It's All About the Design

If you've heard about the new LGBTQ parenting study that many homophobics are jubilant about, treat what you hear with a pinch of salt.  When I studied for my Bachelor of Science Psychology degree in the UK, one of the very first things we were taught was that the design of a study can easily influence its results---only with a good, strong, tested design can we be sure that we are testing what we claim to be testing.  (e.g. Many gay parents may have less social and familial support that heterosexual parents---so what if this is the cause of the study's results?  Easy to assume the parents are at fault, when actually, it's probably society's homophobia).  But the biggest problem with biased studies is when they are carried out by a non-neutral source.  You can find out anything you darn well please if you ignore the rules for designing a study that tests exactly what it claims to be testing.

So yes, do read more here---a super blog post at Media Matters by Carlos Maza.