"Hi kdt26417. We apologize that you had some technical difficulties."
There have already been so many invitations to participate in studies here over the years, that I think this may be one of the first places researchers come to look for participants. Do a tag search here for "research," "survey," or "studies" to find the others.sheesh, everyone, word will get out that this would be a good place to do pilot studies because the feedback is so thorough.
Well, I just figured those kinds of questions were intended for the asexual component of their research, to get a sense of how asexuals view sexual acts.The question about masturbation made me LOL. Anybody else?
"Sometimes, people touch their private parts to get a good feeling..."
REALLY?? Man I'm gonna try this shit now...
I bet the researchers might think I made my number up because it's so high. But it truly would be impossible for me to count. It's a good thing it didn't ask us to remember all their names, LOL.And you cannot possibly expect a slut like me to know how many people I've held hands with or kissed or groped in my lifetime...? lol
The question about masturbation made me LOL. Anybody else?
"Sometimes, people touch their private parts to get a good feeling..."
REALLY?? Man I'm gonna try this shit now...
(Sorry. I can't help it. It was funny. )
The primary thing was hard for me, too. I tend to view each person that I'm in a relationship with, as being equally significant to me. And I'm solo-poly-ish, basically I don't have a partner that I live with or would be willing to live with. My group involves a married couple (both partners of mine) as well as three individuals (including me) who all live alone and separate.
Also, researcher people, if you refine this survey later, you might want to make it more clear where it asks how many partners are involved in your relationship/s...at minimum saying "including you" or "not counting yourself" would help...but you're still going to give the Relationship Anarchists fits with this question. And you cannot possibly expect a slut like me to know how many people I've held hands with or kissed or groped in my lifetime...? lol
Anyhow I did my best, ya'll have fun with your project thing.
I am curious. If the main focus of the research is asexuality, why the framework of polyamorous arrangements?This is both my and my co-researcher's first time studying asexuality . . .
I am curious. If the main focus of the research is asexuality, why the framework of polyamorous arrangements?
You might want to just clarify this at some point in the study. Something like "If you have multiple sexual and/or romantic relationships, please choose one of them, and answer any further questions with regards to that one partner."Our intentions weren't to make participants choose one partner that was in some way superior, but just to make them choose just one partner to talk about. So as long as you did that, you did it right.
How important was the asexual aspect of the survey? One of my partners is asexual, but he is not the partner I have been with the longest, so most of the questions I answered did not relate to him. I also don't believe it asked about his other partners (although I took the survey a while ago and could be remembering wrong).
If the survey was meant to pay particular attention to asexual people, asking to prioritize an asexual partner for the follow-up questions if there is one could have been helpful.
You might want to just clarify this at some point in the study. Something like "If you have multiple sexual and/or romantic relationships, please choose one of them, and answer any further questions with regards to that one partner."
The concern I had when trying to fill in the study:
I am monogamous (in behaviour and at this point at least). I have one partner. So the right answer to "How would you describe your relationship?" for me, from the choises, seems to be " Dating exclusively- Dating one person". However, that puts me in the cathegory of monogamous relationship. The only other option I am left with is "Dating non-exclusively- Dating more than one person", but that is simply not true at this point of time.
My partner is polyamorous and he has a live-in partner. So I am secondary, if you want. His partner is not my partner. There is not a question to find that out.
My point is you don't have a question to differentiate between
- monogamous both-sides closed relationships
- poly-mono relationships from the mono viewpoint
- pure poly/open relationships from the viewpoint of someone, who currently has only one partner
(- other more subtle options like primary/secondary position in the relationship)
Is this not important to the study?
It would seem important, because later you have questions directed on jealousy.
I have one partner, he is not 'primary', he's just the only one I have. He has two partners. I think the other one is primary, he would say we both were. His other partner also has a partner whom she is in love with, and who has multiple sex partners but would say he has no primary. So... How many people are in this relationship? No idea.
But I took the survey and did my best.
Hi A2Poly, the way our survey is set up, you would be monogamous, since you only have one partner. Answering that you were non-monogamous would lead to questions pertaining to having more than one partner, which you do not.
Like I said, I did my best. Im just saying I wasn't trilled being labelled 'mono' when that's the last thing I am, even if I happen to only have one partner right now, and often have had none for long periods of time.
I can definitely understand your frustration there. I don't know if there's much consensus on whether monogamy describes a person, or a relationship, or even if it's a general relationship preference and the label persists regardless of your current situation (kind of like a gay person is still gay even when they're single). But anyway, as far as our study, you would be unable to answer questions about having more than one partner, making you monogamous for our purposes. But obviously in other situations, your relationship would definitely be non-monogamous as it involves more than 2 people.