Completed Online survey - Can you spare a few minutes for research?

[B9]

But I think some of this may be a cultural difference which wasn't initially anticipated.

Mmmm good point.


OZ is culturally different that much is certain. :D


Still there's always hope they can make the great leap forward tho

 

[MrM]

Personally, I found the depression before, during, after question OK. I answered it in the context of some kind of time limit, ie. a few days before, a few days after. I do think it would have been better if this was defined in the survey - so everyone was working with the same time frame. So I thought, to what extent am I depressed in the lead-up to, during, and in the few days after ecstasy use? I guess this would be more of a problem to answer if you are clinically depressed anyway (thus answering yes not due to drug use, but due to normal disposition). However this can be factored into the analysis because a question was also asked (at the beginning) about current levels of depression).

Fair enough. I just dislike having to guess at the meaning of a survey question. I worry that my guess is wrong and that my answers will be misinterpreted. When i spend 20 mins answering a questionaire properly this kind of thing bothers me. If she didn't want to specify and exact time limit, even something like 'in the days before and after' or 'in the weeks before and after' would have been greatly preferable to me. This question is pretty broad reaching and important; there is the very real probability that ecstasy abuse (if not use) can cause serious problems with depression (at least for some people) and i assumed that this was one of the major themes of the survey, so when a central question to this theme seems so imprecise it's not good.

Another thing of interest from my perspective (as an Australian) is that there may be different levels of suspicion of negative bias across different countries. I think in Australia people *generally* trust researchers motives. My experience as a research interviewer (in-person interviews) was that about 10% of drug users I interviewed were concerned to the point of asking for additional information about the funder, what the results would be used for, etc etc. The other 90% simply didn't care or trusted the University based research. Usually they wanted me to rush through consent/info, because they genuinely did not suspect us of anything at all negative.

This may not be warranted in other countries, where perhaps more biased research actually is funded and happens? (This is a question, feel free to debate!)

This is also quite interesting. One of the main differences i have noticed between the british and the americans in terms of politics is that the british tend to be highly suspicious and cynical in regards to their politicians, whereas the americans generally have an attitude of 'patriotism is a good thing and anyone who speaks badly of american politicians is unpatriotic'. The british generally seem to be able to separate the idea of patriotism (those that even bother with it) from the politicians themselves.

I can well believe this tendency to criticize would extend to other parts of life.

Disclaimer - any americans out there who disagree with me please be aware that my statement was a gross generalization and that i realise america is a large place with many different people, but i do think there is some truth to my statement in general. I can think of no other reason why so many Americans still feel good about Bush.

Also i do realise you people are australians, not americans, but i don't know much about australians in terms of cynicism so i couldn't use them as an example.

 

[Splatt]

we and americans hate our government

 

[MrM]

we and americans hate our government

Are the American's on bluelight a good representation of the average? America is a big place after all - i was generalising.

 

[FrostyMcFailure]

gee, i really hope i dont rep 4 america =( Now thats depressing. Did everyone see the john kerry tasser video!?