tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609683919099708226.post451494426170233875..comments2023-06-16T09:39:07.504-04:00Comments on Harpocrates Speaks: A "Brauny" Analysis of Survey EthicsTodd W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16192694127268195554noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609683919099708226.post-20989032910816834092011-02-17T16:17:38.735-05:002011-02-17T16:17:38.735-05:00@Ren
Yep, as I said, not knowing where the money&...@Ren<br /><br />Yep, as I said, not knowing where the money's coming from and whether or not any Federal agency covered by the Common Rule has jurisdiction, hard to say if the regs apply. But, assuming that they are covered, because the questions involved opinions on political matters which could reasonably affect one's standing within their community and/or employment, and because they collected demographical information that could identify the individual respondent, they should have provided information, especially after all of the answers were given and there was no chance of biasing the results. I reviewed the waiver regulations, and it didn't look like they would have been able to get one from their IRB (assuming an IRB even looked at the thing).Todd W.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16192694127268195554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609683919099708226.post-83588849589712463912011-02-17T15:46:44.689-05:002011-02-17T15:46:44.689-05:00It's kind of tricky when it comes to surveys. ...It's kind of tricky when it comes to surveys. (By the way, "student," we'll cover this in a future night school epidemiology "class." Basically, if there is a reasonable expectation that you will be in any way affected by the research, they have to disclose everything to you, even the kitchen sink. An example of this was AoA telephone survey because it can be reasonably assumed that leading questions about vaccine "injuries" may make someone not get a vaccine. You can see where that could cause trouble.<br />On the other hand, asking for your preference in yogurt should not reasonably affect you in any way. Know what I mean?<br />Now, if they are receiving any kind of federal money (and money from states in many states), they also need to disclose it all to you, within reason. If they're an academic institution, they also need to disclose it all to you, unless an IRB agrees that disclosing stuff to you will have a negative effect on you or the general welfare that could come from the results.<br />I'll cover this more in detail in the "night school," but I can see where not wanting to disclose something after you've given your answers is "fishy."Renhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02165486823815850422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609683919099708226.post-45465382509773215692011-02-10T00:16:06.153-05:002011-02-10T00:16:06.153-05:00I noticed a prior poisoning of the well in several...I noticed a prior poisoning of the well in several surveys in recent years(usually prior to political campaigns), so I instituted a policy that the moment I got a biased question, or a stupid one I would end the conversation. I do warn the person of my policy.<br /><br />This started with a survey where the first question was: Do you feel the youth of today are in trouble?<br /><br />BZZZZt... leading question without context!<br /><br />I don't seem to be getting through many surveys lately. Well, except for the ones run by the city. They declare upfront that the survey company was hired by the city to figure out future policies (like would I be willing to have garbage pickup every two weeks alternating with recycling, with yard/food waste every week).<br /><br />Funny story about surveys: I live across a highway from an insular upper class neighborhood. They are uptight about everything, and seem to like to have things done just their way. A company that had a research campus within their boundaries was trying to expand, but hit resistance from the neighborhood association. They decided that if they could not modify their campus, they would just sell it to a developer. Uh, oh... NIMBY alert!. So either the neighborhood association or the company commissioned a phone survey, and not realizing that they are only about a tenth of their zip code I got to answer the questions. I often responded with "Sure, let them build, it is not my neighborhood!". I had fun with that survey, which was weird in that it asked if I liked/disliked certain famous people living there, including a former governor/US senator. I read in the paper his wife got called for that survey too.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14428361191787397415noreply@blogger.com