| Author | Message | ||
| Chris Registered user Username: Chris Post Number: 1596 Registered: 7-2003  |
So last year I took an online survey from Southern college dealing with perceptions of the SDA "church" (although I disagree with the validity of that label). Apparently the results were not statistically significant due to the structure of the questions. I was asked to take a new survey just recently only to get stuck on question #13 that appears to force you to either "agree" or "partly agree" with each SDA doctrine. I think it's a bug in the survey as you are supposed to be able to leave a doctrine unchecked as a way of indicating disagreement, but since each field is required to advance you end up having to check at least partial agreement. I would love it if others would check the survey out to see if they are having the same problem. The survey is here: http://questionpro.com/t/CK7lmZGHKuQ If you are having the same problem with question #13, please don't finish the survey as it would be inaccurate, but do let the researchers know there is a problem with the survey. You can contact them here: marketresearch@southern.edu Thanks | ||
| Free2dance Registered user Username: Free2dance Post Number: 427 Registered: 2-2010 |
Chris, I posted the exact same issue on the Members side. I refused to continue in the survey. What they are doing is dishonest and it is skewing their results. You have to at least "somewhat agree" with their doctrine, or you are weeded out of the survey by not being able to continue. They force your hand and the results become dishonest. It also bothers me that they ask you what your home life is like at the beginning, as if this will have some weight in why you think the way you do about their organization. That alone leads me to believe that this may be "independant" from the general conference but it is created by someone with an Adventist world view. It's about as independant as the Clear Word, IMO. It's no wonder members do not feel safe enough to go to their pastors and elders with family problems. Look at how they talk about people who had a hard childhood. They treat them like their abilities to reason and think intelligently are compromised if they had a hard time at home. We instantly become an unreliable witness. It's like the Jewish system who said a woman couldn't testify. You are "soiled" and "unreliable" if your family was not "put together" as EGW said they should be. Sigh... you cannot grow up in a cult and avoid family problems on some level—maybe you can, but I’m yet to find anyone who did. I ditched the survey at question 13. I think the whole thing is snaky. They will present it as unbiased because it is being done by an "independent" research team and it will be trusted information not only by their members, but to the evangelical community as well. If they can get enough people with "troubled" childhoods who still agree somewhat with the doctrine then walla, their accusations of formers has just been validated with independent research. I took a course in college on quantitative psychology and these people know exactly what they are doing. I'm not helping them out... | ||
| Free2dance Registered user Username: Free2dance Post Number: 428 Registered: 2-2010 |
btw, independent? "@southern.edu"? It may not be funded by the organization, but it is basically done by the spirit of Adventism. No thanks, even if they fix Q 13, I'm out. Forgive me if I sound bitter, but I learned last year that this group can't be trusted, I'm not giving them fuel for their campaign against formers. The smaller their sample size, the less reliable their results are. | ||
| Chris Registered user Username: Chris Post Number: 1597 Registered: 7-2003 |
Yeah, I ditched at #13 as well. There was no way I was going to say I even partly agreed with quite a few of the doctrines listed (especially knowing the details of what is behind some of the benign sounding titles). My guess is that the survey is only "independent" in that it's not being done by the GC. I think it is being done by a SDA researcher at an SDA college and that it is completely SDA in its worldview and assumptions. I'd like to think that question #13 is just a technical glitch and not outright academic dishonesty and manipulation of results. I e-mail the researchers and will be interested to see if they address this problem. | ||
| Freeatlast Registered user Username: Freeatlast Post Number: 803 Registered: 5-2002  |
It may be "independent" now, but when it produces results that show Adventism in a favorable light, I'll bet dollars to donuts that the corporate church will immediately become "dependent" on it in the marketing strategy of SDAism. | ||
| Tfelmon Registered user Username: Tfelmon Post Number: 25 Registered: 7-2011 |
I think is valuable to let the researchers know about this research design flaw by emailing them at the email Chris left above. I did...how else can you call them out? | ||
| Free2dance Registered user Username: Free2dance Post Number: 430 Registered: 2-2010 |
I would love to give them the benefit of the doubt. Had the questions been more doctrine focused with room for answers that risk making the denomination "look bad" I would believe they sincerely wanted to know the truth. I understand that they need measurable answers in order for it to be reliable, but they are so clueless as to the truth about why people leave that they don't even know how to provide honest options for us to answer with-- or they just avoid doing so. This business of asking about the kind of home you lived in, family life, how well do you really know the doctrine... IMO, it was leading from the word "go". The way I see it is this is about the "perceptions" of their church. It's all about how they come off. How well is their house of cards holding up? Is their facade truly failing? It's PR. I don't believe this has anything to do with wanting to care for their flock or wanting to honor Jesus. | ||
| Tfelmon Registered user Username: Tfelmon Post Number: 26 Registered: 7-2011 |
Survey has been corrected. On question 13, if you leave the boxes blank it means you disagree. | ||
| Tfelmon Registered user Username: Tfelmon Post Number: 27 Registered: 7-2011 |
When you get further into the survey, there are actually questions as to why one left the SDA faith etc. | ||
| Philharris Registered user Username: Philharris Post Number: 2562 Registered: 5-2007  |
I couldn't get past question #4. | ||
| Gcfrankie Registered user Username: Gcfrankie Post Number: 811 Registered: 1-2007 |
I am with you Phil. I could not get past question #4. | ||
| Chris Registered user Username: Chris Post Number: 1600 Registered: 7-2003 |
I just completed the "fixed" survey. I could be wrong, but I don't think they'll have much opportunity to spin this positively if the right type of formers take the survey and answer honestly. By "right type" I mean those that left for the sake of Jesus and the Gospel as opposed to those who were just kind of disgruntled, disaffected, or whatever. There are plenty of free text options later in the survey that let you really hammer home the doctrinal reasons for leaving. I must have given 8 mini-discourses on the serious gospel twisting errors in Adventism. I hope others will do the same. Who knows, this might be a couple of college students at Southern working on their dissertation. This might be eye-opening for them. | ||
| Seekr777 Registered user Username: Seekr777 Post Number: 928 Registered: 1-2003  |
Chris I just finished as well and made sure my answers gave no room for misunderstanding my reasons for leaving were doctrinal and not because of a bad experience. Since I took it on my iPad I didn't write as much as you I'm sure  I hope I made my point. | ||
| Philharris Registered user Username: Philharris Post Number: 2563 Registered: 5-2007 |
Well, I finally did the survey. I don't think they are going to be happy with the comments that I made. Fearless Phil | ||
| Jonvil Registered user Username: Jonvil Post Number: 630 Registered: 4-2007 |
I kept my responses brief because I'm fairly confident that, if they are actually read, the knee-jerk reaction will be that I'm bitter and don't know nor understand their doctrines. | ||
| Honestwitness Registered user Username: Honestwitness Post Number: 1238 Registered: 7-2005  |
I completed the survey, also. I had plenty of opportunities to convey my disagreement with the doctrines. | ||
| Skeeter Registered user Username: Skeeter Post Number: 1576 Registered: 12-2007 |
can you give a link to the survey ?I would like to take it if it is now fixed so you can answer honestly. | ||
| Mkfound Registered user Username: Mkfound Post Number: 134 Registered: 1-2011 |
I just filled it out too. | ||
| Skeeter Registered user Username: Skeeter Post Number: 1577 Registered: 12-2007 |
oops just saw the link... sorry | ||
| Skeeter Registered user Username: Skeeter Post Number: 1578 Registered: 12-2007 |
Just did the survey. They wont like my answers or responses either, but I was honest. |
