[R] R usage survey

Ista Zahn izahn at psych.rochester.edu
Fri Mar 4 21:41:14 CET 2011 

On Fri, Mar 4, 2011 at 3:20 PM, Harsh <singhalblr at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Ista, Spencer and Greg,
<snip>
> The information being collected is purely out of personal interest and I
> have mentioned this earlier.

No, I don't think you did actually. This is the key thing we wanted to
know up-front, and it's a shame that it took the better part of the
day before we finally understand why you are conducting the survey.

 There is no commercial interest involved.
>
> Is it possible that I am interested in this sort of information to better
> understand R's usage patterns ? In doing so, the survey I am conducting
> would seem an appropriate way for my requirements.
>
> And how does belittling someone on a mailing list help ?
>
> If anyone wants the kind of information I am collecting, are there
> suggestions of better ways of finding it besides the method that I have
> adopted ? Sure I could scrape the data of LinkedIn pages, or find other ways
> of doing it, but I found this suitable.
>
>
>
> On Sat, Mar 5, 2011 at 1:27 AM, Spencer Graves
> <spencer.graves at structuremonitoring.com> wrote:
>>
>>      Most surveys done in the US today are done during election season, to
>> determine how to package candidates to attract votes.  Officials elected
>> under such circumstances spend half their time in office servicing the
>> bribes that they accepted to pay for the surveys and the resulting
>> advertising (and the other half soliciting more bribes er contributions for
>> their next campaign).  The best reference on this I know is Thomas Ferguson
>> (1995) Golden Rule (U. Chicago Pr.).  It's by now somewhat old but is still
>> cited by leading researchers.
>>
>>
>>      People have a right to be cautious of surveys, because too rarely
>> today are surveys used for legitimate scientific purposes.  Most often, they
>> are used to defraud the public into doing things that are contrary to their
>> best interests.
>>
>>
>>      Spencer Graves
>>
>>
>> On 3/4/2011 11:37 AM, Ista Zahn wrote:
>>>
>>> Now hold on a second Harsh! I was fairly neutral up to this point, but
>>> this response is totally uncalled for. The problem is that despite
>>> repeated requests you never clarified the purpose of your research!
>>> That is all you were asked to do, but rather than responding to this
>>> inquirly in a straightforward and honest manner you kept dodging the
>>> question. The most charitable explanation is that you just don't
>>> understand what information you were being asked to provide, which is
>>> frustrating but understandable; your last response on the other hand
>>> is completly out of line. Research participants have a right to know
>>> the purpose for which their data is being collected, and as a
>>> researcher you have a responsibility to tell them.
>>>
>>> Rex, thank you for generating this discussion. When I first say
>>> Harsh's original email I was just getting ready to fill out the
>>> survey. When I saw your response I delayed. Boy am I glad I did!
>>>
>>> Best,
>>> Ista
>>>
>>> On Fri, Mar 4, 2011 at 2:20 PM, Harsh<singhalblr at gmail.com>  wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Rex,
>>>> You're just paranoid and I'm in no way answerable to you. Your constant
>>>> name
>>>> calling presupposes your own naivete.
>>>>
>>>> The survey has a disclaimer and those who wish to respond can do so at
>>>> their
>>>> own discretion.
>>>>
>>>> Judging by the nature (and number) of respondents, there seem to be a
>>>> lot of
>>>> highly qualified people who have no qualms about sharing information
>>>> regarding their R usage patterns.
>>>>
>>>> You can believe what you want and can continue to spin your imaginative
>>>> tales of "industrial espionage" while assuming a position of apparent
>>>> authority on survey design, Oscar gowns and data security AND my
>>>>  apparent
>>>> ulterior and "outrageous" motives.
>>>>
>>>> You also seem to be an ignorant and misinformed person. Google forms,
>>>> using
>>>> which the survey was created DOES NOT log IP addresses of the
>>>> respondents.
>>>>
>>>> And exactly which question in the survey would contribute to endangering
>>>> the
>>>> professional or personal safety and security of people responding to the
>>>> survey. The information sought is freely available on LinkedIn. I merely
>>>> want to get more descriptive information directly from R users.
>>>>
>>>> If you haven't looked at the Survey questions, then refrain from making
>>>> misconstrued remarks.
>>>>
>>>> I apologize to the other users of this list for prolonging this
>>>> frivolous
>>>> debate here. This will be my last response on the list regarding this
>>>> topic.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> If anyone has an issue pertaining to the Survey, its outcome and my
>>>> motives,
