⫸STICKY⫷ Welcome to DRUG STUDIES - an open discussion on what we're about

TheLoveBandit

TheLoveBandit

Retired Never Was, Coulda been wannabe
Joined
Feb 22, 2000
Messages
39,277
Location
Getting to the point ...
Since the main DRUG STUDIES forum is moderated (new threads and posts must be approved before they'll appear), we've created this thread for immediate feedback and discussion, but moved it to the CLOSED STUDIES sub-forum so that your replies will be immediate :)

So, please feel free to ask questions, make suggestions, or just admire the wallpaper. We're looking forward to what DRUG STUDIES promises for both our readers and the research community. So, understand that this will be a growing process for us over the next several weeks. We don't have everything in place that we would want, but we didn't want to delay opening the forum any longer. Any ideas you have can be discussed and perhaps worked into the 'to do' list, but understand we've still got several ideas of our own that will fall into place shortly.

Again, welcome, and thank you for your participation. :)
 
I'd just like to say how pleased I am with this. I'm a drugs researcher who wants to increase opportunities for collaboration between the researchers and the participants of research. Bluelight has always been a fantastic place for me to discuss drug related issues, and to read about people's current drug-related concerns and trends (in Australian Drug Discussion). I'm delighted to have a couple of the first studies up in this space!

I like the introduction you've written. Most researchers aren't intimately familiar with how online forums work, though more and more are becoming aware of them and are hoping to access readers who may be able to participate in their research. Having spent a lot of time in forums over the past 5 years, I've often volunteered to post people's studies, to get them more exposure. Hopefully this way, researchers themselves can get engaged with the process, and give back to it in the form of answering queries and disseminating results directly to participant groups.

Also, the idea of having these studies as an archive is a fantastic resource. Over the years in ADD, I have added abstracts and links when study results are published years down the track - it's great as a participant to see what your efforts go towards. :)

*big* thumbs up from me!
 
Just wondering, why couldn't this be merged with "advanced drug discussion?" Or to put it differently, isn't having both forums a bit redundant? If not, what are the major differences in intent between the two?

Oh yeah, and a request -- Could someone move my "free chemistry databases" post here if they feel it's relevant, possibly make it a sticky? Thnx.
 
MDPVagrant said:
Just wondering, why couldn't this be merged with "advanced drug discussion?" Or to put it differently, isn't having both forums a bit redundant? If not, what are the major differences in intent between the two?

Oh yeah, and a request -- Could someone move my "free chemistry databases" post here if they feel it's relevant, possibly make it a sticky? Thnx.
Click to expand...

This forum is strictly for the discussion of current and future Drug Studies being conducted by researchers, something completely different from ADD.
 
To clarify, would posting up a newly published journal article (eg. social, psych, cultural) be best in Drug Studies or in Advanced Drug Discussion?
 
Tronica said:
To clarify, would posting up a newly published journal article (eg. social, psych, cultural) be best in Drug Studies or in Advanced Drug Discussion?
Click to expand...

No, you won't be able to start new posts- only DS mods will be able to make posts- you will only be able reply to existing posts. Although I am sure the forum mods will be open to collaborating with other researchers, if they are willing to share their research.
 
Last edited:
To clarify CF's statement - anyone can post a new thread or reply to an existing one in the DS forum, but it won't show up unless a mod approves it - and we won't approve it unless it makes sense to do so. We'd prefer members make the posts themselves so that they can make edits later if req'd. When a mod reads a new thread, they may delete it if it is out of scope, but more often they'd try to find a best fit for it to survive - either ADD, DITM, or CS. It's better if a member can make that judgment for themselves and start off their thread in the right place, but we understand there will be some confusion while we get DS and CS more established.

There is not the intent to absorb or steal material from ADD. As GM points out - these forums (DS and CS) are targeted at research studies, and should not infringe upon ADD but compliment it. Vagrant's thread is more of a reference than a study, and would probably be better served in ADD.

