Please help me with my research

[Karyl]

> Hello Everyone,
> Please take the time to help me with my research. The attached link is to
> a survey I am conducting related to the differences between gay, lesbian,
> bisexual, and trangender people's experiences with religious prejudice
> compared to heterosexual people's experiences with religious prejudice.
> This research has been approved by the Institutional Review Board at the
> University of Arkansas and is being conducted by myself under the
> supervision of Dr. Kristin Higgins. For any questions, complaints, or for
> further information on this study, please contact Karyl Lounsbery at the
> contact information below.
> This survey will take approximately 30 minutes to complete. No personal
> information will be collected that would allow for identification of any
> specific individual. The survey consists of three parts, one demographic
> portion that all participants will complete, and one section specific to
> the sexual orientation of the respondent. Participants will be directed
> to whichever of the remaining two sections dependent on their response to
> the question in the demographic section regarding their sexual
> orientation.
> Participation in this survey is completely voluntary and you have the
> right to withdraw at anytime without penalty.
> Also, if you would, please pass the link to this survey on to any and all
> friends that may be interested in participating provided they are over the
> age of 18.
> Thank you for your participation in this survey.
> http://www.eSurveysPro.com/Survey.as...0-429767a136fb
>
> Karyl Lounsbery
> Licensed Associate Counselor
> Graduate Assistant
> 121 Graduate Education Building
> University of Arkansas
> 479-575-2982 (Office)
> 479-575-3319 (Fax)

[BruceChris]

You look like you could use a bump.

I wonder how many of you will have problems with choosing answers, as I did.

Namaste', Bruce Chris

[scott snedeker]

The questions are skewed toward Abrahamic faiths

[BruceChris]

But then again, so is the population of the U.S.

Ms. Lounsbery sent me a nice PM as to why the answers have to fall into limited categories.

Namaste', Bruce Chris

[BrianB]

Originally Posted by BruceChris

You look like you could use a bump.

I wonder how many of you will have problems with choosing answers, as I did.

Namaste', Bruce Chris

There were some questions that did not have the answer I wanted to give. It was a bit frustrating. I guess that will happen when you try to quantify something like human sexuality.

[Zerbie]

Yechh, I couldn't get very far with it, so I abandoned it. Once we got up to 10 questions in a row where my answer was not true because there were no true answers available among the choices, I figured I'd be screwing with the researcher's data and jumped ship.

Too many things that I cannot relate to, and too few opportunities to give a correct answer.

[Petrese]

It doesnt seem to consider a transgender aspect, only a sexual orientation aspect

[BruceChris]

One is that human sexuality does NOT fit into a reasonable, or finite number of boxes, and the other is that Ms. Lounsbery would be best off if she would allow each of us to give a verbatim answer to her questions, and then figure out how to fit our answers into her boxes. No more test questions with boxes, just test questions followed by text entry windows. O.K., boxes followed by a window, with NO character limit.

It is also painfully obvious that there is indeed an obvious discrepancy between the way that gays and straights are treated on a day to day basis. Think Mathew Sheppard. Think of the last two gay or trans students who were shot down in the hallways of their high, or junior high schools for being too obvious.

There was a lesbian woman who was beaten unconcious, after leaving a Minneapolis night spot within the last month.

During the early 80's, when I went into an artist's hangout and asked for a copy of Equal Time, The employee that I asked ran out the back door. AIDS, and all that.

Karyn: I've checked out of your survey in disgust, and I can't seem to sign back in, so I can't go back and fill it out. However, although I am proud member of the feminist/women's community, and the gay community, the fact that that I commonly date women means that I am not subjected to any of the crap that you suggest. (I did get roughed up by a couple of jealous boyfriends, but hey, that comes with the territory)

I am secure in my religious beliefs, and a religious liberal at that, so I don't lose any sleep over any of the paranoia that the Catholics and the fundies throw my way.

I hate to throw any boat anchors into your dissertation, but I think that you are going to have to significantly redesign your survey. Hey, don't think of this as a failed experiment, think of one that has allowed you to ask questions that you never knew existed.

EDIT:You might even consider finding a way to un-dichotomize the gay vs straight aspect of the 2nd half.

Peace and Love, and all-nighters, now and then,, Bruce Chris

[Zerbie]

Well Karyl can't reasonably replace all the check boxes with unlimited text windows and then still poll a significant sample of volunteers. She would be drowning in prose. However, text windows (without limits, or with a high character count) at the end of sections would help elucidate the answers we mark which do not accurately represent our experience.

I don't experience myself as 100% straight, or at least, didn't always in the past, so after a lot of hesitation I clicked the 'bisexual' box at the start of the test. I think that had I clicked the 'heterosexual' box, then I would have been able to give a higher number of truthful answers. But then I would have identified myself into a category with which my inner self-experience does not correspond.
It wouldn't surprise me if there are a lot of people like me out there: you don't think of yourself as completely straight, but most of your life fits into the straight side of the dichotomy.

If Karyl wants to address issues like mine, then giving the answer bisexual should generate an option for indicating the gender of one's partner/partners, and whether one's life experience corresponds more with the heterosexual world or the lg community.

I left the survey because I felt like I was lying the entire time since there were no provisions for a bisexually identified person living 'the traditional heterosexual lifestyle.' The questions assumed I was not, therefore for at least 10 questions in a row, every answer option available to me was fictional.

If Karyl can find a significant number of people for whom those check boxes apply, then they should be her research sample. But we're too un-boxable around here.

[offog]

I've just been reading the comments in this thread. Looks like the survey is getting a rough ride.

I'm straight, but I have my own experience with religious prejudice. Well, it's actually my Mom's experience. I grew up without religion because my parents weren't believers and felt it would be hypocrital to take the kids to a Church they didn't believe in. When my siblings and I were kids, in the 1960s and 1970s, my Mom took a lot of heat from well-meaning people who thought that kids brought up without religion would grow up without a moral compass. Well, my brother, sister and I turned out okay. None of us are sociopaths.

Just thought you might be interested in that.

[antiochian]

As far as "the religion of your upbringing," I remained unsure about whether that should include the religious ideas my family put in my head, or whether it was strictly the ideas learned in church.

Also, remember some may officially belong to one religion/church, but be more active in other religions/churches, or may have dual membership in any mixture of faiths. So, with regards to the question of being out at church, which one (a person can be officially Catholic and afraid to come out at that church, but attend an Anglican church in which she/he is out)? Also had a hard time answering the same question regarding co-workers. Am out to some, but not all.

Had a very hard time answering the 3 most anti-glbt religions question. There were about 5 I felt were equally bigoted.

These and some other parts of the quiz were hard to answer, but I did the best I could. I agree that a more diverse option of answers should be considered. Overall, a noble effort which could be improved upon.