Ask HN: Academic study on AI's impact on software development – want to join?

by research2026 16 comments 31 points
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16 comments

[−] nearting 45d ago
I see from other comments that you have IRB approval for this study, but you really should include the IRB protocol identified and/or contact information of the PI here, especially if you've created a separate account just to post this recruitment material.

While it is possible to ask questions about the study here (as others have done), there's actually no way for me to know anything about the study approval except to email this thread link to NYU's IRB and have them figure out what protocol it corresponds to. And so far, the response has just been "Yes, we have approval, just trust us and send us your contact info."

Assuming that it's possible for non-researchers to use Qualtrics at NYU, there's really no way for me to determine if this is a real research study or someone whose account has been compromised and is running a data harvesting operation. I also don't even know what department this study is associated with (computer science, business, sociology, etc), which I suspect would influence people's interest in participating.

In any case, I'd recommend providing some more information up front, even if your IRB didn't require it.

[−] research2026 44d ago
Totally valid question. We need to adhere, however, to the permission we received to post our study on a public forum. PI contact information is included in the Informed Consent document along with other information to help potential participants decide if they consent to participate in the study.
[−] idrissbellil 45d ago
Will you in exchange publish the results/dataset for free?
[−] research2026 45d ago
Happy to share the final peer-reviewed publication with research participants.
[−] qsera 40d ago
Why not for everyone?
[−] Hasg1 45d ago
How would this self-selecting study be representative? It will be swarmed by paid AI shills.

The anti-AI people are already weary by having to contradict the $trillion industry, so they might skip this particular battlefield.

[−] research2026 45d ago
HN is only one of our recruitment channels. We are definitely aiming for a balance of perspectives.
[−] roguechimpanzee 45d ago
do I get a starbucks giftcard or anything?
[−] grossiweb 45d ago
Thank you just completed the form
[−] 0xchamin 45d ago
done. good luck!
[−] Remi_Etien 45d ago
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[−] weiyong1024 45d ago
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[−] gbibas 44d ago
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