An academic researcher from Stony Brook has a favor to ask of you all, namely, taking a survey:
I came across Vox Popoli recently, and really enjoyed some of the recent posts. In particular, today’s post about the NYPD is spot on (as someone who has spent plenty of time in the city). You hear stories like this far more often than you should, not only in NYC, and as you say rarely is anyone ever called to task for it. I also found your reactions to Elizabeth Warren’s list of progressive tenets to be very insightful.
In any case, my colleagues and I are conducting a national survey and I was hoping that you would be interested in helping us. After spending some time on your site, I think that your readership would be perfect for inclusion in the study. The survey we are conducting is interested in how people’s personal characteristics and beliefs shape their understanding of other people and American society. Conservatives tend to be underrepresented in surveys, their opinions aren’t heard as a result and we don’t get an accurate picture of what Americans think about their society. Right now, we desperately need conservative responses to the survey, as liberal responses currently outnumber conservatives about 2 to 1.
The authors at a few other blogs recently helped us out (BrothersJudd and PJ Media to name a few), and I was hoping you might do the same by posting the link to this survey on your site and encourage your readers to participate. The survey takes roughly 15-20 minutes to complete. All survey responses will be completely confidential, and all identifying information will be stripped by the survey collection software.
One certainly can’t fault his manners; there are a lot of people who could learn from his example. I checked out the survey and it’s harmless enough. I think it’s attempting to measure if your ideology helps or hinders your ability to read other people, but I could be wrong. I will say they would benefit from using higher resolution images; I recognized some of them from previous surveys. Anyhow, if you’re amenable, go play a little multiple choice.
Keep in mind that the scenario questions intentionally don’t have enough information to make a reasonable judgment; the purpose is to see what you deduce from the insufficient information provided.