Sucks to be you, dude.

[apocalypsos]

Per deadlychameleon, about SurveyFail here (she asks that if you plan on making this information known, you go ahead and repost with attribution so people don't need to click through):

In regards to surveyfail: http://www.fanhistory.com/wiki/SurveyFail

I called the Boston University IRB office. The direct approach works.

They've gotten a lot of emails regarding Dr. Ogas. He is no longer in any way affiliated with Boston University, except as a recent graduate. They have asked him to stop using his official Boston University email address in connection with this project, or his website. He is officially on his own, and this project is NOT IRB APPROVED.

That is the official status as stated by the Boston University IRB office.

The problem with this is threefold:

1. The researcher has no expertise in the area he is researching, nor has he recruited anyone to give him guidance.

2. The researcher has substantial profit motivation to produce work in this area (book contract with Penguin) which may lead to unethical conduct/a tendency to misrepresent his results.

3. The research is in no way overseen by any external body which can examine it for potential unethical conduct.

In addition to all of these, the researchers have now alienated their participant population, who are now very likely to become unreliable participants.

The only way to salvage the study at this point, I believe, would be for them to change it to an observational one.

Never fuck with fandom, y'all.

Comments

[anne-jumps.livejournal.com]

That's interesting. (I'm just now learning about this thing)
Man, those guys apparently thought they'd hit the motherlode of survey subjects. Weirdo ladies are just here for the menfolks to condescendingly study!

[florahart]

I wonder if Penguin would like to be made aware of this clusterfuckery.

[etoilepb.livejournal.com]

Thank all deities that he's not actually affiliated with BU, because MFA was really expensive and difficult and I'd hate to have to go burn it.

[lavenderfrost.livejournal.com]

Never fuck with fandom, y'all.

Now, see - why can't fandom have the opportunity to annihilate someone/something useful for a change, instead of douches like this??

JUST IMAGINE WHAT PISSED-OFF FANGIRLS COULD DO TO THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.

[agent-mimi.livejournal.com]

The first serious 'net troll I encountered was a professor here at K-State. That was the first PhD I'd encountered who acted like some racist script kiddie from 4chan. Over the years I've encountered a dozen PhDs online who are essentially just sexist, racist trolls. Having a PhD doesn't mean squat when it comes to intelligent, tolerant behavior.

After changing "trannie" to "shemale" in one of his posts, I figure Dr Ogas is probably trolling and probably having the time of his life. Disgusting, but sadly not unbelievable.

[20thcenturyvole.livejournal.com]

Oh, this is just the flaky edible gold leaf on the cherry on top of this delicious fail sundae. I LOL'D SO HARD.

[bexone.livejournal.com]

i think penguin SHOULD be made aware of this fail, since i can't imagine they want to be the house that publishes those guys who asked minors about their sexual fantasies on the internet and then wrote a book about it.

[raisedbymoogles.livejournal.com]

This is one of the few times the real world and fandom are in agreement. "Yep, this guy's a tool."

[papervolcano]

Coming at this a bit late, but were I the commissioning editor at Penguin, I'd absolutely want to know - it's been an age since I last looked at a non-fiction (fcvo, given the project in question) trade book contract, but it's bringing Penguin into disrepute by being associated with them - which I'd assume they'd have as a contract clause. I doubt the book would get cancelled, but I'd hope the commissioning editor would at least set terms on the non-use of data from the survey and surveyfail. If only because they don't want to be threatened with a potential lawsuit for oooh, all sorts of things.