Mark Regnerus that questioned the parenting abilities of gay couples is 鈥渟everely flawed,鈥� according to an internal audit by the scientific journal that published it, .
The highly critical audit, a draft of which was provided to聽The Chronicle聽by the journal鈥檚 editor, also cites conflicts of interest among the reviewers, and states that 鈥渟cholars who should have known better failed to recuse themselves from the review process.鈥�
The study was published in the journal . A member of the journal鈥檚 editorial board, Southern Illinois University sociology professor Darren Sherkat, was assigned to examine the peer review process. His assessment was blunt.
鈥淚t鈥檚 bulls**t,鈥� Sherkat the Chronicle of Higher Education, adding that the study should never have been published.
The research was funded by the and the , two socially conservative groups.
The Chronicle says Sherkat pointed to one problem that should have disqualified the paper immediately: its definition of a 鈥渓esbian mother.鈥� Women who had a relationship with another woman at any point after having a child, regardless of the length and whether they raised the child together, was considered to be a lesbian mother.
When Regernus鈥� study was published in June, it was and sparked a backlash from critics, even .
Regenerus vigorously defended his research, as he did in
The University of Texas has launched its own investigation into the study as a matter of 鈥渟tandard operating procedure,鈥� UT Media Director Gary Susswein . 鈥淎ny allegation of scientific misconduct against a faculty member automatically triggers an inquiry.鈥�
