ABI/Inform Global
Ethics of Internet
research: Contesting the human subjects research model
Elizabeth H. Bassett, Kate O'Riordan.
Ethics and Information Technology. Dordrecht: 2002. Vol. 4, Iss. 3; p. 233
Abstract (Summary)
The human
subjects research model is increasingly invoked in discussions of ethics for
Internet research. Here we seek to question the widespread application of this
model, critiquing it through the two themes of space and textual form. Drawing
on our experience of a previous piece of research, we highlight the
implications of re-considering the textuality of the Internet in addition to
the spatial metaphors that are more commonly deployed to describe Internet
activity. We argue that the use of spatial metaphors in descriptions of the
Internet has shaped the adoption of the human subjects research model. Whilst
this model is appropriate in some areas of Internet research such as email
communication, we feel that researchers, when navigating the complex terrain of
Internet research ethics, need also to
ABSTRACT]
Michele White. Ethics and Information
Technology. Dordrecht: 2002. Vol. 4, Iss. 3; p. 249
Abstract (Summary)
Most
guidelines and proposals for Internet research ethics are based on regulations
for human subjects research. In the related research, Internet material is
viewed as animate and described as people. Humanities researchers have rarely
been a part of the debate about Internet research ethics and the practices of
these scholars have not been taken into consideration when drafting most of the
guidelines. This threatens to limit the kinds of Internet research that can be
performed - critical strategies are particularly discouraged - and the ways
that researchers and other users understand the Internet. Researchers who use
human subjects models have not fully acknowledged computer mediation, the
constructed aspects of Internet representations, and the screen. If we view
Internet material as cultural production then the models for Internet research
would be Art History and Visual Culture, English and Literary Studies, Film and
Media Studies, Music and Sound Studies, and Theatre and Performance Studies. A
more complete integration of these approaches into Internet Studies - either as
a sole investigatory strategy or in tandem with other forms of inquiry - would
change researchers' ethical questions. It would also show instances in which
human subjects guidelines do not apply to complex Internet material. It is
imperative to demonstrate that Internet material is not people because this
conception makes highly constructed words and images seem natural and
stereotyped representations appear to be real. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ACADEMIC DATA
COLLECTION IN ELECTRONIC ENVIRONMENTS: DEFINING ACCEPTABLE USE OF INTERNET
RESOURCES
Gove N Allen, Dan L Burk, Gordon B
Davis. MIS Quarterly. Minneapolis: Sep 2006. Vol. 30, Iss. 3; p. 599
Abstract (Summary)
Academic
researchers access commercial websites to collect research data. This research
practice is likely to increase. Is this appropriate? Is this legal? Such
commercial websites are maintained to achieve business objectives; research
access uses site resources for other purposes. Website administrators may,
therefore, deem academic data collection inappropriate. Is there a process to
make research access more open and acceptable to website owners and
administrators? These are significant issues. This article clarifies the
problems and suggests possible approaches to handle the issues with sensitivity
and openness. Based on the issues presented, guidelines for researchers are
proposed to reduce objections to research activities, to facilitate
communication with website administration, and to achieve express or implied
consent. These include notification to website administration of intended
automated research activity, description of the research project posted as a
web page, and clear identification of automated requests for web pages. In
order to encourage good research practices with respect to automated data
collection, suggestions are made with respect to disclosing methods used in
research papers and for self regulation by academic associations.
Readings in
Virtual Research Ethics: Issues and Controversies
Elizabeth Buchanan. Information
Management. Hershey: Spring 2005. Vol. 18, Iss. 1/2; p. 26 (2 pages)
Abstract (Summary)
An interview
with Elizabeth Buchanan, author of Readings
in Virtual Research Ethics: Issues
and Controversies, is presented. She says that virtual research ethics
takes traditional principles of research ethics - justice, beneficence, and
respect for persons - and situates them in virtual realms, Internet-mediated
spaces, such as MUDS, Moos, chat rooms, discussion fora, and so on. Just as
researchers have a responsibility and obligation to conduct ethical research in
a face-to-face setting, this does not change in the virtual. Traditional
principles of ethics remain intact: subjects have rights and deserve to be
treated fairly, equitably, and ethically. The book Readings in Virtual Research Ethics: Issues and Controversies looks at many different forms of online
research, so readers are exposed to a plethora of methods and the ways they are
adapted in virtual spaces.
