Skydiving Research Questionnaire

[b_allen 0]

Hi there my name's Ben Allen,

After passing my AFF over summer this year I became instantly hooked as i'm sure you all understand. My problem now is that i am stuck at university in my final year, itching to finish and head abroad to jump as much as possible, (the weather here in North Wales isn't ideal). As part of my third year project i am carrying out a research experiment which i'm hoping some of you may be able to help me with.

I am looking into the reasons why people take part in high risk sports, such as skydiving, B.A.S.E jumping and Rockclimbing. The questionnaire would take all of 15 minutes and you'll be entered in with a chance to win a £50 cash prize. You'll receive no Spam into your account and will only hear from me if you win the prize draw or if you decide you would like to receive a copy of our results.

If anybody would be kind enough to lend 15 minutes of there time towards helping me get as many participants for my study as possible I would be thoroughly grateful. I've posted the link below.

Many Thanks and Blue skies


https://www.survey.bris.ac.uk/bangor/risktakingbehaviours/

[DougH 270]

Is there an option for "it gives me an erection".

"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

[JeffCa 0]

Went to the link, it said the survey closed on March 12th of this year. That was a waste of a minute of my life. Did I just infect my computer with a virus or something by visiting the site?

"So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

[wolfriverjoe 1,339]

JeffCa

Went to the link, it said the survey closed on March 12th of this year. That was a waste of a minute of my life. Did I just infect my computer with a virus or something by visiting the site?

Let's see:

Brand new user.
1st and only post.
Empty profile.

Do you think it's a good idea to follow that link?

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[mjosparky 3]

wolfriverjoe

***Went to the link, it said the survey closed on March 12th of this year. That was a waste of a minute of my life. Did I just infect my computer with a virus or something by visiting the site?

Let's see:

Brand new user.
1st and only post.
Empty profile.

Do you think it's a good idea to follow that link?



Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[JeffCa 0]

wolfriverjoe

***Went to the link, it said the survey closed on March 12th of this year. That was a waste of a minute of my life. Did I just infect my computer with a virus or something by visiting the site?

Let's see:

Brand new user.
1st and only post.
Empty profile.

Do you think it's a good idea to follow that link?

Nah, it's not as dangerous as it might appear, for a few reasons.

1. bris.ac.uk is a legitimate website
2. If he wanted more people to click, he wouldn't have written it takes 15 minutes, only 1-2, and the prize would have been larger
3. He got the name "AFF" correct, which even some posters here can't do
4. I just switched to Mac last week, and they claim to be nearly immune to this kind of thing. It needed a test.

"So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

[Baxter99 0]

I was going to help you out with that date but on second thought i'll let you figure that out on your own...
Maybe if you learn something it'll be worth a minute of your life.

[Boogers 0]

Too late!

[inline Survey.JPG]

[ChrisD 0]

JeffCa

Went to the link, it said the survey closed on March 12th of this year. That was a waste of a minute of my life. Did I just infect my computer with a virus or something by visiting the site?

99.9 percent of these research type postings are total bullshit. Kind of reminds me of some of the more colorfull spam I get.

One of the ways to tell is the fact that most all undergraduates, when they do in fact do some kind of research it is highly structured and under the tight control of their professors. Most all undergraduates don't do this kind of survey research,...this is the biggest hint.

Most non-undergraduate research is and or won't pass the ethical review boards because of the potential for liability and other concerns. Much of the past bullshit research you have seen here is just that: Bullshit.

All post undergrads when doing research have their own email, web site, and the support of their faculty and they share this as a first step!

The other big tip is the sample! By asking for such a select group as found here on the internet they have introduced a "Fatal Confound" and thus making any and all results of said research totally useless.

I could go on for hours, but it's fun sometimes to see an unprecedented amount of ignorance in action.

and yes there is more value in having a good erection than answering this droll bullshit.

C

So to the OP>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Go !@#$%$##$% yourself.

