Hey, I read it in the papers – Paul Cameron extends his methods

Reading obituaries probably gets boring and maybe a little morbid, so it is understandable that the Paul Cameron research machine has branched out and included tragic news articles as data collection.

In his spanking new venture, the Empirical Journal of Same Sex Sexual Behavior, Cameron has released a “study” called, Teacher-Pupil Sex Across the World: How Much Is Homosexual? Apparently, the only article in the journal so far, the article’s abstract says:

In news stories in English across the world for 1980-2006, 902 teachers engaged in sex with 3,457 pupils. Teachers engaging in same-sex sex constituted 63% of perpetrators in Ireland, 62% in New Zealand, 60% in Canada, 54% in Scotland, 48% in Australia, 47% in England, and 35% in the U.S.; in smaller samples, homosexuals accounted for 71% of perpetrators in mainland Europe, 26% in Africa, and 13% in Asia. Proportionately more same-sex sexual activity with pupils occurred in the West as compared to Asia and Africa. Most (54% of 810 male, 83% of 92 female) teachers violated only opposite sex pupils; 43% of perpetrators engaged in homosexuality; and 55% of victims were boys. Findings for each country or set of countries were consistent with U.S. studies based on superintendent report, principal report, self-report, and convictions indicating that a male homosexual is the most and a female heterosexual the least apt to have sex with pupils.

Cameron begins the article noting the prevalence of sexual molestations in educational settings and then basically documents the fatal flaw in his paper:

Even though teacher/pupil sexual events are fairly common, an instance of teacher/pupil has to run a veritable gauntlet before it becomes public knowledge. Educational systems try vigorously to assure that teacher molestations are not brought to light. So such an event is likely to be suppressed. (p. 2)

Anyone familiar with schools and teacher behavior knows that these events are frequently covered up with many never getting to trial and thus are not captured by newspapers. Who knows how many actual events occur? Who knows how many of the same-sex perpetrators are married with kids? Not to mention that same sex perpetrations might actually be more likely to be reported and made public. And yet, Cameron considers news reports a source of data adequate enough to include in his inaugural issue. So since he demolished any credibility the study could have, there is no point in going any further, right? Of course, he does, and we get statistics that may end up in a news release somewhere.

Rather than me taking time to predict the next study that will emerge from the headlines, let me turn it over to my readers. What else might we learn from newspapers, folks?

Cameron’s news release on this study is here.

11 thoughts on “Hey, I read it in the papers – Paul Cameron extends his methods”

  1. Let’s take a look at CNN and or MSNBC and FOX News – all of which have heavily reported on the recent sexual crimes of female teachers with male students. To take this as evidence that that is the only sexual crime being committed by pedophiles is similar to newspaper articles only reporting on same sex pedophiles. Where are the other pedophiles?? Hiding right under our noses as usual.

  2. Nemario,

    Is your need to believe in the findings of this study so great that you can’t see its methods are awful?

  3. Nemario – Please supply us with references to studies done using newspaper clippings as samples — not done by Cameron.

    What adoption post are you referring to? I think you might be thinking of another blog.

  4. It seems that you’re more interested in dismissing the research with sarcasm than discussing its merits vs. its variables. This is not the first study to collect data using newspapers. In fact many studies do. I saw that you recently invoked on a Christian web log the phrase “bearing false witness” when calling on people to shun this research, but what you’re doing is hardly Christian yourself. For a Christian psychologist, what you’re doing isn’t any different than your liberal counterparts. Support what you like and bash and discredit what you don’t like like a bunch of grown up children who can’t handle something.

    ..and by the way, you posted a few posts before this about an adoption center that refused to look into a complaint of abuse from a child with two gay adoptive parents, because they were afraid it would be seen as discrimination. So much for “Not to mention that same sex perpetrations might actually be more likely to be reported and made public.” Discuss the data and variables as they are and quit the sarcasm and typical scientific bashing.

  5. It seems a nonsensical thing to criticize the source of the data used to study a phenomenon which has no universally accepted scientific definition. With no definition for “homosexuality” no one really knows what is being studied. To call it “same sex ” sex won’t satisfy most “gays”.

  6. You know – a person can always start several publications of their own – print whatever they want and use that as bona fide fact.

    Cameron went a step further. He started an online only “journal.” Most people would call that a “web site.”

  7. I’ve gotten into this ‘sidebar’ habit now when I visit I site. So, I took a gander at their review board. (Rather than retype them, it’s SO easy to follow the link to the article and then click the sidebar.) You can all rest easy though because they actually have an examiner of statistics. Kirk Cameron. …I was thinking I should drop him a line…tell him how much I enjoyed him in “Growing Pains”…

    I followed the other sidebar link and discovered way down the page that ‘A number of our editors and reviewers are anonymous because they fear for their careers’. This will make David’s challenge of searching the reviewers a bit more daunting. I wager we’ll find a few members of the Unification Church in the mix.

    BTW: by being so flip in the last paragraph, I may have minimized the importance of reading the ‘About EJSSB’ link in their sidebar. It’s not pretty–and I don’t know where to begin…

  8. URGH.

    This is peer reviewed?!?!

    Anybody want to do a search on his fellow reviewers?

  9. You know – a person can always start several publications of their own – print whatever they want and use that as bona fide fact. Yeah – I would not regard the newspaper as the ultimate record keeper on any issue. Whatever happened to getting primary data – don’t researchers and socialist do that anymore??

  10. According to news statistics, 100% of all suspected homosexual Idahoan US Senators have anonymous sex in airport bathrooms.

  11. Another factor to add to the mix is how vigorously the police would pursue same-sex vs. opposite sex cases (thus increasing the chances of them making the newspapers.)

    One would think newspapers would have the best understanding of the flaws of such a study. However, now it seems controversy far outweighs facts when it comes to publishing these days. 🙁

Comments are closed.