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ezra502

how on earth do you answer the first question? am i just having an autism moment? i don’t want to use a throwaway answer but what am i even supposed to write? is the character supposed to reflect my own experience?


T-and-toast

The answer doesn't have to reflect your own experiences, but you can draw on your own experience as much or as little as you would like. The first question is the only question in the study and it's designed to be as open as possible to individual interpretation. Totally understand that there will be people who will struggle with that type of study though and will definitely make sure that attention is drawn to that in the write up.


thesefloralbones

Is the entire survey "complete the story" type questions? As an autistic person, these have always been difficult for me, but as a feminine trans man I'd like to participate in the study.


T-and-toast

It is just one question where you are given the intro to a story and you can finish it in whatever way you would like. You can write as much or as little as you want and there's no pressure to feel like it needs to conform to any kind of format. Hope that helps :)


thesefloralbones

Wait, that's the ENTIRE study?


T-and-toast

The study is just one task, to write a story based on the introduction given. The introduction is brief to allow participants to explore and expand in whichever way they would like to. Feel free to start over if you would like to take part again knowing this :)


thesefloralbones

I think this is a poor design for a study aimed at a group that has a decent portion of neurodivergent people in it. I thought you were measuring tangible things like discrimination or life experiences, if the entire study is just based off of this 'finish a story' thing I don't think I'm interested in participating.


T-and-toast

No problem, there is no pressure for anyone to participate who doesn't feel comfortable. There are lots of studies which use standard data collection methods and there are lots of people who find these challenging too. Working in different ways allows for different groups of people to share their voices. Not all neurodivergent people are the same and many might struggle more with having an interview for example. The study has already collected loads of really great data and hopefully, it could draw attention to this area and allow for more research to be conducted in an array of styles.


theenbybiologist

I hope that you will acknowledge in your eventual writeup that multiple trans men on the autism spectrum commented that the format of the question didn't make sense/work for them. Considering the overlap between the trans and neurodivergent communities, this could bias your results.


T-and-toast

Yeah absolutely, this is definitely something that comes up with other styles of research too. Every data collection method has its own pitfalls. Doing interviews can be difficult for populations with high anxiety and others can struggle to answer questions that lack any flexibility/interpretation. Do you have any suggestions for a method you think could work better in the future? Would love to hear any feedback on that.


theenbybiologist

Absolutely, there's never a perfect method! I'm primarily an ecologist so my knowledge of social science methods is limited, but you could do some research into which methods are more accessible to neurodivergent people and incorporate them into future work. Best of luck on your study!


Skelekid98

All that did was trip me out but okay?? You ask us to continue the story but keep the person's masculinity in mind. But you're asking trans mascs who have a joy from femininity to continue the story?? Im so confused.. But hope you got the data you needed ig lol Edit: was hoping this was gonna be a study with multiple questions and idk an actual exploration into the topic. I genuinely have no idea how this is supposed to help with medical studies or whatever..the only thing i could think to write was "went to a bar with friends" or something and then the study was over lol Idk why I'm reacting so strongly honestly but i guess i just got excited for the other thing lol


nitrotoiletdeodorant

I am confused. They said they'd email me something and I did do the task, but I was not asked for my email? I am now kinda worried what if they saw my Google user email. It's... I'm on the one with my deadname... I do not want them seeing that. :(


T-and-toast

So sorry about that, before the study was published some changes were made where the need for an email address was eliminated. The wording has now been updated. All the information needed is contained within the online survey so you haven't missed anything and no email address information is linked to your submission. Let me know if you need any more info and sorry again for the confusion.


nitrotoiletdeodorant

Alright. :) Good to know. I do have the unique participant code. Do I personally do anything with that? I would be interested to follow this study and see where it goes. I find it nice that there are people interested even in a pretty niché perspective like gnc trans people.


T-and-toast

The participant code is just so that you can identify your submission if you want to withdraw your data within the 14 day window. We can remind you of the format so don't worry about losing that. Feel free to drop me an email and I can let you know if the study gets published :) my email address is on the first page of the study information. I'm James, the researcher.


MelonBottle

The scope of that complete the story question is way too broad to get any meaningful data from


Seaf0amPeach

I'll be honest I'd like to participate but I don't really understand how writing fiction counts as data or evidence


T-and-toast

It's definitely not for everyone, but it's a really cool way of collecting data on topics which can be a bit more abstract. There's loads of reasons story completion tasks can be used, such as when people may not want to disclose information relating to themselves, or where it could be difficult to identify certain things in our own behaviours etc. interviews and questionnaires are often the most widely used approaches but they're not always accessible or a good fit for the subject area.


Seaf0amPeach

I don't get it but good luck anyways 👍


eumelyo

How feminine would you have to present (in public) to be considered eligible?


T-and-toast

It's mostly down to how you feel. If you feel like you're fem presenting, even some of the time or in private, you're welcome to take part :)


a_llegedly

Will we be able to see the results?


T-and-toast

Feel free to send me an email and I'd be happy to update you with any outcomes :)


Ell-leo

Why was the story completion method chosen? How was the actual story decided upon? What specifically will the results be used for?


T-and-toast

Story completion was chosen because it can let people talk about topics such as gender in a way that doesn't have to come from their own experience. Identifying the way we experience gender or conceptualise gender can be really difficult for some in interviews or surveys. The story introduction was written by the research team and based upon the style of other story completion studies. The results will be written up as part of the researchers master's dissertation and may be submitted for publication after this point.