Does anyone know who is conducting this survey? I started filling it out and then stopped because I am concerned about how this survey will be used. Questions ask about party affiliation, my voter participation, whether I think Newton is on the right track or not. Maybe this is a Mayoral poll? https://www.research.net/r/B3DHGX9
Geesh. I think the only question they forgot to ask is if I like chunky or smooth peanut butter.
P.S. I scanned it but didn’t complete it either.
Amy, How did your receive it? Email? I wouldn’t fill it out either as their is no indication who is requesting this information. http://www.research.net take you to SurveyMonkey. Very sketchy
Just tried the link again and I got this
“This survey is currently closed. Please contact the author of this survey for further assistance”
Oh no. I hope I didn’t inadvertently kill the survey. I just wanted to know who was doing it.
Yup….seemed sketch. Think I stumbled upon it on FB.
Just saw this on my Facebook page with header: “new survey for Newton” but survey is now closed.
I saw an ad for it on FB and I made it to the end of the survey and then it demanded my email and full name. It wasn’t optional and I found that weird.
I also tried the link and got the same message.
“This survey is currently closed. Please contact the author of this survey for further assistance.”
Could it be another example of Russian Interference?
I saw it but ignored it. Lately, most surveys associated with
Newton are a waste of time to complete. The results are seldom used effectively.
It is a HOAX. I notified Facebook and the companies whose search engines I use, including google, duck duck goose and others. Also posted it on reddit.
Any survey listed for specific reasons, like Newton Politics, found on Facebook should first be considered to be waving a red flag. Before doing anything with the survey, search the inter-webs to see if it’s legit. If the survey either doesn’t show up at all or does but with no info, leave it alone.
Several days ago, a friend started filling it out and thought it might be fun to fill it out together. First I looked on Facebook because that’s where my friend saw it – couldn’t find it. I searched and it wasn’t in my 28000 emails. My friend sent me the survey on Facebook. Didn’t like the look of it and told my friend to stop for now.
When I clicked on the sponsor, it only said research.net with a few identifiers. Never a good thing. The survey said it was about politics in Newton. A clever way to attract most of us on V14. Unfortunately when my friend said I should post a warning on V14, I didn’t think it was necessary.
It could just be a way of to spread a virus or something more nefarious.
I researched research.net with companies whose browsers I use. They knew it existed in theory but were not given any identifying info to describe in their blurbs on searches. So they just list it on direct searches with disclaimers.
I haven’t been able to find out exactly who/what is behind it, what their purpose is for the info garnered or what they intend to do with the results.
Perhaps someone on V14 who knows more about digging up info could find something more.
I would still like to know out who is behind research.net, who contracted with them to do the survey, who will benefit from the survey respondents answers and what they intend to do with the info garnered. Was this survey sent to residents of other cities?
On the Facebook ad, it said it was sponsored by a group called “Massachusetts Citizens.” It mostly asked what you thought about development in Newton, Korff, and the Mayor. It seemed professionally done.
Research.net is owned by https://markmonitor.com/
A brand evaluator.
I guess if someone hired a branding evaluator and is asking about Korff and the mayor, I can leave you to you’re own conclusions who paid for it since these surveys aren’t cheap.
Sarah,
Facebook ads, no matter who it says sponsored them, should be suspect at the least. Unless you can find out conclusive evidence that it’s from a reliable source. Facebook ads are notoriously corrupted.
Being professionally done is another warning sign unless you know for certain who is behind it. Did you know that this group “Massachusetts Citizens” is legit?
Any survey asking for personal information or opinions about Newton Politics, Development or anything specific to Newton will be easy to find elsewhere. Even if it was done behind the scenes for various justifiable reasons, it should be pretty easily found elsewhere.
Thanks Rick! I knew someone more up-to-date on finding who is behind things than I would know who was actually sponsoring the ad and survey.
