by Norval D. Glenn
Some critics claim that the study on sperm donor conceived offspring is pseudo-science and that studies such as this one support the pre-existing prejudices and assumptions of the authors or the organization financing the work.
This study was done by standard scientific methods accepted in the social sciences. This is the first national study on this topic. Because gathering the data from sperm donor conceived children is difficult, the research used the best survey methods available. The researchers were aware of the limitations on the gathering of data and laid it out in a lucid discussion in the Methodology and Limitations section. The researchers made it clear that this was an initial national study of this group of subjects. This does not make the study pseudo-science.
Steve Nock of the University of Virginia (now deceased) and I were the primary social scientific designers of the study. I had no pre-existing prejudice and I had not made any assumptions when I was asked to work on this project.
The study does not set out to explain all the complex issues involved in the lives of sperm donor children and does not claim to do so. The aim of the study was to report some initial findings in order to bring attention to a subject matter that warrants further investigation.
Norval D. Glenn
Ashbel Smith Professer
Stiles Professor
University of Texas at Austin
June 14, 2010
Categories: My Daddy's Name is Donor
