Hi Ista, Spencer and Greg,
I admit to my last response being out of line and scathing.
But instead of explaining or suggesting improvements in the Survey, I was
belittled by Rex on more than one occasion.

I have clarified the purpose of the survey and why I would like to collect
the responses and what possible analyses I would carry out.
The questions asked are:
Employer/Company Name
Industry
Description of R usage
Technologies used with R
Location
Academic Background
What do you use when R related help is required?
Name your most frequently used R package ?

Members here have raised questions about my intentions and motives in
collecting the above information. Would it not be helpful to clarify which
questions here have potential of misuse ?
I did heed Rex's comments and removed the Name field, and added suitable
disclaimers. Even after that, I was being called names. This could have been
avoided in my opinion.

What sort of personal information do I have to share here to better qualify
my antecedents and motives?
My LinkedIn profile page is here http://in.linkedin.com/in/harshsinghal
The information being collected is purely out of personal interest and I
have mentioned this earlier. 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@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@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@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 naīve 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@gmail.com]
>>>> Sent: Friday, March 04, 2011 4:19 AM
>>>> To: Bill.Venables@csiro.au
>>>> Cc: Dwyer Rex USRE; r-help@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@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@r-project.org<mailto:r-help-bounces@r-project.org>
>>>>
>>> [mailto:r-help-bounces@r-project.org<mailto:r-help-bounces@r-project.org
>>> >]
>>> On Behalf Of Harsh
>>>
>>>> Sent: Friday, 4 March 2011 1:13 AM
>>>> To: rex.dwyer@syngenta.com<mailto:rex.dwyer@syngenta.com>
>>>> Cc: r-help@r-project.org<mailto:r-help@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@syngenta.com<mailto:
>>>>
>>> rex.dwyer@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@r-project.org<mailto:r-help-bounces@r-project.org
>>>>> >
>>>>>
>>>> [mailto:r-help-bounces@r-project.org<mailto:
>>> r-help-bounces@r-project.org>]
>>>
>>>> On Behalf Of Harsh
>>>>> Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2011 5:53 AM
>>>>> To: r-help@r-project.org<mailto:r-help@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@r-project.org<mailto:R-help@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@r-project.org<mailto:R-help@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@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.
>>>
>>>

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