Now that there is funny!

But what do I know, "I only have one tandem jump."

[mjosparky 3]

ChrisD

***Went to the link, it said the survey closed on March 12th of this year. That was a waste of a minute of my life. Did I just infect my computer with a virus or something by visiting the site?

99.9 percent of these research type postings are total bullshit. Kind of reminds me of some of the more colorfull spam I get.

One of the ways to tell is the fact that most all undergraduates, when they do in fact do some kind of research it is highly structured and under the tight control of their professors. Most all undergraduates don't do this kind of survey research,...this is the biggest hint.

Most non-undergraduate research is and or won't pass the ethical review boards because of the potential for liability and other concerns. Much of the past bullshit research you have seen here is just that: Bullshit.

All post undergrads when doing research have their own email, web site, and the support of their faculty and they share this as a first step!

The other big tip is the sample! By asking for such a select group as found here on the internet they have introduced a "Fatal Confound" and thus making any and all results of said research totally useless.

I could go on for hours, but it's fun sometimes to see an unprecedented amount of ignorance in action.

and yes there is more value in having a good erection than answering this droll bullshit.

C

So to the OP>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Go !@#$%$##$% yourself.

Now that there is funny!

By “non-undergraduate” (is that even a word) do you mean “Graduate Student”?

Do “post undergrads” mean “Graduate Student”?

Could you direct me to a link that would explain the term “Fatal Confound”? I have tried Merriam-Webster on line Dictionaries, Wikipedia and Common Errors in English without any luck.

I hope you don’t consider my questions to be “droll bullshit”.

Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[JeffCa 0]

Baxter99

I was going to help you out with that date but on second thought i'll let you figure that out on your own...
Maybe if you learn something it'll be worth a minute of your life.

Ah yes, the international standard date method vs. the North American way of writing it. As a Canadian who runs an overseas business dealing with clients from around the world, I am familiar with both and don't need to "learn something". I just see more of one vs. the other, and my first reaction is to interpret it as month-date-year. Thanks for the condescending sarcasm, though. And did it even matter? It's closed. Were there bonus points for correctly interpreting the date that it closed?

"So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

[Gixxer2k4 0]

There needs to be some type of admin approval before people can post. Would get rid of alot of this i would hope

[ChrisD 0]

Yes on both counts.

A confound is a flaw in the methodology of the research design. Frequently "confounds" are the unintended consequences of research. They are sometimes insidious and sometimes they are just in your face obvious, except to the hapless researcher that didn't notice in the first place.

Every graduate student and researcher whither it be for industry or just for plain fun generally has taken multiple research design, statistics, or experimental design classes where this kind of stuff is talked about at length.

One of the most common confounds that exists every day is a news organization poll or a political poll purportedly reporting on the attitude or whatever regarding some particular aspect of life. BUT when the organization ONLY questions, lets say: Republicans, this doesn't actually represent a valid cross section of the population!

This is a confound.

To work around things like this a very common phrase is to make sure that your "sample" is taken from a representative population the each and every member of that population is selected by chance." And or each and every member of that population is available to be selected by chance.

I can go on at length about Experimenter Demand effects, different testing parameters, I can go on about how Cortisol tests are a waste of time because in the general population the levels vary more than the isolated groups that have undergone supposed stress testing. I can go on about how you can get different answers and results based upon the color or temperature of the room the exact same test is taken in,....

think of that movie Jurassic park when the computer is asked to track the 12 or whatever dinosaurs, and one of the actors tells the computer operator to see if there are more than 12...that was a confound in action....

basically what you think your researching isn't what is actually taking place.

ANYONE WHO HAS TAKEN A RESERCH METHODS CLASS CAN SEE THE OP WAS FULL OF CRAP FROM THE GET GO...

C

I can give you a list of books if your interested, many of them are easy reading and quite informative.

But what do I know, "I only have one tandem jump."

