8260 3.4214
9 vs 13 17.8852 17.7194 0.1659 0.3108
10 vs 11 12.7083 18.8421 6.1338 11.4928*
10 vs 12 12.7083 19.7112 7.0029 13.1213*
10 vs 13 12.7083 17.7194 5.0110 9.3892*
11 vs 12 18.8421 19.7112 0.8691 1.6285
11 vs 13 18.8421 17.7194 1.1227 2.1037
12 vs 13 19.7112 17.7194 1.9919 3.7322