Sensitive research
topics: netnography revisited
Roy Langer, Suzanne C Beckman.
Qualitative Market Research. Bradford: 2005. Vol. 8, Iss. 2; p. 189 (15 pages)
Abstract (Summary)
This paper
discusses how netnography can be applied in order to conduct covert research on
sensitive research topics. An analysis of a Danish internet message board on
cosmetic surgery illustrates suggestions concerning modifications of
netnography guidelines. Empirical findings verify that consumers use internet
message boards in order to exchange information and advice about cosmetic
surgery. Especially the opportunity to masquerade and to cover their identities
allows them to express attitudes, opinions, and experiences freely - and hence
to study these in order gain deeper insights into consumption motives,
concerns, and experiences. The paper suggests that netnography is a suitable
methodology for the study of sensitive research topics, enabling the researcher
in an unobtrusive and covert way to gain deeper insights into consumers'
opinions, motives, and concerns. It is argued for the legitimacy of covert
research, including a revision of existing guidelines for research ethics with
regard to informed consent when conducting netnography.
All that Glitters
is Not Gold: Examining the Perils and Obstacles in Collecting Data on the
Internet
Cha Yeow Siah. International
Negotiation. Zoetemeer: 2005. Vol. 10, Iss. 1; p. 115
Abstract (Summary)
The speed,
ease and cost of conducting an Internet-based study has attracted an
increasingly large number of researchers to the medium for data collection. The
lure of conducting research on the Internet warrants heightened awareness of
the practical problems that may be encountered in the course of design and data
collection. Researchers should also be attuned to the various threats of
reliability and validity that may affect the quality of their data. This
article surveys the past literature and identifies four main areas of concern
in Internet-based research: 1. sampling error and generalizability, 2. subject
fraud, 3. measurement errors resulting from extraneous factors, and 4. the
ethics of conducting research on the Internet.
Internet research:
privacy, ethics and alienation: an open source approach
David M Berry. Internet Research.
Bradford: 2004. Vol. 14, Iss. 4; p. 323
Abstract (Summary)
This paper
examines some of the ethical problems involved in undertaking Internet research
and draws on historical accounts as well as contemporary studies to offer an
analysis of the issues raised. It argues that privacy is a misleading and
confusing concept to apply to the Internet, and that the concept of
non-alienation is more resourceful in addressing the many ethical issues
surrounding Internet research. Using this as a basis, the paper then
investigates the Free/Libre and Open Source research model and argues for the
principles of "open source ethics" in researching the online world,
which includes a participatory and democratic research method. [PUBLICATION
ABSTRACT]
Ethical gaps in
studies of the digital divide
Kenneth L. Hacker, Shana M. Mason.
Ethics and Information Technology. Dordrecht: 2003. Vol. 5, Iss. 2; p. 99
Abstract (Summary)
There are many
reports about the digital divide and many discrepant interpretations of what
the reports indicate. This pattern of competing analyses, often in relation to
identical data sets, has endured for a good part of the last decade. It is
argued here that a major problem with much of the digital divide research is a
failure to include ethical concerns as an explicit part of analyzing and
interpreting digital divide gaps. If researchers include more recognition of
ethics with their findings about divide gaps, it is likely that they will
produce better research and findings as well as more defensible linkages
between study reports and policy deliberations. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
Online privacy
critical to research success
Beth Mack. Marketing News. Chicago: Nov
25, 2002. Vol. 36, Iss. 24; p. 21 (1 page)
Abstract (Summary)
In order to
gain the consumer as a respondent, market researchers must challenge the easy
access to consumer information and protect the consumer's information when they
get it. The Internet has brought those issues to the forefront because of the
vulnerability of huge amounts of data stored on potentially unsecured servers.
