Writing-up Novel psychoactive substances, harm reduction, and the Internet

D

DrugGeek

Greenlighter
Joined
Jan 3, 2015
Messages
9
Hi everyone,

My name is Kieran and I'm looking for people who have taken novel psychoactive substances (NPS, aka 'research chemicals' or 'legal highs') to take part in my PhD research. I am using the term NPS quite broadly to include synthetic analogues of illicit drugs, as well as herbal and fungal substances, and pharmaceutical (off-prescription) drugs.

I am looking for people over 18 and who have used NPS. There is no geographic limitations for this research so responses are appreciated from all nationalities.

My research aims to investigate the relationship between mainstream and alternative media (such as Bluelight) and people's perceptions of NPS, attitudes towards drug policy in general, and dissemination and use of harm reduction information and practices.

To try and investigate these topics I am using a survey which only takes 5 minutes to complete, as well as recruiting people to take part in an interview as well. I would really appreciate it if you would take the time to complete my survey, it can be found here: http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/1770602/attitudes-to-legal-highs (more info about the research can be found on the survey page) and if you would be interested in taking part in an interview please leave your email address at the end of the survey and I will contact you.

All answers to both the survey and interviews are completely anonymous, and I will not share any of your details, including email address (if you provide one to take part in an interview) with anyone else.



If you have any questions feel free to ask :)

Thanks for reading and all the best,

Kieran Hamilton

[email protected]
School of Media, Culture and Society
University of the West of Scotland
Scotland
 
Thanks for posting, Keiran, I love the topic! And everyone, this really is a 5 minute survey!

Just wondering, how long do you expect the survey to run for?

Some issues you might want to consider from an international perspective:
Question 6 about income - perhaps provide a translation into other common currencies? I don't know how many pounds I earn :)

Also, you are looking for people who have taken NPS. I have done this, but it was a while ago. Q8, 'Which types of NPS do you usually use?' implies that the respondent usually uses NPS. Not sure how to respond there. I just ticked those I used to use when I was up to this kind of thing ;)
 
On that note, I don't think you can tell from your data when the last time was that the respondent took an NPS. It may be difficult to interpret survey data where you have past users mixed with current? Just a thought.
 
Good points - I originally intended just to survey within the UK but changed my mind... Obviously I forgot to amend the survey to reflect that!

In terms of NPS used, I wasn't looking to get too much detail about how often (or when) people had used NPS, more just a rough idea of what the most popular NPS were and so what people might be looking for information on the most. I can see that the wording of the question is a problem though... I'm reluctant to change it to anything as specific as 'in the past year' etc, as I have quite a few responses already :/. I think I'll just have to be clear about the limitations on that one when I write up, and put it down as a learning experience for next time.

Thanks for the comments though, much appreciated :)
 
I filled out the survey. I wouldn't mind further correspondence but would generally prefer to do so by either PM or email, rather than through a live skype call, due to convenience of response and the time difference.
 
InterestingFACT said:
I filled out the survey. I wouldn't mind further correspondence but would generally prefer to do so by either PM or email, rather than through a live skype call, due to convenience of response and the time difference.
Click to expand...

Thanks for filling out the survey, very much appreciated :) I'm more than happy to do the interview over either PM or email (email might be best, but whichever is easiest for you).
 
Hello folks and thank you all for your help in completing the survey. I have completed this aprt of the research and below is a link to a video of me presenting the results for those who are interested (if you can't make out what I'm saying I'm happy to send slides - email at the bottom ofthe post).

http://www.kieranhamilton.org/2015/07/29/esrc-new-drugs-seminar-3-liverpool-john-moores-university/

I am still looking for people to take part in an interview for the same research. this interview focuses on your use of NPS, accessing information and media, harm reduction and drug policy. Interviews can be done via Skype / Google Hangouts, or alternativlely over email or private message.

If you are interested in taking part in an interview please email me on [email protected]

Thanks for your time!
 
The only reliable source of any drug or chemical or substance data is academic pier-reviewed and intellectually sound published research papers or sites. Bluelight is the second point of call...and going to Wikipedia for substantial data regarding anything more than the substance and half-life thereof (hahaha please) would be skimmed through first and then I will double-check the data on university databases where academic papers and studies are archived.

Bluelight is THE best place for first hand accounts of like-minded people looking for the same stuff regarding the same stuff.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top