Research project in special interests in autism

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fcetin
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03 Mar 2015, 9:44 am

If you are over the age of 16, have a special interest/hobby that means a lot to you or that you spend a lot of time on, UCL Institute of Education would like to invite you to take part in an online survey as part of a Masters research project at the Centre for Research in Autism and Education (CRAE).
We would like to find out the kinds of special interests that different young people have and how they come to have them as well as how they learn more about their interest.
This survey should only take you about 10-15 minutes to complete and if you would like more information about the project please visit the link below:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SpecialI ... stionnaire

Thank you and your help is very much appreciated.



Fnord
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03 Mar 2015, 9:51 am

Wow!

Yet another out-of-the-blue survey for us to take!

Isn't that just special?!

:lol:


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B19
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03 Mar 2015, 5:51 pm

fcetin wrote:
If you are over the age of 16, have a special interest/hobby that means a lot to you or that you spend a lot of time on, UCL Institute of Education would like to invite you to take part in an online survey as part of a Masters research project at the Centre for Research in Autism and Education (CRAE).
We would like to find out the kinds of special interests that different young people have and how they come to have them as well as how they learn more about their interest.
This survey should only take you about 10-15 minutes to complete and if you would like more information about the project please visit the link below:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SpecialI ... stionnaire

Thank you and your help is very much appreciated.


Curious as to why you limit this only to young people. What is the rationale for the ageism? What do you mean by adolescence? Where is your cut off point? 19? 21? Do you think that older people don't have special interests? Or that there are no adults on the AS spectrum? Why are older people's interests of no interest to you? You may have a valid reason for the scant information you have provided though I would like to hear it.

Lately we have had a few very sloppily worded requests like this on WP, and if you are interested in doing serious research, then a more professional way of approaching prospective samples would be a better way of going about it. It would be more appropriate to outline the title, design and methodology you plan to use and
and what kind of sampling you are doing, the theory you are exploring etc. Surveys are the least reliable way of collecting valid information, so many you are trying to do a pilot study at this stage; providing adequate information that is well thought out and explained is a mark of respect to prospective subjects.



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03 Mar 2015, 6:11 pm

Well, I like that I can view the statistics at the end of the survey.


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B19
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03 Mar 2015, 6:14 pm

Statistics based on anonymous surveys are not really valid nor reliable.

Survey Monkey has IRB guidelines for prospective researchers regarding matters such as privacy, informed consent etc.
One of their requirements in respect of online samples is this one:

"Secure Transmission
It is important to enable SSL encryption. Sensitive data must be protected as it moves along communication pathways between the respondent’s computer and SurveyMonkey servers.
Disable IP address tracking to make the survey anonymous".

So how often when WP receives a survey request are these IRB ethical guidelines acknowledged? You assume that you have privacy, but you actually, you don't.



Orangez
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03 Mar 2015, 7:05 pm

B19 wrote:
Statistics based on anonymous surveys are not really valid nor reliable.

But that is the so called social "science" speciality.



B19
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03 Mar 2015, 7:38 pm

No, it isn't. In psychology, particularly, the "speciality" is randomised samples with a control group performed on a double blind basis, and where the control group is an adequate comparison sample, (ie not comparing a control group of 80 year olds with 8 year olds on the same characteristic under study).



Adamantium
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03 Mar 2015, 8:24 pm

* over the age of 16: check
* have a special interest/hobby that means a lot to you or that you spend a lot of time on: check
* Institute of Education would like to invite you to take part in an online survey as part of a Masters research project at the Centre for Research in Autism and Education (CRAE): cool, I'll help if I can.

We would like to find out the kinds of special interests that different young people have and how they come to have them as well as how they learn more about their interest.

Hmmmmmm. I am guessing that at 49 I no longer count as a young person.

I have a document from a child study team assessment 37 years ago showing that my interest in astronomy was "extreme" then.

I guess this one is not for me.



Fnord
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03 Mar 2015, 8:51 pm

The survey and its results seem designed specifically for a college-level thesis, and thus will deliver no benefit to anyone other than the person writing the thesis.

I could be wrong, though.



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03 Mar 2015, 9:25 pm

Research protocols are set by academic institutions at all levels, and it is important for teachers to insist on high standards rather than a cavalier attitude from student researchers from the start. For example, one of the protocols is explaining to study subjects HOW the results will be used, as part of the wider informed consent process. For example this student may intend to try to establish if the interests of people on the spectrum are different from young people not identified as atypical. If so, this should have been made more explicit. Will the results be published or tendered for publication? If so, where? Who will have access to the results? Will these be sent to or made available to the participants? All these kinds of matters should ideally be addressed.

I have noticed that requests made to WP members are fairly primitive or lax in following protocols, and we have recently had one extraordinary example of a student claiming to have approval from her supervisor (who knew nothing about it). It's never too early to teach students about ethical responsibilities, and insist of the following of research protocols, particularly when they are soliciting personal information from people. Students who try to proceed without incorporating these elements are either naive, or disrespectful of the subjects, or both.