>>>> they can get in touch with me independently and off the list. All forms
>>>> of
>>>> constructive comments are also welcome.
>>>>
>>>> For those interested in sharing their R usage information please visit
>>>> goo.gl/jw1ig
>>>>
>>>> - H
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On 04-Mar-2011 10:34 PM,<rex.dwyer at syngenta.com>  wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> You still don't say what organization you are associated with. Your
>>>>> domain
>>>>
>>>> name and e-mail address give no hint. How do we know that "Harsh
>>>> Singhal" is
>>>> even a real person? An e-mail address at a university (for example)
>>>> would go
>>>> a long way to establish that. Gmail doesn't cut it for me.
>>>>>
>>>>> The preponderance of evidence is that you're just a naïve person who
>>>>> would
>>>>
>>>> give your own information to anyone who asked. On the other hand, it's
>>>> possible that you are conducting industrial espionage by recording IP
>>>> addresses and associating "use cases" with companies. In my opinion, the
>>>> onus is on you to show your bona fides, and you haven't done it.
>>>>>
>>>>> That's all I have to say...
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> From: Harsh [mailto:singhalblr at gmail.com]
>>>>> Sent: Friday, March 04, 2011 4:19 AM
>>>>> To: Bill.Venables at csiro.au
>>>>> Cc: Dwyer Rex USRE; r-help at r-project.org
>>>>> Subject: Re: [R] R usage survey
>>>>>
>>>>> The R usage survey goo.gl/jw1ig<http://goo.gl/jw1ig>  has been updated
>>>>> with
>>>>
>>>> the following changes:
>>>>>
>>>>> Addition of -
>>>>> Disclaimer :
>>>>> This data will not be used for any commercial purposes
>>>>> Do not include any personally identifiable information
>>>>> Contact: Harsh Singhal (singhalblr AT gmail DOT com) for any queries
>>>>>
>>>>> Removal of -
>>>>> Name field
>>>>>
>>>>> My primary purpose in conducting this survey is -
>>>>> - Find multiple use cases for various R packages
>>>>> - Understand the nature of work when R is being used in Academia /
>>>>
>>>> Commercial settings
>>>>>
>>>>> - The kind of technologies that are being used in conjunction with R
>>>>
>>>> (popularity of usage of Python with R, and what purpose does using
>>>> Python
>>>> solve)
>>>>>
>>>>> The outcome of this analysis will be published on my blog (in the
>>>>> process
>>>>
>>>> of being created).
>>>>>
>>>>> There is absolutely no commercial purpose behind collecting this
>>>>
>>>> information and as earlier stated, this information will not be shared
>>>> with
>>>> personally identifiable information.
>>>>>
>>>>> Thank you once again Mr. Dwyer and Mr. Venables for raising very import
>>>>
>>>> questions.
>>>>>
>>>>> I thank the R users who have already filled in the survey goo.gl/jw1ig<
>>>>
>>>> http://goo.gl/jw1ig>  and request more to do so.
>>>>>
>>>>> Regards,
>>>>> Harsh Singhal
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Fri, Mar 4, 2011 at 7:41 AM,<Bill.Venables at csiro.au>  wrote:
>>>>> No. That's not answering the question. ALL surveys are for collecting
>>>>
>>>> information.
>>>>>
>>>>> The substantive issue is what purpose do you have in seeking this
>>>>
>>>> information in the first place and what are you going to do with it when
>>>> you
>>>> get it?
>>>>>
>>>>> Do you have some commercial purpose in mind? If so, what is it?
>>>>>
>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>> From: r-help-bounces at r-project.org<mailto:r-help-bounces at r-project.org>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> [mailto:r-help-bounces at r-project.org<mailto:r-help-bounces at r-project.org>]
>>>> On Behalf Of Harsh
>>>>>
>>>>> Sent: Friday, 4 March 2011 1:13 AM
>>>>> To: rex.dwyer at syngenta.com<mailto:rex.dwyer at syngenta.com>
>>>>> Cc: r-help at r-project.org<mailto:r-help at r-project.org>
>>>>> Subject: Re: [R] R usage survey
>>>>>
>>>>> Hi Rex and useRs,
>>>>>
>>>>> The purpose of the survey has been mentioned on the survey link
>>>>
>>>> goo.gl/jw1ig<http://goo.gl/jw1ig>
>>>>>
>>>>> but I will also reproduce it here.
>>>>> - Geographical distribution of R users
>>>>> - Application areas where R is being used
>>>>> - Supporting technology being used along with R
>>>>> - Academic background distribution of R users
>>>>>
>>>>> The potential personally identifiable information such as name and
>>>>
>>>> employer
>>>>>
>>>>> name are optional fields. Actually all the fields in the survey are
>>>>> optional.
>>>>>
>>>>> Some of the analysis output(s) could be along the lines of :-
>>>>> - Usage statistics of various R packages
>>>>> - Distribution of R users across countries/cities
>>>>> - Mapping various applications to packages
>>>>> - Text Mining of the responses to create informative word clouds
>>>>>
>>>>> Personally, I am excited about the kind of data I will receive through
>>>>
>>>> this
>>>>>
>>>>> survey and the various insights that could be derived. As already
>>>>
>>>> mentioned,
>>>>>