Tronica said:
To clarify, would posting up a newly published journal article (eg. social, psych, cultural) be best in Drug Studies or in Advanced Drug Discussion?
Click to expand...

Good question, and I would think for now that if it does not involve a current study (DS) nor a concluded study with it's findings (CS) then it would go to ADD. Being a journal article, I'm not sure if it is a discussion of research (CS). Still, you could post it here, and if we feel the other forum is more appropriate we can move it :)
 
Last edited:
Hi ReSearcherR ANDERs and Mark E La

Welcome to Drug Studies!

Your two posts have given me an idea. We should have a thread in this forum that is devoted to researchers introducing themselves and their projects - even if they aren't necessarily posting a 'recruitment thread' (most of our threads in here are in that format).

This thread could give people like yourselves a chance to chat about your areas of interest and for forum members to ask you questions about it too. :)
 
There is the chance that a thread gets created in another forum, and a mod mistakenly moves it in here, then it bypasses the approval process within DS.

Once it's here, there is the chance that a mod hasn't seen it yet to move it to a different home, as I just did with the first of your links. For the second, it WAS moved to DitM (notice, it's a redirect, not a thread in DS any longer).....and DitM promptly closed it as a duplicate.

The forum is not perfect, and moderators are here on a volunteer basis - so when they can be online is when they can address problems like this. I'd suggest our member use the REPORT function for threads they feel are misplaced in this forum, so the staff attention can be properly raised and the problem addressed. We have a LOT more members than we do mods, and you lot generally know how each forum is supposed to operate and what content is appropriate, so we need your help in finding things like this and handling them accordingly. I'll admit a reply like that doesn't sit too well with me in this thread, but I see why you posted it as you did.

That said, let me redirect discussion...(right after I clean up some older posts from this thread).


Okay, the forum has been up for 2 years now. We have solid base of content related to studies looking for lab rats volunteers, which works to benefit science and perhaps more correctly apply the research to helping drug users as well as law makers. BUT, here's what I'd like to throw out to the forum readers at this point - what can we do to improve the forum? Can you think of content that would fit under our umbrella of DS but might broaden our threads to cover more than just clinical trials? The mods and I have actually just begun kicking some ideas on what more we can do with this forum, but like everywhere else on this site we recognize our membership has a much wider and deeper background collectively than a few staff members putting our heads together - it'd be shame not to make an open request for YOUR ideas and help in improving the forum. So, let's hear it - any brainstorming you DS readers can offer up? We're very much interested and listening :)
 
I was very pissed off at the time I wrote that (got some heavy shit going on in my life atm) and for some reason it really bugged me, probably taking it out on the world a bit, my apologies.

But, in future, I will report. I just thought because the report function has the bit about 'only for abuse or inappropriate content', or whatever it is, that a report probably wasn't a good idea.
 
Not to derail the thread - but you'll find my replies most often respond to a post or quote, but my words are directed to educate everyone ;). RP's are simply to get staff attention, not restricted to problems, but extended to anything one feels requires forum moderator attention. A member can still PM a forum mod, but an RP will create a post in a staff forum with your comment so that ALL the respective forum mods will be made aware, as well as sr. staff who can step in if we know mods are offline at the time. No harm :)

Bonus info nugget since I responded above, I (re-)learned that the forum is not restricted on postings, so anyone with a keyboard can post a thread these days, and we'll need to get mods to merge/close/move it if needed (again, that RP comes in handy). For the record, the links you provided were NOT moved here from other forums, but it is possible.

I will also state that the remainder of my post about an open call for improving the forum is just that - an open call, not a counter to criticism. We sincerely want any and all readers to help us out here. Your responses are not only welcome, but needed. Thank you all.
 
I have a couple of questions concerning the studies (many apologies if I missed something).

Do the survey sites cache IP address? Have tracking cookies etc?

How well are the surveyors screened? With regards to agenda, angle and so on.