[JeffCa 0]

But why? What is the endgame? What does somebody have to gain from doing this? "Tee-hee, I made skydivers click a link that wasn't even malicious!" Why would somebody come here "full of crap", as you write, and try to get us to do a survey, then direct us to a website that specialises in surveys? I probably didn't even have time to finish it, I just wanted to see what kind of questions were being asked.

"So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

[ChrisD 0]

JeffCa

But why? What is the endgame? What does somebody have to gain from doing this? "Tee-hee, I made skydivers click a link that wasn't even malicious!" Why would somebody come here "full of crap", as you write, and try to get us to do a survey, then direct us to a website that specialises in surveys? I probably didn't even have time to finish it, I just wanted to see what kind of questions were being asked.

I suspect it is a bunch of High School students using some kind of on line question generator to do the absolute minimum of work required for some class they really don't care about. Most likely the football team, US version,....

Help them if you want, but generally the sad reality is there is probably someone on the other end who uses their "juice" to stick pictures on the wall. Seen the movie: Happiness? 1998.

The problem is when these people post results that "other " people believe the results. Generally they don't contribute to anything and in a majority of cases they spread stereotypes and misinformation. Information that is wrong gets transmitted unabashed and uncensored, this is the problem!

C

But what do I know, "I only have one tandem jump."

[JeffCa 0]

ChrisD

***But why? What is the endgame? What does somebody have to gain from doing this? "Tee-hee, I made skydivers click a link that wasn't even malicious!" Why would somebody come here "full of crap", as you write, and try to get us to do a survey, then direct us to a website that specialises in surveys? I probably didn't even have time to finish it, I just wanted to see what kind of questions were being asked.

I suspect it is a bunch of High School students using some kind of on line question generator to do the absolute minimum of work required for some class they really don't care about. Most likely the football team, US version,....

Help them if you want, but generally the sad reality is there is probably someone on the other end who uses their "juice" to stick pictures on the wall. Seen the movie: Happiness? 1998.

The problem is when these people post results that "other " people believe the results. Generally they don't contribute to anything and in a majority of cases they spread stereotypes and misinformation. Information that is wrong gets transmitted unabashed and uncensored, this is the problem!

C

When I went to that last site, which was part of the legitimate University of Bristol site, it mentioned on the first page that you need to sign up for a £500 annual account to make surveys. The survey once existed and was now closed, so I don't think this particular case was a joke. Perhaps bad study technique, but an honest attempt to do something.

"So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

[b_allen 0]

Hi all, as i mentioned i am brand new to this site and at the time the legitimacy of my account did not cross my mind, this is also the first forum i have used and found the layout quite confusing. However i see your points. so i can tell you i am a skydiver who qualified in Ocana over summer, just outside madrid and am currently on 26 jumps, looking forward to continuing once my studies have finished, in the profile picture i am the dark haired guy on the right. This is me and my buddy just about to go up to complete our level 7's... good times.
I can only apologise that the link did not work for those of you who attempted it there was one issue with the survey that had to be ammended immediatley, unfortunately i had already posted it on here (i'm based in the UK so 3/12/2013 was actually yesterday). I can assure you all, that this is a genuine study that is being carried out with the support of some of the best sport psychologist researchers in the UK with the ultimate goal being that we get this published, I am working in close contact with my professor but ultimatley the data collection is down to me. I understand some of you may be sceptical but if you'd like to try the updated version below that would be great, i understand it's a pain and if i get a bad response i shall not hastle you again.

Thanks
Ben

https://www.survey.bris.ac.uk/bangor/highrisksports

[JackC1 0]

You definitely need a WTF option for most of those questions.

[b_allen 0]

I know they seem ridiculous and unhelpful, but in regards to the constructs we are looking into they provide us with alot of information. as long as they are answered truthfully this study will have the foundations to be a success. I'd hope to be able to show you our results upon completion.

