Academic Research?

Did anyone else get "selected" for an Academic Research with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, NY?

I got the following e-mail this morning:

Dear Chris Whisonant:

I am a doctoral student at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, NY.

This note is to request your participation in an academic research study that I am conducting (with Prof. James Watt of RPI) on online customer/product communities. The goal of this research study is to understand customer experiences in online product communities. Please note that this is an academic study conducted as part of my PhD dissertation work at RPI and is not sponsored by (or affiliated with) any other organization.

As a regular participant in the IBM online customer community, your contribution to this research study will be much appreciated and valued. I would like to invite you to participate in this research by completing the study questionnaire (which will take only 10-12 mminutes) available at the following web site hosted by the Social and Behavioral Research Lab at RPI:

URL

I understand you will have other time commitments. However, I hope you will be able to spare some time to participate and contribute to this research. Thank you much for your time.

I e-mailed him back asking where he got my address and he stated:

I got your email address from the IBM online forum.

I'm assuming he means Notes.net (or LDD or devWorks...) =) Off to take the quiz - what the heck!