The controversial UT study about gay parenting that many LGBT groups have labeled as flawed has been referred to a publication ethics committee.
The study was published in the science journal Social Science Research in early June. The publisher of the journal, Elsevier, received a complaint from a person, who also emailed Instant Tea this week, stating “that Regnerus’s study does not make a valid comparison and therefore is not sociologically valid.” The study will be investigated by the Committee on Publication Ethics.
In addition, the University of Texas will look into the study to determine whether it lacked scientific integrity. However, it is not a formal investigation, but an inquiry to determine if an investigation should follow, Director of Public Affairs David Ochsner told Instant Tea.
Ochsner said the university “received an allegation of scientific misconduct.”
“It is our policy that any time a formal allegation of scientific misconduct is made, a process of inquiry is begun within the Office of the Vice President for Research,” he said. “An ‘inquiry’ is a preliminary fact-finding exercise to determine if there is a basis for an investigation. An inquiry in itself is only an acknowledgement that a formal allegation has been made and is not evidence of wrongdoing.”
Mark Regnerus of UT’s department of sociology and the Population Research Center conducted the study. Regnerus examined children living in stable, two-parent heterosexual households for his control group and analyzed a mixture of children raised by gays and lesbians, including those who had a parent in a same-sex relationship but didn’t live with that parent.
The Witherspoon Institute and the Bradley Foundation funded the study. Both are known for their support of conservative causes. The Witherspoon Institute has ties to the Family Research Council, the National Organization for Marriage and ultra-conservative Catholic groups like Opus Dei.