[PixieUK 0]

Some of the questions / statements don't seem to be particularly well written. Certainly the psychological profiling questions seem to be quite loaded, particularly if you are looking for honest answers. Do you seriously expect anyone to admit their actions frequently lead to accidents or near misses???
I have answered honestly but I doubt very much whether I fit the typical profile of a skydiver, lol

A mind once stretched by a new idea never regains its original dimensions - Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr

[ChrisD 0]

Click here for Professor assigning student project

The Professor actually sounds like a nice guy.

Why didn't you guys actually state up front that your not doing research per say, but fulfilling a class assignment?

AND I want to caution everyone about blindly being hooked into giving out personal information by being baited with the offer to potentially win a prize.

I immediately go insane when I see things like your answere is confidential but please give me all of your information at the end????

C

All the stuff about confounds and demand effects still apply, but hopefully you will learn some of this as you go along....

But what do I know, "I only have one tandem jump."

[ChrisD 0]

I have forwarded the following e mail to your head Professor, I hope you don't mind:

Quote

Do you have a student, a Mr. Ben Allen running a survey type questionnaire on the internet? Considering my personall paranoia and my desire to thwart the various forms of internet scams that exist I hope you can indulge me with a response, Thanks.

I'd also recommend that in the future we at some of the skydiving forums can be of increased assistance if some inquiries were made in advance. We want to help and in fact find much of this very entertaining. Speaking for many of us I think we could both reach a better understanding with relatively little effort on everyone's part by increasing communication and co-operation. I am sure we could assist in finding a contact person willing to assist and I 'm also sure that this would increase both the validity of your students results and the quantity of more reliable responses.

I was very appreciative of your U-tube introduction. We too find it ironic that when during a performance type activity the problem of "ironic effects" comes up. Many in skydiving try to take this into account when teaching with an awareness that we do everything we can to not introduce extraneous statements that we believe can cause this phenomenon.

A popular skydiving instructor has borrowed the phrase "Pink Elephants" and is still actively teaching this as a performance enhancing technique. The idea is of course to never introduce pink elephants during instruction. This leads to some interesting conversations when students are determined to ask "What if" type questions.




I will do everything I can to support your research in this regard, if you have some solution and or insight to this we will be all ears!

Again thanking you for your anticipated co-operation and time.

Chris D.

I will post any response I receive.

C

But what do I know, "I only have one tandem jump."

[squiffy 2]

https://www.facebook.com/ben.allen.5201

[ChrisD 0]

squiffy

https://www.facebook.com/ben.allen.5201

Thanks squiffy,

I took the name Ben to be of a masculine gender....

my apologies

C

But what do I know, "I only have one tandem jump."

[ChrisD 0]

this is the response I received from outside of drop zone . com:

Quote

Dear Chris,




First of all, thank you for your informative and helpful e-mail. And yes, I can assure you that Ben Allen is a legitimate student of mine, and an excellent one at that (I have cc'd Ben here to keep him in the loop). Furthermore, the survey programme that we use does not use Cookies so you and your colleagues are guaranteed a spam-free experience if you take part.




Regarding your proposal to foster a more enduring and mutually beneficial relationship between us (the academic research community) and you I'd be very keen to have a chat with you about how best we could do that. We now have a body of research that is really quite interesting.




Meanwhile, many thanks for taking the time to contract me and for taking part in this project.




All the best,
Tim
--

Professor Tim Woodman CPsychol

Head, School of Sport Health & Exercise Sciences

Bangor University

As you all know I'm paranoid about spam and a hundred other things. So I spent some time researching these people and they do in fact check out.

This is a chance to help the student but more so it's also a chance to help the future of skydiving instruction. You wont get any results soon, but very rarely is anyone researching anything remotely applicable to skydiving.

Here is an opportunity to actually do something, pm me if you like, but despite a rocky start where I put my foot in my mouth these people are in a position to actually contribute!

C

But what do I know, "I only have one tandem jump."