Hi All
Apologies for a delayed contribution to the debate on the cooperative/section. I emphatically support Paul’s suggestion that a cooperative should precede any key decisions regarding the BPS section. That we do not currently have any collective mechanism for making decisions strikes me as a good rationale for developing such a mechanism. It does not strike me as a strong rationale for individuals to assume control based on the potentially mistaken assumption that they can adequately represent a group of people who voted for a section. I’m also a little skeptical of the value of celebrating a decision by virtue of its status as a decision. Therefore I’d be happy to be involved in a cooperative that facilitates fair and transparent decision making processes (as I am for the development of the section). This email is meant not as an attack on any contributor to the list but as a way of expressing concern at ways of working that make me feel a little uncomfortable and to express support and an interest in contributing to a potentially valuable collective.
David, on the subject of recruitment-related posts I would support the former of your suggestions to not include them on the discussion list. Being a member of a number of e-lists which sometimes provide emails not directly relevant to my work, I would not be particularly enthused about numerous extra emails which may not be relevant. That’s not to say that the research wouldn’t be worthwhile (although I would have grave reservations about frequently receiving the kind of research email that prompted this issue), just that there might be a better way of collating and organizing recruitment posts, perhaps something that can be organised through a nascent BPS section?
With best wishes
Carl
Dear All
I am posting this time as co-moderator (with Grant) of this list in search of some guidance from you. It relates to whether research recruitment related posts are acceptable to you.
Someone who describes himself as an Advanced Doctoral Student at a US University and who describes his work as “designing on empowerment evaluation and its relationship to self–determination” who has “developed a new measure, based on the ten empowerment evaluation principles” has requested permission to use the UK CP list to ask “readers for guidance on accessing a potential sample of respondents” and has said that that “the anticipated response burden for participants will include the as yet to be named empowerment evaluation measure, a brief measure of social desirability, a brief empowerment measure, and a brief self –determination measure. I have also developed an evaluator survey that includes items related to process, context, and relationship with participants. Demographic data will be asked of both evaluation participants and evaluators; anonymity will be assured.”
I really appreciate this researcher contacting the moderators to seek guidance on this matter rather than just joining the list and posting the request and have told him so. I also told him I would like to consult list members on this matter.
Whilst I have my own views as a researcher in this style of research – as many others will have - that is not something it is appropriate to explore here and now.
Writing as a list member my own preference would be that this list does not become seen by researchers as a way to recruit participants as the list could potentially become deluged, especially give the size of the community psychology industry in the USA (if we approve this request we may have many more to consider as word spreads)
Writing as one of the list co-moderators I realise that there was some productive community psychological debate occasioned by Rhiannon’s request and that some list members were happy to get involved as participants.
What do you think?
Do we want to try to keep the list largely free from research recruitment requests (or at least keep such requests limited to bona fide list members).
Of course this is an open list which anyone can join and once joined can post what they choose to post but at least when people do us the courtesy of asking for permission to use the list in this way we could decide to politely inform the requester that list members would prefer not to have this sort of post
or
Do we want to encourage this person to post the message (we can revisit this in the future if such posts becomes a nuisance)?
David