3 ms·

It sounds like the study was poorly designed. Having an actual PI would have helped. The IRB probably would have seemed a lot less painful with a better-designe

It sounds like the study was poorly designed. Having an actual PI would have helped. The IRB probably would have seemed a lot less painful with a better-designed study and an engaged PI.

civilian 9y ago
You're probably getting downvoted because you're making a casual armchair judgement and this is Scott fucking Alexander we're talking about. //edit: I only just got to this section of the article, but it feels good to include as a counter-example. > During that year, Dr. W and I worked together on two less ambitious studies, carefully designed not to require any contact with the IRB. One was a case report, the other used publicly available data. > They won 1st and 2nd prize at a regional research competition. I got some nice certificates for my wall and a little prize money. I went on to present one of them at the national meeting of the American Psychiatric Association, a friend helped me write it up formally, and it was recently accepted for publication by a medium-tier journal. > I say this not to boast, but to protest that I’m not as much of a loser as my story probably makes me sound. I’m capable of doing research, I think I have something to contribute to Science. I still think the bipolar screening test sucks, and I still think that patients are being harmed by people’s reliance on it. I still think somebody should look into it and publish the results.
- umanwizard 9y ago
  Scott "fucking" Alexander is a blogger, not some sort of god immune to criticism. He's also not an expert authority on, as far as I can tell, anything but psychiatry.
- tallanvor 9y ago
  Sorry, but this is a real question: Why would we know who Scott Alexander is?
  - civilian 9y ago
    He's written a lot of great and influential things, and I feel like he's entering the "nerd/intellectual" common knowledge. The biggest example for me is Meditations on Moloch, which is the only thing that's ever made me deeply question my libertarianism. http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/07/30/meditations-on-moloch/ http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/07/30/meditations-on-moloch/ "I can tolerate anything except the outgroup" is a depressing piece on American politics. http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/09/30/i-can-tolerate-anything-except-the-outgroup/ http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/09/30/i-can-tolerate-anything... My original comment is not the best, it was a kneejerk reaction. I'm not representing the fandom well. :-/
SubiculumCode 9y ago
IRB stuff can be painful, but in my experience submitting these through the process is a lot less problematic than it was described in the article. An experienced PI knows how to navigate these issues. Practically, there are two issues with which the IRB is concerned. 1) Protection of particpants 2) Protection of the Institution from litigation by participants. Realizing the second oft unspoken goal can help you manage the IRB process

It sounds like the study was poorly designed. Having an actual PI would have helped. The IRB probably would have seemed a lot less painful with a better-designed study and an engaged PI.

civilian 9y ago

You're probably getting downvoted because you're making a casual armchair judgement and this is Scott fucking Alexander we're talking about. //edit: I only just got to this section of the article, but it feels good to include as a counter-example. > During that year, Dr. W and I worked together on two less ambitious studies, carefully designed not to require any contact with the IRB. One was a case report, the other used publicly available data. > They won 1st and 2nd prize at a regional research competition. I got some nice certificates for my wall and a little prize money. I went on to present one of them at the national meeting of the American Psychiatric Association, a friend helped me write it up formally, and it was recently accepted for publication by a medium-tier journal. > I say this not to boast, but to protest that I’m not as much of a loser as my story probably makes me sound. I’m capable of doing research, I think I have something to contribute to Science. I still think the bipolar screening test sucks, and I still think that patients are being harmed by people’s reliance on it. I still think somebody should look into it and publish the results.

umanwizard 9y ago
Scott "fucking" Alexander is a blogger, not some sort of god immune to criticism. He's also not an expert authority on, as far as I can tell, anything but psychiatry.
tallanvor 9y ago
Sorry, but this is a real question: Why would we know who Scott Alexander is?
- civilian 9y ago
  He's written a lot of great and influential things, and I feel like he's entering the "nerd/intellectual" common knowledge. The biggest example for me is Meditations on Moloch, which is the only thing that's ever made me deeply question my libertarianism. http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/07/30/meditations-on-moloch/ http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/07/30/meditations-on-moloch/ "I can tolerate anything except the outgroup" is a depressing piece on American politics. http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/09/30/i-can-tolerate-anything-except-the-outgroup/ http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/09/30/i-can-tolerate-anything... My original comment is not the best, it was a kneejerk reaction. I'm not representing the fandom well. :-/

SubiculumCode 9y ago

IRB stuff can be painful, but in my experience submitting these through the process is a lot less problematic than it was described in the article. An experienced PI knows how to navigate these issues. Practically, there are two issues with which the IRB is concerned. 1) Protection of particpants 2) Protection of the Institution from litigation by participants. Realizing the second oft unspoken goal can help you manage the IRB process