>>>>> the results will be shared with the community.
>>>>>
>>>>> Thank you Rex for raising an important point. It is indeed necessary
>>>>> for
>>>>
>>>> me
>>>>>
>>>>> to personally assure the user community that the results will be shared
>>>>> in
>>>>
>>>> a
>>>>>
>>>>> manner that will not contain any personally identifiable information.
>>>>>
>>>>> Those who wish to gain access to the raw data will be provided with all
>>>>
>>>> the
>>>>>
>>>>> fields but not the name and employer name fields.
>>>>>
>>>>> Just out of curiosity : It is possible to get name, employer name,
>>>>
>>>> location,
>>>>>
>>>>> usage information and academic background details when searching for R
>>>>
>>>> users
>>>>>
>>>>> on LinkedIn and the many R related groups there.
>>>>> Does this also provide potential opportunities for misuse and
>>>>> "outrageous"
>>>>> analyses, since almost anyone can get onto LinkedIn and access user
>>>>
>>>> profiles
>>>>>
>>>>> ?
>>>>>
>>>>> Thank you for your interest and support.
>>>>> Regards,
>>>>> Harsh
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Thu, Mar 3, 2011 at 8:02 PM,<rex.dwyer at syngenta.com<mailto:
>>>>
>>>> rex.dwyer at syngenta.com>>  wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Harsh, "Suitably analyzed" for whose purposes? One man's "suitable" is
>>>>>> another's "outrageous". That's why people want to see the gowns at the
>>>>>> Oscars. Under what auspices are you conducting this survey? What do
>>>>>> you
>>>>>> intend to do with it? You don't give any assurance that the results
>>>>>> you
>>>>>> post won't have personally identifiable information. I don't get the
>>>>>> impression that you know much about survey design.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>>> From:
>>>>>> r-help-bounces at r-project.org<mailto:r-help-bounces at r-project.org>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> [mailto:r-help-bounces at r-project.org<mailto:r-help-bounces at r-project.org>]
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Behalf Of Harsh
>>>>>> Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2011 5:53 AM
>>>>>> To: r-help at r-project.org<mailto:r-help at r-project.org>
>>>>>> Subject: [R] R usage survey
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Hi R users,
>>>>>> I request members of the R community to consider filling a short
>>>>>> survey
>>>>>> regarding the use of R.
>>>>>> The survey can be found at http://goo.gl/jw1ig
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Please accept my apologies for posting here for a non-technical
>>>>>> reason.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The data collected will be suitably analyzed and I'll post a link to
>>>>>> the
>>>>>> results in the coming weeks.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Thank you all for your interest and for sharing your R usage
>>>>>> information.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Regards,
>>>>>> Harsh Singhal
>>>>>>
>>>>>> [[alternative HTML version deleted]]
>>>>>>
>>>>>> ______________________________________________
>>>>>> R-help at r-project.org<mailto:R-help at r-project.org>  mailing list
>>>>>> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
>>>>>> PLEASE do read the posting guide
>>>>>> http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
>>>>>> and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> message may contain confidential information. If you are not the
>>>>
>>>> designated
>>>>>>
>>>>>> recipient, please notify the sender immediately, and delete the
>>>>>> original
>>>>
>>>> and
>>>>>>
>>>>>> any copies. Any use of the message by you is prohibited.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>> [[alternative HTML version deleted]]
>>>>>
>>>>> ______________________________________________
>>>>> R-help at r-project.org<mailto:R-help at r-project.org>  mailing list
>>>>> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
>>>>> PLEASE do read the posting guide
>>>>
>>>> http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
>>>>>
>>>>> and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> message may contain confidential information. If you are not the
>>>>
>>>> designated recipient, please notify the sender immediately, and delete
>>>> the
>>>> original and any copies. Any use of the message by you is prohibited.
>>>>
>>>>        [[alternative HTML version deleted]]
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ______________________________________________
>>>> R-help at r-project.org mailing list
>>>> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
>>>> PLEASE do read the posting guide
>>>> http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
>>>> and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
>>>>
>
>



-- 
Ista Zahn
Graduate student
University of Rochester
Department of Clinical and Social Psychology
http://yourpsyche.org

More information about the R-help mailing list