Online researchers have a new level of data confidentiality to address-but,
through the Internet, can accommodate and build trusting relationships in any
number of ways. By developing guidelines, adopting or creating a code of
ethics, posting privacy statements, instituting strong security measures and
acting honestly, the Internet can serve as the tool of choice for clients and
respondents.
Ethical issues of
online communication research
Rafael Capurro, Christoph Pingel.
Ethics and Information Technology. Dordrecht: 2002. Vol. 4, Iss. 3; p. 189
Abstract (Summary)
The paper
addresses several ethical issues in online communication research in light of
digital ontology as well as the epistemological questions raised by the
blurring boundary between fact and theory in this field. The concept of
ontology is used in a Heideggerian sense as related to the human capacity of
world construction on the basis of the givenness of our being-in-the-world.
Ethical dilemmas of Internet research thus arise from the tension between
bodily existence and the proper object of research, i.e., online existence. The
following issues are being considered: online identity, online language, online
consent and confidentiality. We also argue that research ethics in the US
follows the utilitarian tradition, while European researchers are
deontologically oriented. A guideline of best practice in online research
ethics is proposed. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
Ethics of Internet
research: Contesting the human subjects research model
Elizabeth H. Bassett, Kate O'Riordan.
Ethics and Information Technology. Dordrecht: 2002. Vol. 4, Iss. 3; p. 233
Abstract (Summary)
The human
subjects research model is increasingly invoked in discussions of ethics for
Internet research. Here we seek to question the widespread application of this
model, critiquing it through the two themes of space and textual form. Drawing
on our experience of a previous piece of research, we highlight the
implications of re-considering the textuality of the Internet in addition to
the spatial metaphors that are more commonly deployed to describe Internet
activity. We argue that the use of spatial metaphors in descriptions of the
Internet has shaped the adoption of the human subjects research model. Whilst
this model is appropriate in some areas of Internet research such as email
communication, we feel that researchers, when navigating the complex terrain of
Internet research ethics, need also to consider the Internet as cultural
production of texts. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
Research ethics in
Internet-enabled research: Human subjects issues and methodological myopia
Joseph B. Walther. Ethics and
Information Technology. Dordrecht: 2002. Vol. 4, Iss. 3; p. 205
Abstract (Summary)
As Internet
resources are used more frequently for research on social and psychological
behavior, concerns grow about whether characteristics of such research affect
human subjects protections. Early efforts to address such concerns have done
more to identify potential problems than to evaluate them or to seek solutions,
leaving bodies charged with human subjects oversight in a quagmire. This
article critiques some of these issues in light of the US Code of Federal
Regulations' policies for the Protection of Human Subjects, and argues that
some of the issues have no pertinence when examined in the context of common
methodological approaches that previous commentators failed to consider. By
separating applicable contexts from those that are not, and by identifying
cases where subjects' characteristics are irrelevant and/or impossible to
provide, oversight committees may be able to consider research applications
more appropriately, and investigators may be less ethically bound to ascertain
and demonstrate those characteristics. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
What is special
about the ethical issues in online research?
Dag Elgesem. Ethics and Information
Technology. Dordrecht: 2002. Vol. 4, Iss. 3; p. 195
Abstract (Summary)
In the
analysis of the ethical problems of online research, there is much to be
learned from the work that has already been done on research ethics in the
social sciences and the humanities. I discuss the structure of norms in the
Norwegian ethical guidelines for research in the social sciences with respect
to their relevance for the ethical issues of Internet research. A four-step
procedure for the ethical evaluation of research is suggested. I argue that
even though, at one level, the problems of online research are very similar to
those we find in traditional areas of social scientific research, there still
are some issues that are unique to research online. A general model for the
analysis of privacy and data protection is suggested. This model is then used
to characterize the special problems pertaining to the protection of privacy in
online contexts, and to argue that one cannot assume a simple distinction
between the private and the public when researching in such contexts.
