The Regnerus Audit

[Valin]

NRO/The Corner:

Robert VerBruggen

August 3, 2012

 

 

I previously wrote about the frivolous ethics complaint against Mark Regnerus, the author of the recent study on gay parenting. Now, the journal that published the study, Social Science Research, has conducted an internal audit. The audit will be published officially in the journal’s November issue, but it’s already made its way into the hands of numerous journalists, including yours truly. I have also read an accompanying essay by the journal’s editor, James Wright.

 

The audit is not nearly as critical — or revelatory — as Regnerus’s opponents seem to think. It merely bolsters the basic conclusion that every fair-minded observer came to long ago: Regnerus’s research certainly has its flaws, but so do the other studies on this topic.

 

The audit’s main purpose is to evaluate the publication process — the auditor was given access to all the correspondence relating to the study. Of course, the underlying issue is whether the Regnerus study is so unsound that it should not have been published.

 

 

(Snip)