bogus posters?

I don't have to join in a debate to find it interesting,so I would hate them to be stifled.

Bags I do switch off popups but they sneak back after a while, and there's nothing I can do about the likes of Google. I find that when updates are inflicted on me, I get all sorts of intrusions, despite having good security etc Using the iPad helps, but every now and again I use the laptop, which is like living with Big Brother.

jessm on your ' outing'!
Which do you think is your role model, the rat or the American student?

Greatnan I don't think its lack of confidence, I think it is that people don't like to put themselves in the firing line of some people who always give the impression that they are right. It is the way it is said which puts people off. I have a lot of empathy for them and understanding of how they feel.

I am not aware that anyone has suggesting stifling any, let alone all, debates apart from the time I brought up bullying and was asked not to because it had been brought up before.

I would always post my honestly held opinions - I don't see the point in hedging them about with 'I thinks' if they are just opinons, but if I am stating facts I will often say 'I believe' just in case I am wrong. Obviously, I think my opinion is correct or I wouldn't hold it! That does not mean I think somebody else is wrong to have a different opinion and I am always open to listen to their reasons for holding that view.
I would hate to post on a forum where one could not state an opinion without worrying if somebody else would be offended. I hope everyone else also states their true opinon, and then we can have a proper debate. If we have to second-guess the poster's true feelings, we are not going to get very far.
I can quite understand that some people do not feel confident enough to take part in certain debates, but surely that does not mean that all debate must be stifled?

It's also possible (at least on mac computers) to disable the google thingy that looks for your whereabouts.

Why don't you switch off pop-ups? It would solve some of the problem. Anyway, I was only talking about gransnet. You've consented to post on here.

I get a bit brassed off with the sort of 'research' that follows me around the internet and then I miraculously find emails and pop-ups asking me to buy other versions of what I have looked at. I know it happens but I don't consent and for me, it feels unethical. There are a couple of side bars that show up on my computer asking me to 'correct' the wrong postcode and district shown as mine, but I won't because it would help Google and whoever else to target me even more. Grrr!

professional hot !?

Make that hat.

OK, but what about someone who is researching opinions just out of interest, to see what there is? So long as they report their sampling type and number etc, I still don't see why it would be unethical. It would be wrong to claim it as a properly conducted scientific study, but it's still a study and could be worth recounting for other people with the same interests.

What I'm trying to say is that, so long as it isn't used for anything unethical, the research itself is not unethical. How can it be when we've made our opinions public by choice?

Whether it is not approved by a particular professional body is beside the point except for members of that professional body wishing to quote it with their professional hot on.

Opinion is opinion. Newspapers publish opinion pieces every day. Why shouldn't other people collate those? Or the opinions 'published' on gransnet?

That's right petallus when I was a young BSc Psychology student (Note folks, I have just "come out" ) we used to say "Psychology is the study of the behaviour of the white rat and the American college student" - because these were the two groups on which the vast majority of research had been done. There is still truth in this statement, although many mice have now joined in. They are cheaper to feed and house.
Undercover research via GN would not fall under psychology. We are far too picky about sampling and other aspects of experimental design. Not a chance.

How can we have any real debate if people are afraid to say what they really feel? It's no use posting a watered down version of your feelings just to go along with others. If someone doesn't agree with another poster, that shouldn't mean they cannot still be friends.

Think I am learning not to, jacey!

I agree petallus with your last paragraph too. I am much happier disagreeing with someone's views in person but I hesitate on here. Too easy to be taken the wrong way.
jacey I just don't post.

Jacey I agree!

Agree petallus with your last paragraph to Grannylin.

I think anyone collecting research data from a thread on Gnet ...will only get the views of those who wish to debate ...not the full cross section of GNetters ...you've only got to follow a range of threads to see who can be guaranteed to pass comment on which threads and who will ignore certain types of threads

Not sure I go with the concept of GNetters posting what they think others would wish to hear ...more likely not to post on that thread??

petallus Totally agree with your last paragraph. It would be nice if some people could be a little less 'sure' all the time. A few 'I think' and 'maybe' would sometimes soften things.

The vast majority of psychology research has been done, until fairly recently, on the student population anyway, since researchers usually work in universities as well.

If I wanted to find data from websites I would think of Gransnet responses as mainly female and over 60. Then I'd go on to another site, say Mumsnet, for a different age group sample. And so on.

Grannylin I do think you are right. A few strong personalities on Gransnet may well sway the way the discussion goes sometimes. I recently decided not to comment on a thread because my view went against the established one. I wouldn't mind doing this in a face to face situation but online it can often be frustrating. Your opinion can be ignored altogether or brushed aside.

Right psychometric can be really valuable in the right context. Ones you can just buy without being trained and accredited are not.
I think any academic research in which info was gathered by collecting forum postings would be pretty pathetic.
Apart from anything else the researcher would not actually know anything about the respondents, other than the fact that they belonged to a particular forum. It would be in my opinion more like journalism than scientific research. Nothing scientific about it.
Any bona fide researcher can approach GN management to ask for help.

Alison yes, psychometric personality tests don't really add much to recruitment and matching up new people into teams - I found them useful when having team-building days with specialist teams, to enable people to air their differences and identify how they could work more effectively with each other, but mainly they're fun to use and help people to understand what characteristics attract or repel each other.

I worked with one team because it was highly dysfunctional and in danger of being disbanded, and discovered they were well matched according to one commonly used test, and had complementary roles, but the testing doesn't allow for fluctuating mood on the days of the tests or individual experience when dealing with particular issues that haven't been resolved constructively.

I know one particular Gransnetter who would say it's all gobbledegook anyway, and in some cases I'm inclined to agree

presumably in good quality research there is a cross section or balance of society or at least it is known where info is gleaned from? When gleaning random comments from a forum you have no idea if the posters are of a particular age. race/gender etc etc

This is really interesting and has got me thinking about how honest we really are on these forums. I would imagine that the confident, strong personalities do put forward their true opinions but equally, the shy, unsure may temper what they feel or believe to remain acceptable to the group

sigh!

J04 No of course not, all GNs are always straightforward and honest and would never say anything just to get a rise out of someone

when I wish mine showed that! I agree about good personality tests but the ones you can just pop out and buy are very dubious. I am BPS qualified so know how to interpret them but it is difficult to get the recruiting manager to specify what type of person they are looking for and understand how different types make good teams. Therefore I wonder how useful they actually are.