[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
Amy Bruckman. Ethics and Information
Technology. Dordrecht: 2002. Vol. 4, Iss. 3; p. 217
Abstract (Summary)
In the
mid-1990s, the Internet rapidly changed from a venue used by a small number of
scientists to a popular phenomena affecting all aspects of life in
industrialized nations. Scholars from diverse disciplines have taken an
interest in trying to understand the Internet and Internet users. However, as a
variety of researchers have noted, guidelines for ethical research on human
subjects written before the Internet's growth can be difficult to extend to
research on Internet users. In this paper, I focus on one ethical issue:
whether and to what extent to disguise material collected online in published
accounts. While some people argue that vulnerable human subjects must always be
made anonymous in publications for their own protection, others argue that
Internet users deserve credit for their creative and intellectual work. Still
others argue that much material available online should be treated as
''published.'' To attempt to resolve these issues, I first review my own
experiences of disguising material in research accounts from 1992 to 2002. Some
of the thorniest issues emerge at the boundaries between research disciplines.
Furthermore, many humanities disciplines have not historically viewed what they
do as human subjects research. Next, I explore what it means to do human
subjects research in the humanities. Inspired by issues raised by colleagues in
the humanities, I argue that the traditional notion of a ''human subject'' does
not adequately characterize Internet users. A useful alternate mental model is
proposed: Internet users are amateur artists. The Internet can be seen as a
playground for amateur artists creating semi-published work. I argue that this
approach helps make some ethical dilemmas easier to reason about, because it
highlights key novel aspects of the situation, particularly with regard to
disguising material. Finally, I conclude by proposing a set of practical
guidelines regarding disguising material gathered on the Internet in published
accounts, on a continuum from no disguise, light disguise, moderate disguise,
to heavy disguise. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
Ethics and the
Internet: Issues associated with qualitative research
Denise E DeLorme, George M Zinkhan,
Warren French. Journal of Business Ethics. Dordrecht: Oct 2001. Vol. 33, Iss.
4; p. 271 (16 pages)
Abstract (Summary)
This paper
examines the need for standards to resolve ethical conflicts related to
qualitative, on-line research. Practitioners working in the area of qualitative
research gauged the breadth and depth of this need. Those practitioners
identified several key ethical issues associated with qualitative on-line
research, and felt that there should be a common ethics code to cover issues
related to Internet research. They also identified challenges associated with
the profession's acceptance of a unified code. The paper concludes by offering
guidance in developing and implementing such a code.
Maria Bakardjieva, Andrew Feenberg.
Ethics and Information Technology. Dordrecht: 2001. Vol. 2, Iss. 4; p. 233
Abstract (Summary)
As users of
computer networks have become more active in producing their own electronic
records, in the form of transcripts of online discussions, ethicists have
attempted to interpret this new situation in terms of earlier models of
personal data protection. But this transference results in unprecedented
problems for researchers. This paper examines some of the central dichotomies
and paradoxes in the debate on research ethics online in the context of the
concrete study of a virtual community that we carried out. We argue that
alienation, not privacy, is the actual core of the ethical problems of virtual
community research. While practically everybody is allowed and often welcome to
join online communities (which undermines the claim to privacy), most
participants would agree that members and visitors are not authorized to use, or
'harvest,' or sell the product of the group communication. To do that, they
would be expected to ask for permission preferably before the content has been
produced, thus granting participants' right to control their own product. This
'non-alienation principle' should be the basis of emergent social conventions
in cyberspace. It would apply to researchers as to anyone else. With certain
types of research, we suggest, cyberspace provides unique opportunities for
empowering subjects by involving them as contributors in the research project.
[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
Richard West. Marketing Week. London:
Oct 12, 2000. Vol. 23, Iss. 34; p. 69
Abstract (Summary)
Turbulent is
not usually an adjective that springs to mind when discussing market research.
