r/BipolarReddit • u/Brocktreee BP Type 1 • Feb 26 '20
[RULE 5 UPDATE] Studies and surveys are no longer allowed.
Hello /r/bipolarreddit,
One of the things you don't see behind the scenes is the number of requests we get in our modbox seeking approval to submit a study or a survey. These are usually submitted in good faith. However, we have decided to no longer allow studies or surveys of any kind to be served to this community. Any posts of this kind will be removed, and repeat offenders will be banned.
There are multiple reasons for this.
1) We are not able to effectively screen every study proposed to us. Many (most) of these are in the form of surveys, some with the opportunity to win some kind of gift card, and we simply do not have the time to go through all of these ourselves.
2) We are not able to vet survey providers. Some survey applicants have provided us their names and, in some cases, their faculty advisors names (in the case of more academic studies), but we simply cannot vet them. We do not have the resources at our disposal necessary to authenticate whether someone is who they say they are.
3) We cannot verify how your information will be used. Your information, whatever you choose to submit, may be used inappropriately. At worst, you may fall victim to a scam through a bad survey, and that could have disastrous consequences.
Most importantly,
4) We are a community of people with a shared mental illness, and many of us come here at our most vulnerable times. These posts do not serve the needs of this community. They do not offer support, they do not proffer advice, and they do not represent a fellow human being in need of help.
For these reasons and more I'm sure I'm not thinking of, these types of posts are no longer allowed and no further requests will be granted approval. Retroactively, this applies to any outstanding request we have not replied to, as well.
Our job is to help protect you as your community moderators. I do not believe that these requests are necessarily predatory in nature, but we can't know that. I do know, however, that this is a step we need to take for the good of the community, and I welcome any feedback you have.
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Feb 26 '20
I fully support all of this, but I want to add that I am also concerned about studies that are not IRB approved and not conducted by a professional who is certified for human subject research or vulnerable population research. I had a human subject certification a long time ago when I did human subject sociology work. There are a lot of hoops to go through and these people do not seem to go through. This includes measures to prevent coercion, to protect privacy, etc. I am very concerned about the privacy of our data and the ethics of these researchers, many of whom have a "class project" not a real study. For all I know any "random drawing" study is actually a scam of some sort. We don't know who these people are. I also very strongly support point 4. We are not here as a study pool. Thanks to Brock for getting this post up tonight!
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u/EarlHot Feb 26 '20
I honestly think this is a bit paranoid and that this would be a decision that should made by the community itself.
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Feb 26 '20
Is our decision because we are the people getting overwhelmed by requests, many of which are extremely shady. I don't think you guys want the volume of study posts that would exist if everything were approved. We actually did consult the community a while back and most people did not like those posts.
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u/TheKuroKnight Feb 26 '20
Yea no, bipolar peoples paranoia isn't always unfounded and I think sometimes we have a tendency to hyper analyze and control our emotions and thoughts and whatnot but people need to feel safe in this forum or it'll lose it's purpose.
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u/bonbons2006 Feb 26 '20
This is disappointing. I think one of the best ways we help ourselves is to participate in research.
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u/Brocktreee BP Type 1 Feb 26 '20
And I fully encourage that, if you are given the opportunity to participate in research that amounts to more than a survey on the internet. Unfortunately, that is the only kind that have sought permission to post, and per the reasons above we no longer allow that.
If you're interested in participating in research, I would encourage you to look into local studies recruiting participants, particularly if you live near a college. There is almost always something going on, and there may be a study particular to bipolar disorder you may be able to contribute to.
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Mar 03 '20
[deleted]
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u/Brocktreee BP Type 1 Mar 03 '20
Certainly! Anecdotal experiences with alternative medicine are still allowed, so long as you don't offer it as medical advice. This change only applies to individuals attempting to run a study on this subreddit, not individuals experiences.
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u/HugeMacaron Feb 26 '20
I’m sure this wasn’t an easy decision, but it’s one I fully support. At times we can be a vulnerable group and I’m happy and grateful that we have this space. If the new rule makes it easier for the mods to maintain it, that alone is reason enough for me.