# Research Methodology (RE: Real World Scalability and Ruby -

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/research-methodology-re-real-world-scalability-and-ruby/68246>\
**Category:** Ruby\
**Created:** [September 11, 2006, 4:44am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/research-methodology-re-real-world-scalability-and-ruby/68246 "2006-09-11T04:44:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![bodikp](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@bodikp](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/bodikp)\
**Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 4:44am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/research-methodology-re-real-world-scalability-and-ruby/68246/1 "2006-09-11T04:44:05Z")

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Actually Joseph used one of the soundest research methods I know of. He  
published an obviously flawed “Strawman”, didn’t pretend it was anything  
it  
wasn’t, and the wisdom of the group began fixing errors and filling in  
blanks. So, just like “Nail Soup”, a basic seed is evolving into a  
matrix  
that has more information than any single one of us could contribute.

Thanks for taking the initiative,

Peter.

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**Author:** ![bodikp](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@bodikp](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/bodikp)\
**Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 4:50am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/research-methodology-re-real-world-scalability-and-ruby/68246/2 "2006-09-11T04:50:06Z")

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On 9/10/06, Peter B. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote:

> Actually Joseph used one of the soundest research methods I know of. He  
> published an obviously flawed “Strawman”, didn’t pretend it was anything it  
> wasn’t, and the wisdom of the group began fixing errors and filling in  
> blanks. So, just like “Nail Soup”, a basic seed is evolving into a matrix  
> that has more information than any single one of us could contribute.

Except that he drew conclusions from complete guesses, which were  
obviously slanted in particular directions. For all the guesses, it  
would have been just as safe to guess “Java” or “J2EE” or even “Ruby”  
but there wasn’t a single such guess. That shows the research was  
being conducted to prove a point…not very scientific.

Perhaps it can proceed from here as you described, but it starts off  
on a bad foot to make random guesses that lean toward a particular  
theory.

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**Author:** ![bodikp](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@bodikp](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/bodikp)\
**Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 6:03am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/research-methodology-re-real-world-scalability-and-ruby/68246/3 "2006-09-11T06:03:10Z")

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Quite a few of the guesses can be refined using LinkedIn (search for  
engineers working at the company; see what skills they list; make  
obvious deductions).

Bill

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**Author:** ![bodikp](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@bodikp](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/bodikp)\
**Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 10:35am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/research-methodology-re-real-world-scalability-and-ruby/68246/4 "2006-09-11T10:35:40Z")

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Peter B. wrote:

> Actually Joseph used one of the soundest research methods I know of. He  
> published an obviously flawed “Strawman”, didn’t pretend it was anything it  
> wasn’t, and the wisdom of the group began fixing errors and filling in  
> blanks. So, just like “Nail Soup”, a basic seed is evolving into a matrix  
> that has more information than any single one of us could contribute.

there’s the Sitepoint survey:

[http://www.rubyinside.com/sitepoint-reports-531-of-web-developers-using-ruby-225.html](http://www.rubyinside.com/sitepoint-reports-531-of-web-developers-using-ruby-225.html)