But the normally placid world of sampling is bracing itself for the shock waves
the Internet has been threatening to send through the industry. Few in the
industry dispute the Internet's potential to lower costs, increase speed and
generally enhance the quality of the research. However, the rate at which the
number of online surveys is growing is sparking debate about how to maintain
standards in this unpredictable, brave new world. The Market Research Society
is concerned there could be unethical research organizations only too willing
to part naive customers from their money, and so undermine the integrity of the
profession. Organizations such as MRS and Esomar have published guidelines and
codes of practice for Internet-based research.
Ken Gofton. Campaign. Teddington: Sep
22, 2000. p. 34
Abstract (Summary)
The market
research industry is arguably the most computerized of all the marketing
services, and has had to adjust over the years to the introduction of new
technologies. Right now, though, it is experiencing technical turmoil. The
growth of the Internet, of mobile phones and of interactive TV, to quote just a
few examples, are providing the industry simultaneously with new things to
measure and new ways of conducting research. Exciting times - but the wonders
of digital technology are undermining some of the traditional assumptions about
how research is conducted, and posing difficult questions about professional
standards and ethics. Many research agencies offer Web site evaluation using
focus groups both in the UK and abroad. Usually respondents are given tasks to
carry out on a Web site under the gaze either of a researcher
("accompanies surfing") or a Web cam. A chart listing the top 10 UK
market research agencies by turnover is presented.
Irene Pollach. Journal of Business
Ethics. Dordrecht: Dec 2005. Vol. 62, Iss. 3; p. 221
Abstract (Summary)
The opaque use
of data collection methods on the WWW has given rise to privacy concerns among
Internet users. Privacy policies on websites may ease these concerns, if they
communicate clearly and unequivocally when, how and for what purpose data are
collected, used or shared. This paper examines privacy policies from a
linguistic angle to determine whether the language of these documents is
adequate for communicating data-handling practices in a manner that enables
informed consent on the part of the user. The findings highlight that corporate
privacy policies obfuscate, enhance and mitigate unethical data handling
practices and use persuasive appeals to increase companies’
trustworthiness. The communicative strategies identified provide starting
points for redesigning existing privacy statements with a view to communicating
data handling practices in a more transparent and responsible manner, laying
the groundwork for informed consent. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
Academic Search Elite
Ethical Dilemmas
in Research on Internet Communities. By: Flicker, Sarah; Haans,
Dave; Skinner, Harvey. Qualitative Health Research, Jan2004, Vol. 14 Issue 1,
p124-134, 11p, 4 charts; DOI: 10.1177/1049732303259842; (AN 12395020)
There has been
a rapid growth in the number of articles using Internet data sources to
illuminate health behavior. However, little has been written about the ethical
considerations of online research, especially studies
involving data from Internet discussion boards. Guidelines are needed to ensure ethical
conduct. In this article, the authors examine how a youth-focused research
program negotiated ethical practices in the creation of its comprehensive health
site and online message board. They address three situations in which ethical
predicaments arose: (a) enrolling research participants, (b)
protecting participants from risk or harm, and (c) linking public and private
data. Drawing on the ethical principles of autonomy,
nonmaleficence, justice, and beneficence, the authors present practical
guidelines for resolving ethical dilemmas in research
on Internet
communities.
[ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
"Go
Away": Participant Objections to Being Studied and the Ethics of Chatroom
Research. By: Hudson, James M.; Bruckman, Amy. Information Society,
Apr-Jun2004, Vol. 20 Issue 2, p127-139, 13p; DOI: 10.1080/01972240490423030;
(AN 12751208)
In this
article we present an empirical study aimed at better understanding the
potential for harm when conducting research in chatrooms. For this
study, we entered IRC chatrooms on the ICQ network and
posted one of three messages to tell participants that we were recording
them: a recording message, an opt-in message, or an opt-out message. In the fourth
condition, we entered the chatroom but did not post a message.
We recorded and analyzed how subjects responded to being studied.
