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SURVEY idea, seeking your input! (Please respond!)


ianfaircloud

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I think you're right on the money. I was out of state and didn't have access to a good computer. Now I take it people are simply moving on. I mean, most of the excitement regarding notifications is behind us.

 

 

How many people have access to that? I'm curious whether others do. I've not even heard of such a thing! Maybe that's a strike against including it?

 

 

I wish we could take into account every single thing -- including things like junior-senior GPA -- but I think the survey could become too long. One thing that has contributed to the success of the law school surveys is that they are pretty simple. I can easily read that the median GPA for those admitted to Department X is Y and that the median LSAT for that department is Z, etc. I guess we could have a comments area or something. Is that what you're suggesting? But when we figure the median score of someone admitted to X, of course we won't be able to use the comments for that part of it.

 

I think not every relevant detail can be included in the survey. Some details that are sort of glossed over (and this is the nature of surveys like these) include things like, "Did the person's GPA improve over time?" "Was it just one class that ruined someone's GPA, or was it a pattern of poor performance?" Etc.

 

I guess I hope my comment here comes off as, Yes, I think you're absolutely right that this stuff is relevant. But I don't want to make this so complicated and lengthy that people don't fill out the survey. And I want data that can be manipulated, compared, etc. I'm not sure what to do about the comments piece. Every applicant is more than a number, right? But I think we want to analyze the raw quantifiable data, too...

Yes, I meant something like adding a comments section for people to clarify anything that might be somewhat non-standard.  I completely agree that those comments couldn't be factored into any kind of data analysis without the survey becoming long and less helpful.  Is the plan to provide individual profiles (the "raw" data) in addition to the aggregated data?  I hope so.  I think the individual profiles would be at least as, if not more, informative than the aggregated data.  If the plan is to include the individual profiles as well, then that's where I think my suggestions would fit in.  It gives a more complete picture of admitted applicants.  

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Yes, I meant something like adding a comments section for people to clarify anything that might be somewhat non-standard.  I completely agree that those comments couldn't be factored into any kind of data analysis without the survey becoming long and less helpful.  Is the plan to provide individual profiles (the "raw" data) in addition to the aggregated data?  I hope so.  I think the individual profiles would be at least as, if not more, informative than the aggregated data.  If the plan is to include the individual profiles as well, then that's where I think my suggestions would fit in.  It gives a more complete picture of admitted applicants.  

 

Sounds like we're on the same page.

 

And yes, all of the relevant data will be public, including the raw data of individual responses. I don't want to serve as a gatekeeper of information, which would set a bad precedent and would undermine the credibility of our findings.

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Sounds like we're on the same page.

 

And yes, all of the relevant data will be public, including the raw data of individual responses. I don't want to serve as a gatekeeper of information, which would set a bad precedent and would undermine the credibility of our findings.

 

Eek...then I won't be able to participate unfortunately. I could make a fake account and post some limited information, I guess.

Edited by TheVineyard
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Eek...then I won't be able to participate unfortunately. I could make a fake account and post some limited information, I guess.

 

Vineyard, the survey will be anonymous!!!! No one is asked any personally identifiable information. It will work exactly the same way as lawschoolnumbers and other law school admission sites. The surveys are completely anonymous.

 

I just want to make sure you (and everyone else) understands that!!

Edited by ianfaircloud
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It's not too hard on the analytic side (can't speak for continentals). The rules are basically this:

 

1. Publishing in a general journal only really counts if it's in the top 20: http://leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2012/04/the-top-20-general-philosophy-journals.html.

 

2. Publishing in a specialist journal only counts if its in the top 3 journals in that area (roughly), see this for an example: http://peasoup.typepad.com/peasoup/2005/10/ethics_journals.html .

 

Just out of curiosity: is it a common practice between American undergraduates to publish at top journals?

Edited by reixis
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Just out of curiosity: is it a common practice between American undergraduates to publish at top journals?

As Zizeksucks points out, no. I only know of a single case of someone publishing as an undergraduate - Dave Ripley, and that was co-written with his professor. Also Dave is crazy smart and has more publications already than his PhD advisor with only 3 years out of grad school..so don't take him as an average guy.

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Hey folks! Just an update. The survey is taking forever, but I want to do it right the first time. I really, really, really hope we can encourage a lot of people to participate. The more data, the better.

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I think this would be fantastic. I'm especially interested to see the data on minority/women applicants vs the white male majority. The only factors that I think would be unhelpful to the quiz are method of notification and date of notification. The rest are all the right kinds of questions to be able to put together a "profile" of a successful applicant, and maybe give future applicants a better idea of where they should aim (or at least, where applicants like them have ended up).

 

 

I think many applicants would be less likely to share this information: 1) For the very reason that some of you have previously put forth...that it is potentially highly identifying and 2) because it might be used to subtly undermine the "legitimacy" of their acceptance.

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