I believe we deaf parents who have chosen ASL and made Deaf culture a part of our lives, and those of us who work with the Deaf on a daily basis would be classified as the deaf friendlies refered to in the post.
And those are exactly the criteria on which research is founded. Where it comes from and the methodology used determines validity. Anyone who does research knows that academic research holds less bias than any other form. It is quatitative by and large. The research done by CI companies can be valid, depending upon the design, the methodology, the sample, and the control and experimental groups. When they do not adhere to the strict standards of good research then it has flaws. Any research paper includes a section that outlines variables that could have accounted forthe results found that were not studied, as well as variables that were not controlled for that could have influenced results. If you have a problem with that, then contact the IRB. They are the ones that set the standards.
And, if you have aproblem with me, personally, you are welcome to pm me. And cloggy's family and mine bear no comparison.
