University of Lincoln questionnaire accused of using hate speech towards autistic people

The survey has since been taken down and the university has apologised


A new University of Lincoln qualtrics questionnaire is being accused of being ableist and using hate speech towards autistic people.

The study looked at how people with Autism Spectrum were treated within the Criminal Justice system. It aimed to “investigate if Criminal Justice Professionals change their practice after training regarding Autism Spectrum Disorder” in the hope the findings will benefit people with Autism.

Questions within the study were intended to gauge the level of prejudice for people with ASD before and after training. The University of Lincoln gave ethical approval on the  questionnaire, with the study titled “Investigating if Autism Spectrum Disorder training changes the practice of professionals working within the Criminal Justice System.”

The questions were presented on a likert scale (1= strongly disagree 4= strongly agree), with questions including “people with autism should be institutionalised for their safety and others” and “a person with autism is an emotional burden to his/her family.”

The survey has since been taken down and the university has apologised for any distress caused. The university has said the questions used within the study are from a pre-existing, standardised measure specifically for gauging social attitudes towards autistic people.

However, individuals on Twitter are accusing the questionnaire of using extreme speech and not conducting the research in a more sensitive manner.

The Twitter user who brought light to the the study on the social media platform branded the study “not ethical” and was left feeling “shaken.” Outrage was also due to the fact that there was no trigger warning for the type of content in the study.

Another twitter user commented: “The fact it’s being conducted supposedly trying to *help* autistic people… that takes it to a whole new level of awfulness. These are our allies??” Whilst others said: “This is not the way you go about empirical research – it evidently pushes a bias of discomfort.”

After complaints, a further review was made on the online study and it has now been decided it will not be re-opened. The university has said it regrets not making it clear that the questions are from the standardised measure called the Societal Attitudes Towards Autisms and it acknowledges the study should have had clear content warnings.

A spokesperson for University of Lincoln said: “We would firstly like to apologise for the distress that this has caused yourself and others. The University is committed to upholding the highest standards of research integrity and maintaining the rights and welfare of research participants. We apologise that on this occasion, it has not met those expectations.

“Upon receiving a complaint, a further review of the online study (UoL 2021_4271) was undertaken and it was decided, in consultation with the researchers, that the study be suspended. The researchers have since also decided that the study will not be re-opened and any partial response data that was received (that is when a research participant withdraws from the study without completing all the questions) will not be used.

“We once again sincerely apologise that this has caused you, or anyone, any distress. We appreciate the time you have taken to raise your concerns and working with us to ensure that research at the University of Lincoln is conducted in an appropriate and ethical manner.”

Featured image before edits via Hayden Pollard. 

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