Results of a regression analysis indicate significantly more hostility in the
three conditions where we said something than in the control condition. We were
kicked out of 63.3% of the chatrooms we entered in the three
message conditions compared with 29% of the chatrooms in the control
condition. There were no significant differences between any of these three
conditions. Notably, when given a chance to opt in, only 4 of 766 potential
subjects chose to do so. Results also indicate significant effects for both
size and the number of moderators. For every 13 additional people in a chatroom,
the likelihood getting kicked out was cut in half. While legal and ethical
concerns are distinct, we conclude by arguing that studying chatrooms
constitutes human subjects research under U.S. law, but that a waiver of
consent is appropriate in most cases as obtaining consent is impracticable.
[ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
E-Research:
Ethics, Security, Design, and Control in Psychological Research on the
Internet. By: Nosek, Brian A.; Banaji, Mahzarin R.; Greenwald,
Anthony G.. Journal of Social Issues, Jan2002, Vol. 58 Issue 1, p161, 16p; (AN
6194715)
Differences
between traditional laboratory research and Internet-based research
require a review of basic issues of research methodology. These
differences have implications for research ethics (e.g., absence of
researcher, potential exposure of confidential data and/or identity to a third
party, guaranteed debriefing) and security (e.g., confidentiality and
anonymity, security of data transmission, security of data storage,
and tracking participants over time). We also review basic design issues a
researcher should consider before implementing an Internet study, including the
problem of participant self-selection and loss of experimental control
on the Internet laboratory. An additional challenge for Internet-based research
is the increased opportunity for participant misbehavior, intentional or
otherwise. We discuss methods to detect and minimize these threats to the
validity of Internetbased research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Ethical issues in
qualitative research on Internet communities. By: Eysenbach,
Gunther; Till, James E. BMJ: British Medical Journal, 11/10/2001, Vol. 323
Issue 7321, p1103, 3p; (AN 5477790)
Discusses the Internet
as a source of information on patient concerns and opinions for physicians. Issues
of informed consent and privacy in Internet research; Details of Internet
communities;
Qualitative
research
on the Internet; Question whether Internet communities are private
of public communications; How to obtain informed consent from Internet
communities.
A code to keep
away judges, juries and MPs. By: Iphofen, Ron. Times Higher
Education Supplement, 1/16/2004 Issue 1623, p24-24, 1p; (AN 12280872)
Discusses the
need for social scientists to regulate the ethics of their research or having
rules imposed on them in Great Britain. Ethical complexities posed by the
internet research that blurs the boundary between public and private behavior;
Review of ethical guidelines of the Human Rights Act; System of research
governance that is open to public security; Influence of institutional fear of
litigation on research.
Internet research
in midwifery: Practical considerations and challenges. By: Stewart,
Sarah. British Journal of Midwifery, Sep2006, Vol. 14 Issue 9, p527-529, 3p;
(AN 22462880)
The Internet
is an exciting tool for midwifery research; however there
are a number of unique challenges that must be addressed. The global and
transient nature of the Internet sometimes makes it
difficult for the researcher to ensure best practice, but international
guidelines provide direction in dealing with these issues. The Internet
researcher must ensure anonymity and confidentiality, as well as gain informed
consent from research participants. Copyright and intellectual property
regulations must be observed, rules of online communities should be respected
and an endeavour must be made to ensure that research results are
disseminated to all the study participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
The Dark Side of
Truth(s): Ethical Dilemmas in Researching the Personal. By: Clark,
M. Carolyn; Sharf, Barbara F.. Qualitative Inquiry, Apr2007, Vol. 13 Issue 3,
p399-416, 18p; (AN 24686809)
This article
explores the sometimes problematic issue of truth when conducting qualitative
research on people's lives. Four ethical dilemmas are presented
relating to the potentially harmful consequences of truth encountered by the
authors in their own research: a promise to share the analysis of a patient's
medical record containing unflattering comments by her physicians; the
unintended sharing of a traumatic event, held secret since its occurrence, by a
woman inmate; a disagreement with the Institutional Review Board over what
constitutes ethical practice in online research; and an interview with a
recently released political dissident in a totalitarian country. The authors
advocate for multiple venues in which qualitative researchers can discuss ethical
dilemmas
such as these to learn from one another's experience and together develop a
more reflexive practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Psychological
Research Online: Report of Board of
Scientific Affairs' Advisory Group on the Conduct of Research on the Internet.. By: Kraut, Robert;
Olson, Judith; Banaji, Mahzarin; Bruckman, Amy; Cohen, Jeffrey; Couper, Mick.
