and the story has legs

[rm]

http://www.roughtheory.org/content/wearing-the-juice-a-case-study-in-research-implosion/

Comments

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

Scarcely-relevant footnote, but I suspect the bankrobber was wearing lemon juice because of its use as invisible ink.

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

That's exactly what I was thinking!

OP: Do you think it will reach mainstream news sites, like RaceFail did?

[rm.livejournal.com]

If the book deal, which was for a lot of money gets pulled, it might. If there's a round two with these fuckers, it might. You know, a good buddy writes for Wired.com....

[schpahky.livejournal.com]

AWESOME. And very heartening.

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

You know, a good buddy writes for Wired.com....

You made me gleeful.

[virginia-fell.livejournal.com]

I liked the brief suggestion that this might not have been a real research project, but some kind of bizarre and offensive performance art.

[thatwordgrrl.livejournal.com]

I should also note that both researchers' BU sites have been yoinked.

[(Anonymous)]

OP: Do you think it will reach mainstream news sites, like RaceFail did?

Unfortunately, if it did, that would probably be seen as a positive by the publisher. Dutton is not an academic publisher. They want to sell books. Controversy sells books. And most people do not read past the headlines and first few lines of a news story. They are not going to read the nitty-gritty details about ethical problems with the survey; they are going to read "controversial book about sex coming soon," stick that away in a corner of their memory, and move on to the next article.

I have worked for a non-academic, non-fiction publisher. If we had contracted Rule 34, our editorial board would have been thrilled at mainstream news sites generating publicity for it based on SurveyFail.

[xo-kizzy-xo.livejournal.com]

That was my exact same thought when all this first came to light. And this is coming from someone who isn't into fanfiction :)

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

Not surprised. BU will be anxious to have as little as possible to do with something that wouldn't've passed the IRB if it'd been BU-based research.

[6-bleen-7.livejournal.com]

True; but at least it wouldn't be passed off as academic research.

[jackolantern.livejournal.com]

oh please oh please

[8thena-payne.livejournal.com]

Thanks for posting this. I've been watching this unfold with great interest. I'm just sad I missed the actual questionnaire!!

[lorem_ipsum]

Welcome to my new case study. I’m serious. I’m thinking of assigning parts of this trainwreck when I teach research methods next term.

Awesome.

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

I can just see an arresting constable dead paning "Yeah, that doesn't work anymore, since we switched to microwaves. Next time try chap-stick."

That's exactly what I was thinking!

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

If people had good problem solving skills, they wouldn't be criminals they'd be senators.

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

I think that depends on how close 'asking sexually explicit questions to young teenagers' is to the headline. Publishers love controversy, but only to a point. (I wish some of Ogas' other sins would engender the same level of outrage in the mainstream, but I'm cynical about that!)