Survey results faked

There was a  survey last year that supposedly showed that talking to a gay person changed minds about marriage.

It was published in Science, which is the top scientific journal to which all scientists aspire.

Trouble is, it was all made up. 

LaCour couldn’t come up with the raw data of his survey results. He claimed that he accidentally deleted the file, but a representative from Qualtrics — the online survey software program he used — told UCLA that there was no evidence of such a deletion. 

Then, yesterday, Vavreck asked LaCour for the contact information of the survey respondents. He didn’t have it, and apparently confessed that he hadn’t used any of the study’s grant money to conduct any of the surveys.

I hope that the UCLA graduate student responsible is dismissed from his PhD program.  This is an utter failure of academic ethics.

Talking to a gay person can change minds

Why we have to keep coming out and telling our stories.

Some anti-gay voters in California changed their minds five time faster than their neighbors on gay rights, according to the new study. The secret? Openly gay activists went door to door, engaging these conservative opponents in “heartfelt, reciprocal and vulnerable conversations” about what marriage meant to them, according to a press release about the study. The activists didn’t just push gay marriage, they made a point of listening to their opponents' concerns and experiences, the release said.

 The other thing is, the effect lasted.