Something you need to understand about gun owners and surveys, and that is, as a group, we are distrustful and suspicious of surveys, having been ill treated (aka screwed over) by actions "based on surveys" many, many times over the years. And surveys not identified with known players in the firearms market are automatically suspect.
If the NRA takes a survey, I'll answer. If Winchester wants me to answer a survey, I will. If some unknown asks, No matter what verbal assurances they give, I either won't, or, if I'm in the mood, won't answer honestly.
And I'm not even remotely alone in this.
No reflection on the OP, but its the nature of the beast where gun owners are concerned, and you can thank the demonization of guns and gun ownership in the general media over the years for creating it.
In a place like this one (TFL) a LOT of the people aren't just gun owners, they are technically oriented gun owners, and we live in a world where correct usage of technical terms is important.
Terms in common use in ordinary conversation can be sloppy and inaccurate, and most will be understood well enough from context. HOWEVER, those same terms when put in a technical context can have drastic unintended consequences. This is something you need to understand when you are gathering data for any kind of project management, or marketing endeavor.
For an example, "what kind of motor do you have in your car???"
In general conversation, most people will understand you mean the engine. V-8, V-6, dual overhead cam 2300cc 4cyl, etc, what ever it is.
But in the technical world, its not a motor, its an engine (internal combustion engine) and a motor is electrical (generally).
Ask the parts shop about a motor for your car, and they'll ask, ok, do you need a starter motor? windshield wiper motor? power window motor? sunroof motor? (or any of the other small electrical motors used to operate other parts of the cars today).
In about every subject, in order to be able to accurately use information from a survey, the questions have to be accurately tailored to the knowledge base of your target audience. And by coming here, asking firearms questions, you've picked what comedians would call a "tough room".
Congratulations on taking the beating well, we are actually trying to help you!
I've found, especially in the media, that articles and columns are frequently missing definitions of terms which can be really broad. Even if someone doesn't agree with your definition of rich or poor, for example, at least you've provided a concrete definition from which your reporting or opinion is based.
