![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by medlib on October 28, 2001, at 2:23:02
Dr. Bob--
I found your new registration process considerably more trouble than consenting to major surgery and slightly less time-consuming than buying a new house. If your goal (beyond legal CYA) was to limit Babble participation to those with above-average patience, persistence and commitment-to-contributing, I'd say that you're right on target. That's certainly a legitimate aim; smaller definitely is a different experience.
However, had I had to deal with this obstacle course 2 years ago, I wouldn't have been one of the participants. I'd have "bailed" before I even *got* to the quiz--too many steps for something I wasn't sure I could, or wanted, to do in the first place.
My concern is that this quiz may be a "straw that breaks" for too many potential participants. Of course, *any* quiz may have that effect. But this one has an academic-qualifying flavor that, if you find it difficult, is inhibiting--and, if you don't, is just very annoying. (Either way, the tempting response is, "Forget this!") What it *isn't*, is either educational or supportive.
If some sort of quiz is a research sine qua non, a more user-friendly one would (IMHO) feature no more than 5 Qs, reiterate important points in some of the Qs, be mostly fill-in-the-blank, supply or approve answers Q by Q, and end with a consent option. The focus of this feature would then shift from proving competence to reinforcing information, but I think that the comprehension end point wouldn't be much different.
I hope that this is "much ado about nothing." A counter on the first registration page to compare "hits" against registrations might be interesting, tho.
medlib
Posted by akc on October 28, 2001, at 8:57:57
In reply to PB Registration: A Case of Inquisition Overload?, posted by medlib on October 28, 2001, at 2:23:02
Dr. Bob,
Medlib said this much better than what I was attempting above. So I say ditto to medlib's points. I'll reiterate -- this quiz thing is very off-putting.
akc
> Dr. Bob--
>
> I found your new registration process considerably more trouble than consenting to major surgery and slightly less time-consuming than buying a new house. If your goal (beyond legal CYA) was to limit Babble participation to those with above-average patience, persistence and commitment-to-contributing, I'd say that you're right on target. That's certainly a legitimate aim; smaller definitely is a different experience.
>
> However, had I had to deal with this obstacle course 2 years ago, I wouldn't have been one of the participants. I'd have "bailed" before I even *got* to the quiz--too many steps for something I wasn't sure I could, or wanted, to do in the first place.
>
> My concern is that this quiz may be a "straw that breaks" for too many potential participants. Of course, *any* quiz may have that effect. But this one has an academic-qualifying flavor that, if you find it difficult, is inhibiting--and, if you don't, is just very annoying. (Either way, the tempting response is, "Forget this!") What it *isn't*, is either educational or supportive.
>
> If some sort of quiz is a research sine qua non, a more user-friendly one would (IMHO) feature no more than 5 Qs, reiterate important points in some of the Qs, be mostly fill-in-the-blank, supply or approve answers Q by Q, and end with a consent option. The focus of this feature would then shift from proving competence to reinforcing information, but I think that the comprehension end point wouldn't be much different.
>
> I hope that this is "much ado about nothing." A counter on the first registration page to compare "hits" against registrations might be interesting, tho.
>
> medlib
>
>
Posted by mair on October 28, 2001, at 11:51:58
In reply to PB Registration: A Case of Inquisition Overload?, posted by medlib on October 28, 2001, at 2:23:02
>Bob - I guess this is what I , too, was trying to say above. I think you can direct people to the important points and make them give more specific (and thus more informed) consent without the intimidation of the quiz format.
Mair
Posted by Dr. Bob on October 28, 2001, at 13:56:46
In reply to Re: PB Registration: A Case of Inquisition Overload?, posted by mair on October 28, 2001, at 11:51:58
> Bob - I guess this is what I , too, was trying to say above...
Thanks for all your comments. To try to keep things together, I responded above:
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20010718/msgs/2241.html
And maybe further discussion about this could take place up there, too? Thanks,
Bob
Posted by Mark H. on November 2, 2001, at 0:56:23
In reply to PB Registration: A Case of Inquisition Overload?, posted by medlib on October 28, 2001, at 2:23:02
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Administration | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.