So the survey was done for Mark, Inc. disguised as being from a citizen’s group. That’s actually good news. I don’t like the methods used to deceive but it could have been much worse.
I guess Korf was evaluating what a wider cross section of Newton thinks about his developments. Instead of just the usual suspects – those living on and around Washington Street. Not a bad idea but I’m not sure using an anonymous Facebook ad was the best way to go.
So what is this group, “Massachusetts Citizens?”
Actually Rick, I’m not sure if you are correct. I went to FB and looked up Massachusetts Citizens. I got this: https://www.research-cr.com/massachusettscitizens?fbclid=IwAR1dlS9EvVNZkiMqpu-hB3aIp8A8AhWVoOUyI_9AfJAdCboNrwGPhT3TVSM
“Massachusetts Citizens is an arm of of Montana Research. We conduct polls online to measure public opinion.”
If you click on the link for Mark Monitor that Rick listed above, it is a branding company and not affiliated with Mark Development.
Montana Research also has this Privacy Notice:
Privacy Notice
If you respond to our surveys, we may collect personally identifiable information that you provide to us voluntarily, such as your name and email. We may also collect demographic information, such as your age, gender, household income, political affiliation and race. We may combine this information with information we receive from third-party sources, such as voter registration services or public sources.
We use the information collected to perform statistical, demographic or marketing analysis and to conduct research to better understand population opinions and interests.
We share this information in the aggregate or individual form with third party partners, including political candidates and non-profits, for political campaign purposes.
If you have any questions about the processing of your personal information, please email us at [email protected]
The company behind this appears to be https://www.changeresearch.com/about-us
They cover their tracks pretty well, but not well enough…
Who knows who hired them.
I did a whois lookup and got the following results:
Registrar
MarkMonitor Inc.
Name Server
ASIA3.AKAM.NET
Name Server
NS1-33.AKAM.NET
Name Server
NS1-4.AKAM.NET
Name Server
USC2.AKAM.NET
Name Server
USE1.AKAM.NET
Name Server
USW1.AKAM.NET
Name Server
USW2.AKAM.NET
Name Server
USW6.AKAM.NET
Name
Value
Domain Name
RESEARCH.NET
Registry Domain ID
2829939_DOMAIN_NET-VRSN
Registrar WHOIS Server
whois.markmonitor.com
Registrar URL
http://www.markmonitor.com
Updated Date
2019-01-29T23:49:48Z
Creation Date
1995-09-14T04:00:00Z
Registry Expiry Date
2020-02-03T20:56:51Z
Registrar
MarkMonitor Inc.
research-cr.com is different than research.net.
Whois on research-cr.com fails because the owner name is hidden.
Started seeing these ads again. And we’re not alone!
https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/politics/elections/2018/10/09/tennessee-lawmaker-anonymous-facebook-survey-struggles-getting-state-help-politics/1564543002/
I saw a Facebook ad today for a similar survey (ad by Facebook user “Massachusetts Citizens” announcing “a new survey for Newton”; hosted by research.net, which turns into research-cr.com).
This survey does not mention Korff. It’s focused on the Northland project and seems to be testing various talking points that would support a pro-Northland or anti-Northland vote on the referendum, which it says will likely be on March 3. At first glance, the survey looks even-handed, but it offers pro-Northland talking pointsthat are significantly longer and more numerous than its anti-Northland talking points. At the end of the survey, it asks for first name, last name, and email address “to match responses to information in public records.” *If* a lot of people completed this survey, it would yield a rather comprehensive political database.
From Google:
Home | Research CRhttps://www.research-cr.com
We provide the most accurate measure of public opinion across the country. Data Analytics. Survey Design. Montana Research conducts polls online
Missing: gr3@ | Must include: gr3@
Checked website–looks like they may be planning to use your personal info you put in response to questions, to inform candidates for elections, and for non-profit corps. Sorry–not the kind of research that I think would be safe or desirable to respond to. I get enough emails already.