Hi everybody
I've got an email from a friend managing a research about climbers. His research may lead to solve some social problems that climbers may have with their family and firends about their sense and fear of dangers in mountains.
I answered the questions myself and forwarded it to all my friends. Because we live in Iran, I though his target is just Iranian mountaineering community, but when I saw him and asked about, he said there's no limit and every one may help him. So I thought here may be a good place to gather information. This is the Email I got:

Dear Sir,

My name is Mehrdad Shahlaie, 39 years old, married and has two children. I am interested in mountain climbing, the member of Damavand club, Tehran , Iran . I have ten years experience of mountain and rock climbing.

I am doing a research about the problem of mountain climbers' family. While they are away their family is worried about them. So, I have some questions about this subject and the effect of this to their relations. If you like, please answer them:

1. Is your family aware of the dangers of this field and if the answer is yes, do they try to stop you or persuade you to change your field or …?

2. Did you participate in any training course in your field, if the answer is yes, does your family know about this?

3. What is their opinion about the efficiency of your training course in your security? And if they think it is efficient, to what extent?

4. If your family becomes worried, what will they do? (call friends, police,…)

If you have any suggestions or opinions about this subject, I would be delighted to know. Thanks for your time and attention.

Yours Faithfully,

Mehrdad Shahlaie

If possible please answer his questions and also add some basic social information about yourself such as location, nationality, age, sex, single/married, educations (because I may not to know you).

Thanks a lot

Arash Neghafi

I would not put any personal information on the open pages of summitpost.org. Perhaps you can assist your friend with a better way to gather information.

DMT

Talk to this guy: Stephen Koch

In regard to the risks involved with my passions - alpine, rock, ice
and mixed climbing as well as snowboard mountaineering, as a father
and husband, I say this: to follow my heart, which is to participate
in these activities, and in this instance, to solo the Black Ice
Couloir, brings me closer to my self and to my family.

He seems to have it all figured out....

Dingus Milktoast wrote:I would not put any personal information on the open pages of summitpost.org. Perhaps you can assist your friend with a better way to gather information.

DMT

No need to put your personal info on a public place like here. That's why I accepted the risk of spammers and exposed my email to public. You can email them to me.

For me, most of these questions are irrelevant, they ask about family and training. I took a rock climbing course, as far as that goes, and had some Sierra Club experience. I wouldn't call most of that any training, as mostly they taught the wrong way to do things. As I more diplomatically say, "they showed us how not to do it."

If possible please answer his questions and also add some basic social information about yourself such as location, nationality, age, sex, single/married, educations (because I may not to know you).

Astute Net users will put themselves at risk giving personal information to strangers, it could be a scam or criminals, even, to use that knowledge against you. We all have no idea who this may really be, and for what purposes.

No offense meant, but secure online behavior suggests to ignore this post.

I don't see that he is asking for any more information than I can get from looking at profiles here, or reading a few posts.

Neghafi,

I quickly photoshopped you this image. It should help with keeping the spam out of your mailbox.

this needs to be on a secure website, and i bet a whole load of us would fill it out, and shower the dude with plenty of data.

peladoboton wrote:this needs to be on a secure website, and i bet a whole load of us would fill it out, and shower the dude with plenty of data.

Neghafi,

In two weeks time I might have time to help out with this, if you still need it.

mconnell wrote:I don't see that he is asking for any more information than I can get from looking at profiles here, or reading a few posts.

Exactly right. Google provide more personal information about each one, but none fear about that. But when I ask ... then I'm a devil ...
It's a scientific work. That's all. I wish some one here familiar with social science and tell the others what need in a statistical analysis. I didn't even ask for real names or ID-Cart or bank info. But age is need cause it may affect the behavior and so result...

WouterB wrote:

peladoboton wrote:this needs to be on a secure website, and i bet a whole load of us would fill it out, and shower the dude with plenty of data.

Neghafi,

In two weeks time I might have time to help out with this, if you still need it.