Curious minds. Thank you for your help.:)
 
Good questions!

Winding Vines said:
Do the survey sites cache IP address? Have tracking cookies etc?
Click to expand...

Most of the surveys linked to here are anonymous in that they do not require identifying information to participate. Some may have options for follow-up or for entering competitions.

You'll find that each survey's participant information screen has a section on security which details their treatment of potential identifiers - data, IP addresses, data storage, etc. Some researchers take the view that IP address data is not private (United States protocols deem IP addresses are *not* personal information), whereas other researchers will specifically not collect IP addresses (eg. in the EU, this information *is* considered personal and potentially identifiable).

You should read the participant information for detail on how the researcher has dealt with IP addresses. If this is not mentioned, post a request in the thread. Some of the researchers actively monitor threads and may respond.

How well are the surveyors screened? With regards to agenda, angle and so on.
Click to expand...

The screening we do is limited to the study having attained ethics approval, usually at a university. The research generally is affiliated with a university or research institute. We have not hosted market research surveys and we don't officially support undergraduate student projects that generally have not been through the ethics approval process.

We don't screen studies for their agenda, angle, etc. Bluelight provides the link between these studies and Bluelight members and readers, but we don't 'support' or 'approve' of the studies. Still, if we see something that is blatantly wrong even if it did pass ethics approval, we would choose not to host it in this forum. You still need to exercise your own judgement when deciding whether to participate in any of the studies linked to here.

Hope that helps :)
 
Hi,
I am currently doing a study investigating the realtionship between cannabis use and anxiety for my honours degree at the University of New England. I would like to know if it would be possible to post a link to my online survey here (or if I could just list the information about my study and my e-mail address for those who are interested).
cheers,
Matt
 
Hi Matt77, sorry for the delayed response.

Yes, you can create a thread for your survey here. Have a look at the forum guidelines for what you should include in the thread. Elements people tend to miss are the full name of the researcher and contact details that are likely to be active after the project has finished, and whether the online survey accepts international respondents or just from a specific region of the world.

We also ask that you come back to the thread to engage in any discussions as people tend to ask question and/or provide feedback when they have participated. Also, let us know when you have finished and can provide some results!

If there are other parts of Bluelight where you think the survey should be advertised, let us know and we may be able to provide a link from that forum to this one.

Thanks :)
 
There has recently been a great idea about giving pound animals psychedelics to modify their behavior. All it needs is a good researcher with a science background. Maybe someday I'll do it, but if someone beats me to it its ok cause its important. Many animals are doomed to die at the pound because of their nonsocial mean behavior.

So I'm throwing the idea in here. "can psychedelics help modify behavior in dogs?" some with experience giving their animals psychedelics (usually on accident) report positive changes.

Maybe its too far fetched, but i'd risk it knowing it may help save pets lives and get them out of shitty small cages.

Just to give proper credit this was originally Grong's idea.

In THIS POST. The thread has some good discussion (besides the negative bitching going on)
 
Interesting idea. I can see your logic (if psychedelics can help 'pound' dogs become more social, they are less likely to be euthanased/killed). Still, passing an ethics board with such an experiment would be difficult - accessing the (banned) psychedelics and administering them to animals. Still, if you can make a strong argument for the potential for the results to reduce harms and there is reason to belief it could work... perhaps you can build an argument for it.

And I wonder if it has been done before? I don't have time to go into it right not but I'd recommend some pubmed/medline searching and investigation to see if others have tried this.
 
Would you people actually consider what the consequences might be by filling out these stupid surveys?

Think about these things first:
Who is the benefit of this survey aimed at?
How does this survey benefit my interests?
Who and what companies and running/funding this survey?

Actually think about what this information is being used for, dont just mindlessly fill out surveys because they're fun.
 
^ Agreed..but I have a tendency to believe (and hope) that BL wouldn't have a link to it at the top of the page if it wasn't beneficial to the site in some way, or if it was created by people with interests that conflict with mine.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top