Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: RE: Shadowlake Research Project

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

On Mar 22, 2006, at 8:45 PM, Molly Lazar wrote:

>   But to hear such negativity -- about ALL surveys-- from leaders of 
> the cohousing movement has me discouraged.

You are hearing negativity about _this list_ being used as a survey 
tool. People feel an obligation to respond but really don't believe the 
surveys we have seen to date were worth the time.

A good survey should have some kind of controls on who answers. Just 
because people subscribe to this list doesn't mean they are 
representative of cohousers. When Graham Meltzer did his study we was 
careful to follow good methodology.

And the challenge of surveys as research tools is to have really good 
questions. I think if people see one, they will respond.

Sharon
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Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org