5 ms·

This is about as well done of a study as we could ask for from a non-academic research level. Basically while the number of sexual comments were relatively low,

This is about as well done of a study as we could ask for from a non-academic research level. Basically while the number of sexual comments were relatively low, the amount of questioning/challenging of his abilities went up a lot when he played with a feminine name. Reminds me of a professor at Stanford who underwent a sex change and experienced very different interactions from his peers: https://www.nature.com/scitable/content/does-gender-matter-by-ben-a-barres-10602856 https://www.nature.com/scitable/content/does-gender-matter-b... We recently did a survey of 240 collegiate esports players and found that women were 9x more likely to be "very concerned" about sexism and 2x as likely to be "very concerned" about bullying in competitive gaming culture. I think Dan's research can help explain why. https://www.midgame.gg/survey https://www.midgame.gg/survey

ToFundorNot 8y ago
This study is missing one important factor, a baseline. The author should have provided an androgynous named account to see how that fared.
- Dylan16807 8y ago
  An A/B test doesn't need to attempt a "middle" option. And there's no reason to assume an androgynous name would be in the middle or in any way qualify as a "baseline".
  - zaarn 8y ago
    It would still be very interesting to see how people would react to neutral usernames like randomly generated number sequences. It could provide some useful insight.
    - seqastian 8y ago
      Gamers just default to male.
      - diegoperini 8y ago
        Depends on the game but I see your point.
      - zaarn 8y ago
        That's just an assertion without data backing it up. The above experiment with neutral names would give some insight if "gamers" do indeed "default to male", as you express it, or not.
towaway1138 8y ago
> about as well done of a study as we could ask for from a non-academic research level Unfortunately, there's a good reason why academics use proper experimental design. Without it, all you really have is suggestive noise, if even that.
- macleginn 8y ago
  The definition of “proper experimental design” varies widely by the field, and DL’s methodology looks quite solid, as far as social sciences and the task at hand are concerned.
  - leereeves 8y ago
    The generally poor quality of research in the social sciences (proven so by the lack of reproducibility) is not really a good defense for the poor quality of any individual study.
    - naasking 8y ago
      The author is pretty rigourous about explaining the limitations.
    - esailija 8y ago
      Yes, it is? Science does not guarantee knowledge in any field, it's only supposed to increase the odds. Are the odds of getting true knowledge in this field increased compared to the alternatives (I.E. people just arbitrarily claiming stuff based on personal anecdotes?) Then it's the best we have in that field and rationally you have no reason to believe the claims of knowledge acquired from worse methods over the better alternatives - just like it works in other fields.
      - leereeves 8y ago
        Why do you assume research in the social sciences even increases the odds of a true result? Combining low standards with a publish or perish culture actually encourages the publication of spurious results (and worse behavior) and hinders the careers of researchers with higher standards.

ToFundorNot 8y ago

This study is missing one important factor, a baseline. The author should have provided an androgynous named account to see how that fared.

Dylan16807 8y ago
An A/B test doesn't need to attempt a "middle" option. And there's no reason to assume an androgynous name would be in the middle or in any way qualify as a "baseline".
- zaarn 8y ago
  It would still be very interesting to see how people would react to neutral usernames like randomly generated number sequences. It could provide some useful insight.
  - seqastian 8y ago
    Gamers just default to male.
    - diegoperini 8y ago
      Depends on the game but I see your point.
    - zaarn 8y ago
      That's just an assertion without data backing it up. The above experiment with neutral names would give some insight if "gamers" do indeed "default to male", as you express it, or not.

towaway1138 8y ago

> about as well done of a study as we could ask for from a non-academic research level Unfortunately, there's a good reason why academics use proper experimental design. Without it, all you really have is suggestive noise, if even that.

macleginn 8y ago
The definition of “proper experimental design” varies widely by the field, and DL’s methodology looks quite solid, as far as social sciences and the task at hand are concerned.
- leereeves 8y ago
  The generally poor quality of research in the social sciences (proven so by the lack of reproducibility) is not really a good defense for the poor quality of any individual study.
  - naasking 8y ago
    The author is pretty rigourous about explaining the limitations.
  - esailija 8y ago
    Yes, it is? Science does not guarantee knowledge in any field, it's only supposed to increase the odds. Are the odds of getting true knowledge in this field increased compared to the alternatives (I.E. people just arbitrarily claiming stuff based on personal anecdotes?) Then it's the best we have in that field and rationally you have no reason to believe the claims of knowledge acquired from worse methods over the better alternatives - just like it works in other fields.
    - leereeves 8y ago
      Why do you assume research in the social sciences even increases the odds of a true result? Combining low standards with a publish or perish culture actually encourages the publication of spurious results (and worse behavior) and hinders the careers of researchers with higher standards.