Hmm - Forum question

[Koa]

Hm so, I'm doing this research on forums and things and blah.

And I was thinking.

(question follows)

How would you, as a forum community, reach to a researcher coming in to "study" you?
Say, I would come to the forum as a newbie, register, and say: hello, I'm doing this and this so I am here in the forum to study a certain aspect of it, but please don't mind me, I'll be like any other user.

Would you be welcoming of this, or would you be hostile? Would the fact that this person joins in not for a love of literature and willingness to share and communicate, but with a proper purpose, make you annoyed?

Any thoughts? I'd sooooo rather not be doing this...

[and, sorry but LitNet is not going to be in my work, I have had too much involvement in it in the past. I might use some ideas for an assignment about how to do this, but not for proper research]

[papayahed]

I don't think I would have a problem with you studying me however it might skew how I interact with you.

[Koa]

Exactly. I think this whole research think is crap. I am not a damn sociologist so why do I have to do sociologists things.

[Maximilianus]

Hmmm... maybe not annoyed at someone attempting to study me, but I would probably want to use some of my unpredictability, to put the researcher's ability to test

Related to this, I feel that some people can fake their behaviors when they realize they are under study. I wonder if researchers have a method to detect when this happens.

[Maximilianus]

By the way, has anyone ever felt the sensation of being observed all the time? Like when certain fellows appear on your profile page without saying nothing, several times a month, as though they were just spying your every movements? I'm not really a paranoid, but even so, not being a paranoid doesn't necessarily mean that you are not being followed/observed

[MarkBastable]

By the way, has anyone ever felt the sensation of being observed all the time? Like when certain fellows appear on your profile page without saying nothing, several times a month, as though they were just spying your every movements? I'm not really a paranoid, but even so, not being a paranoid doesn't necessarily mean that you are not being followed/observed

Interestingly, one of the team assigned to you predicted that you would say that.

[Maximilianus]

Interestingly, one of the team assigned to you predicted that you would say that.

Oh really? How creepy! In such case, I'm not as unpredictable as I thought I was capable of. I will have to seriously review my strategies

[bazarov]

Well, it might be a problem that someone thinks he is clearly a master for some area and be in dominant position above the rest. I don't have a problem with that; bit he would have to prove it!

[MarkBastable]

How would you, as a forum community, reach to a researcher coming in to "study" you?

It's already happening....

I... use generalizations to gauge peoples reactions. Thank you for your response, I found it most intriguing.

[applepie]

Exactly. I think this whole research think is crap. I am not a damn sociologist so why do I have to do sociologists things.

You may want to take a look at some market research cases and how they're using forums, twitter, and other things to better understand consumers. I don't know if/how it would apply to your research, but it may help give you ideas of tactics to use.

As for having someone come in and do research... It wouldn't bother me whether I know about it or not. I've actually been looking into it a little myself (I work in market research), not for here because of the same reasons you mentioned, but just in general.

[Koa]

Hmmm... maybe not annoyed at someone attempting to study me, but I would probably want to use some of my unpredictability, to put the researcher's ability to test

Related to this, I feel that some people can fake their behaviors when they realize they are under study. I wonder if researchers have a method to detect when this happens.

I don't know, I am very very sceptical about these whole research methodologies and wonder how I ended up here... I was a linguist and then a literature person and now I want to be just a clerk fed up with being nerdy.

And yeah I feel very spied when I post things on forums, this is why I now refrain from posting pictures.

[Maximilianus]

I don't know, I am very very sceptical about these whole research methodologies and wonder how I ended up here... I was a linguist and then a literature person and now I want to be just a clerk fed up with being nerdy.

I can relate. Often find myself amid dissatisfaction