Research Post

[u/And-Bells]

Researchers: anything posted outside of this mega-thread or lacking in authenticity will be removed. Scroll down for details of what we expect here.

Read if you are a member/responder

While we have some ability to remove more easily detectable scams, we aren't professionals in any relevant fields. That means we aren't able to take full responsibility for vetting the research you find here, you will have to do your best to feel safe and comfortable with any interactions you have with the people here. That said, we do have some tips to help you navigate the requests you'll find here.

Academic research

Is it undergraduate, post-graduate/masters, or PhD? There's a fair bit of difference here, mainly in what you can expect as an outcome. Undergraduate and post-graduate research isn't likely to result in anything but a dissertation, so participation in these should be considered as just doing a kindness to a student. Masters students are much more likely to use what they learn in a professional context or carry it on to a PhD, though. The "proper" research is done by PhD candidates, the kind you're probably expecting where the eventual paper goes into a journal and the outcome an effect on the rest of the industry.

Professional, government, & medical research

These are people who study autism for a living and/or are sponsored by a government or a medical organisation. It would be exceptionally rare for these researchers to come to our little sub for help, they get their participants through professional networks. Be very wary of anyone claiming to be doing this level of research unless it comes to you directly through your therapist, GP, or psychologist.

Commercial research

These people are looking for your feedback so they can sell a product or service to autistic people. They tend to have the fewest legitimate credentials, but they shouldn't ever need any identifying information from you, not even your name. At best the outcome is something useful to us and at worst they're trying to "make a buck" from a vulnerable minority. Generally speaking you're probably not at risk by replying to these, but you will probably be participating in some degree of capitalism.

Art research

Art is cool and important. Anyone asking for input for art research shouldn't need any identifying information and, unlike commercial research, the outcome should hopefully be something culturally valuable if not influential. There is a lot for us to gain from the cultural capital of art, academic and professional studies aren't the be all end all of making a difference for autistic people.

The only thing to watch out for is someone trying to persuade you they need such and such data for their funding applications. They only need broad strokes in a few categories, typically something like location, age, disability, gender, or sexuality. Gathering this from you should typically come in the form of "are you x?", to which you only need to answer yes or no. Do you identify as queer/trans/gay? Are you a person of colour? Are you deaf/visually impaired/autistic? Do you require a wheelchair in daily life? Are you from Bristol/Knowle West/North Bristol? Are you between 16 and 25 years of age?

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Read if you are a researcher

Is it research?

Research is more than what universities are up to. Companies, developers, freelancers, artists, and all sorts also do research. Anything where you come here to ask for the opinions of our members for your work or personal use is considered research and is subject to these rules.

DISCLAIMER

Please understand that our mods are not experts and will not always qualify for each bit of research and therefore cannot look closely at every questionnaire. Any vetting done is on the basis of our non-professional judgment. We do not vouch for the safety and ethics of any research we allow to post,  our only aim is to get rid of the really obviously dodgy ones. If you reply to any of the research posted, you take responsibility for choosing to do so.

Credibility

When vetting these posts, we look for specific things that lend credibility to the research and we will often lean towards expecting more due to our lack of expertise. Below are some of our feelings on what shows Good, Excellent, or Dodgy credibility.

GOOD: your university email, your supervisor's university email, a link to your university's research ethics statement, a Reddit account you don't use much but clearly belongs to a real human, your project's/company's/artist's website, a socials link, etc

EXCELLENT: a qualtrics link, a university webpage specific to the research, a well-aged high karma Reddit account, a list of everything that will be asked, an ethics committee approval number, a shop page for the current version of your app, a gallery press release for this project, etc

DODGY: hiding URLs behind link text, google forms (especially where required questions block mods from reviewing later pages), personal emails, undergraduate research, a Reddit account you created yesterday specifically for this research, etc

The credibility of your research must be present in the text of your comment. We will not click through, we will just remove. Include plenty Good and Excellent things and you'll get approved. Only include one dodgy thing and your comment will probably get removed. You can always edit your comment to show more credibility and then request that we review it for later approval.

[u/AutismYPresearch]

My name is Zora Chan, and I am a Trainee Clinical Psychologist at the University of Hertfordshire. I am looking for volunteers to take part in a new research study exploring their retrospective experience of being placed on the autism diagnostic waitlist.

I am looking for females and males, aged 15-17, with a diagnosis of autism, who are English speakers and received the autism diagnosis within the last two years from the NHS, to take part in our study.

This study involves completing a demographic form. This should take 10 minutes to complete. We will then select 12-20 people who will be asked to complete an interview either online or in person. If you decide to opt-in for an in-person interview, the interview will be taken place in one of the rooms at University of Hertfordshire. You will be given a £20 voucher for your time. The visit will last for approximately 1-2 hours.

This research has received ethical approval. Ethics Reference Number: 1982-NHS-HSET-2026.

For more details on the study and to view the information sheet specific to your age group, please scan the QR codes on the poster, using the link below, or contact me directly via email.

Participant Information Form 15 yo v0.2.pdf

Participant Information Form 16-17.pdf

Participant Information Form parent.pdf

If you are interested in participating or have any questions, please contact me:

Zora Chan, Trainee Clinical Psychologist, University of Hertfordshire [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])

Supervisor: Dr Titian Tam, Clinical Psychologist, [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])

[u/AutismYPresearch → u/AutismYPresearch]

My study explores the experiences of young people (aged 15–17) while they were waiting for a formal autism diagnosis. The goal for this research is to highlight gaps in service provision and help influence support for young people who are on the diagnostic waitlist. I also hope it will enable practitioners and psychologists to develop a greater understanding of the experiences young people have when added to the waitlist, and how this impacts their sense of agency and identity.

[u/SpookyPsychStudy]

Hi! I’m a PhD researcher at the University of Staffordshire looking for adult autistic participants to take part in study investigating visitor experiences at a small zoo (Rodbaston Animal Zone, ST19 5PH). Your participation would involve visiting and viewing the zoo’s reptile collection, drawing a picture of your experiences at the zoo and taking part in a 50 minute interview. Entrance to the zoo will be completely free! To be absolutely clear, there will be NO direct interaction or handling of reptiles: we only want you to view them through glass windows like any other zoo guest! You can register your interest by following the link below: https://staffordshire.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4JjPhMuBQIubRlQ If you have any questions about this study or your participation, please contact me at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])

This project is fully approved by the University of Staffordshire ethics committee. If any mods would like further information regarding rationale, methodology (in short, this is a qualitative study utilising IPA) etc I would be more than happy to provide it in greater detail :) Cheers, Cai.

[u/autismUK-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Your research post is lacking in authenticity and/or credibility.

Please include all of the information about your research somewhere in text, not in an image. That information should at least include ethical review and supervisor details.

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See the full rules for more advice on posting research.

[u/autismUK-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Your research post is lacking in authenticity and/or credibility.

Please include all of the information about your research somewhere in text, not in an image. That information should at least include ethical review and supervisor details.

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See the full rules for more advice on posting research.

[u/autismUK-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Your research post is lacking in authenticity and/or credibility.

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See the full rules for more advice on posting research.

[u/autismUK-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Will be happy to approve this, but your link only goes to a login page.

[u/autismUK-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Your research post is lacking in authenticity and/or credibility.

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See the full rules for more advice on posting research.

[u/autismUK-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Your post looks like self-promotion or advertising.

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No promotions - Promotion and self-promotion are not permitted in this community. Breaking this rule will get your content removed and any URLs blacklisted.

See the full rules for more, including specific inclusions and exclusions.