Alex Russell

Qualtrics - Bot and duplicate template — A/Prof Alex M T Russell

Qualtrics recently changed their bot and duplicate protection tools, as of 30th June 2025. Bots are a common issue for surveys, especially those with incentives.

I’ve updated my Qualtrics bot and duplicate protection explainer page and survey template here: www.alexmtrussell.com.au/qualtrics-bo...

Thanks Sally!

A fantastic conference for undergrads (including Honours) in any discipline in Australia or New Zealand. Have a first go at presenting your work in a friendly, supportive environment. Abstract submission closes 1st July. Link below. Any questions, please as the MoHB lab team.

The glow worm tunnel in Helensburgh was stunning tonight. The photos with my phone don’t do it justice. Must go back with a proper camera.

I’m currently working on programming a robotic arm to sort my kids’ Lego.

Ok, my Lego that I sometimes let my kids play with.

YouTube video by Brick Technology Making A Billion-Year Lego Clock

The construction of a clock made of Lego, including a whole bunch of clever mechanisms for showing things days, weeks, months, life stage (including a marker for retirement). It can even count up to 1 billion years.

youtu.be/kRzgCylePjk?...

Thanks Matt at @afsguk.bsky.social for taking the time to speak with me. Really important to acknowledge the brilliant work by all the teams that I’m lucky to work with.

Lots more in there! Please enjoy some light holiday reading.

Thanks to coauthors Georgia Dellosa, Prof Matthew Rockloff and Prof Nerilee Hing from CQU.

Thanks to @ipsosgroup.bsky.social Australia for the great fieldwork and to the team at NSW Office of Responsible Gambling. /end

New this time: We captured harm from a person's own gambling (GHS-10), harm from another person's gambling (GHS-10-AO) and also legacy harm, harm from gambling that stopped more than 12 months ago.

One in five adults in NSW reported some degree of harm from gambling.

Overall prevalence and problems are largely stable since 2019. Some forms became more popular: sports betting, lotteries. Others declined: EGMs, race betting, keno, casino table games, scratchies, some minor forms. 10.7% reported some degree of problems based on PGSI.

NSW Gambling Survey 2024 is out, incl gambling prevalence, prevalence of problems and harm, amongst other things. See gambleaware.nsw.gov.au/resources-an...

Led by Prof Matthew Browne, commissioned by NSW Office of Responsible Gambling, funding from the NSW Government's Responsible Gambling Fund🧵

Found this magical pool on a foggy night in Kiama last night. Midnight swim, anyone?

Qualtrics — A/Prof Alex M T Russell

If you’re new to using Qualtrics for online surveys, I have a series of videos showing some tips and tricks here: www.alexmtrussell.com.au/qualtrics

The interface has changed, but the lessons still apply. The pages will be updated soon to reflect the current interface.

#vividsydney #vividsydney2004

Love how these photos turned out!

Trying to set a cooking timer via a voice assistant when the kids are in the kitchen.

The National Arboretum in Canberra. I love the colours, and the side lighting adds texture. I believe the bright red trees are sugar maples.

Also, WA has certain restrictions on their pokies. We found that, amongst people who play at the same frequency in WA vs elsewhere, the harm is the same. There’s no evidence these structural changes help. It’s the accessibility that makes a huge difference.

Please ask any questions!

One of the arguments about not restricting or regulating pokies is that people will just gamble online instead. And yet, despite there being a higher prevalence of gambling in WA, and lower prevalence of pokies use, there’s no difference in online gambling. So no substitution effect.

Turns out we can tell. Western Australia doesn’t have them in pubs and clubs. Only in one casino. Gambling harm is about one-third lower in WA, and our analyses show that this is attributable to lower prevalence of gambling on pokies.

akjournals.com/view/journal...

I work in gambling research in Australia. Please feel free to ask questions! Here’s a summary of one of my recent papers.

Australia is unusual in that we have pokies/slots/EGMs in our pubs/hotels & clubs. Pokies are the most dangerous form of gambling. What if we didn’t have them in pubs & clubs?

My son spotted this bug today. It’s a hibiscus harlequin bug. How cool are its colours?