From: Bill Weber <wweber1@sc.rr.com>
Date: Thu, 20 Jul 2000 16:22:30 -0400
Fwd Date: Thu, 20 Jul 2000 21:57:02 -0400
Subject: UpDate: Anonymity and Sharing?


One of the things I've been wondering about since this witness
anonymity business broke, is why in the years I've been reading
this List, some basic steps of formal research apparently
haven't been applied to abduction research.  I'm certainly no
research genius, but I did manage to complete a thesis.  After
explaining my intentions and getting each to sign off on
permission, I asked 42 respondents how often they committed an
act that other studies correlated with a particular, sleazy,
business practice I was interested in, then guaranteed
anonymity, honored it, and managed to share an executive summary
of the data (none of which could identify an individual
respondent) with the research and business community I was
involved with - and with the respondents themselves.  Why does
this seem to be such an impossibly complex problem in abduction
research?  It's _not_ that hard.

This is being done over and over in every Department of
anything, everywhere - on subjects at least as personally
dangerous as abduction - and performed pretty effectively by
hungover kids to boot.  Why _can't_ abduction research guarantee
anonymity so things like that won't happen, and still share
results?  Everyone else is doing it.  I don't get it.  What is
it that's _not_ being said?

Best,

Bill


My friends, no matter how rough the road may be, we can and we
will never, never surrender to what is right.
-- Vice President Dan Quayle speaking to the Christian Coalition