Thanks. You know It's not my job. It's my friend's thesis. I can ask him if he still has time to manage it. (thanks about Photoshop work too )

1000Pks wrote:For me, most of these questions are irrelevant, they ask about family and training. I took a rock climbing course, as far as that goes, and had some Sierra Club experience. I wouldn't call most of that any training, as mostly they taught the wrong way to do things. As I more diplomatically say, "they showed us how not to do it."

If possible please answer his questions and also add some basic social information about yourself such as location, nationality, age, sex, single/married, educations (because I may not to know you).

Astute Net users will put themselves at risk giving personal information to strangers, it could be a scam or criminals, even, to use that knowledge against you. We all have no idea who this may really be, and for what purposes.

No offense meant, but secure online behavior suggests to ignore this post.

I myself have nothing to hide. I don't know about you, but I can not understand if you don't like it or you can not trust on it in anyway, then why wasting your time to write such a long answer?
I live in Iran, a 3rd word country. I don't know where you live but I'm sure you are NOT Iranian. So how could possible about strange scenario you wrote?! Have you ever participate in a DEMOGRAPHY? Any way, You and none else forced to answered but I thanked whom may help the science to go forward.

A scientific poll or survey requires a random or representative sampling. Asking here in this fashion is none of that. Any responses would be like a TV, website, or newspaper poll, maybe with voting or answering many times by the same person. And then excluding answers or replies from most people, by its nature, who might normally be happy to help. You may wish to inquire with professional pollsters who do not work like this. There, you are selected at random and the responses judged accordingly.

Basic college training tells you this. Myself, I make the basic assumption here that many or all posters are not what they seem. I do not take SummitPost too seriously. As many or most will say, this is the Internet!

1000Pks wrote:A scientific poll or survey requires a random or representative sampling. Asking here in this fashion is none of that. Any responses would be like a TV, website, or newspaper poll, maybe with voting or answering many times by the same person. And then excluding answers or replies from most people, by its nature, who might normally be happy to help. You may wish to inquire with professional pollsters who do not work like this. There, you are selected at random and the responses judged accordingly.

Basic college training tells you this. Myself, I make the basic assumption here that many or all posters are not what they seem. I do not take SummitPost too seriously. As many or most will say, this is the Internet!

Yes Sampleing is an important part in which to ensure that the sample is an indication of community, but in practice it's common to distribute question paper between people and hope for a reply. I don't think such an issue make someone to try to answer more than ONE time. There is no cause. please don't forget It's not a (Yes/NO) question and result is pretty hidden to everybody now. I'm familiar with practical surveying due to my job (Traffic man) and I know the accuracy is required for such a thesis. I believe it has not major affects and beside this you see how somebody opposed and such ...
Such issues are his practical limitations.

There are people who will answer 100+ times. Locally, unscientific polls are an op to advance one's own agenda or the will of some group. I have seen a printed enviro group urging to vote, and as many times as possible, for showing the popularity for some issue.

Nationally, we have had close elections in which the will of the majority was defeated. Although for the President, this is due to the electoral college system, or what, I have had one poorly aware associate mention that although more people voted one way, the opposing side won the election.

We have polls whereby one side is shown as winning, then when it came to the actual election, they lost by a big margin. People lie to pollsters. And in significant numbers.

Mountaineering is a dangerous sport, depending on how you do it, and I detect the concern about doing it, with a family. You might seek various spectrums of the posters here to inform or advise on how they go about it, but I'll tell you by what I see and read, most people feel pretty safe to go out and climb a mountain.

It seems like many posters have no family, and locally, the enviro group here is a singles club. The typical SPer is a younger male with a passion for climbing, although this is by profiles that might well be fictitious.

That few or none are replying to this post may show that this, not being scientific or valid methodology, it's then a waste of everybody's time. I'd have thrown in my 2 cents but for the high disinterest and that I do not know who this may really be!