American Psychologist, Feb/Mar2004, Vol. 59 Issue 2, p105-117, 13p; DOI:
10.1037/0003-066X.59.2.105; (AN 12464222)
As the
Internet has changed communication, commerce, and the distribution of
information, so too it is changing psychological research. Psychologists
can observe new or rare phenomena online and can do research
on traditional psychological topics more efficiently, enabling them to expand
the scale and scope of their research. Yet these opportunities
entail risk both to research quality and to human subjects. Internet research
is inherently no more risky than traditional observational, survey, or
experimental methods. Yet the risks and safeguards against them will differ
from those characterizing traditional research and will themselves change
over time. This article describes some benefits and challenges of conducting psychological
research
via the Internet and offers recommendations to both researchers and
institutional review boards for dealing with them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Unsolicited
Narratives from the Internet: A Rich Source of Qualitative Data. By:
Robinson, Katherine Morton. Qualitative Health Research, Sep2001, Vol. 11 Issue
5, p706, 9p, 1 diagram; (AN 5812209)
Recently, the Internet
has become a forum for informal communication. Many—whose voices may have been
unheard—can now express themselves through this medium. Rich narratives
are available to the qualitative researcher from bulletin boards,
guest books, Web pages, and listservs on the Internet. In this
article, these data sources are defined and described. Strategies for using
these data are discussed. One concern with using unsolicited data from
the Internet
is the protection of human subjects and the requirement for consent. A proposed
model describing the process for deciding when such data are publicly
available, as defined by the Office for the Protection of Rights of Research
Subjects, and when the use of the data requires consent is presented. [ABSTRACT
FROM AUTHOR]
PubMed
Ethical problems inherent in
psychological research based on internet communication as stored information.
Theor Med Bioeth. 2007;28(3):221-41.
PMID: 17690996 [PubMed - indexed for
MEDLINE]
This paper
deals with certain ethical problems inherent in psychological research based on
internet communication as stored information. Section 1 contains an analysis of
research on Internet debates. In particular, it takes into account a famous
example of deception for psychology research purposes. In section 2, the focus
is on research on personal data in texts published on the Internet. Section 3
includes an attempt to formulate some ethical principles and guidelines, which
should be regarded as fundamental in research on stored information.
Chiasson MA,
Parsons JT, Tesoriero JM, Carballo-Dieguez A, Hirshfield S, Remien RH.
HIV behavioral research online.
J Urban Health. 2006 Jan;83(1):73-85.
Review.
PMID: 16736356 [PubMed - indexed for
MEDLINE]
Internet
access has caused a global revolution in the way people of all ages and genders
interact. Many have turned to the Internet to seek love, companionship, and
sex, prompting researchers to move behavioral studies online. The sexual
behavior of men who have sex with men (MSM) has been more closely studied than
that of any other group online given the abundance of gay-oriented websites and
concerns about increasing transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted
infections. Not only does the Internet provide a new medium for the conduct of
behavioral research and for participant recruitment into an array of research
studies, it has the as yet unrealized potential to reach huge numbers of MSM
with innovative harm reduction and prevention messages tailored to
individualized needs, interests, and risk behavior. Internet-based research on
sexual behavior has many advantages in rapidity of recruitment of diverse
samples which include individuals unreachable through conventional methods
(i.e., non-gay identified and geographically and socially isolated MSM, etc.).
Internet-based research also presents some new methodologic challenges in study
design, participant recruitment, survey implementation, and interpretation of
results. In addition, there are ethical issues unique to online research
including difficulties in verifying informed consent, obstacles to surveying
minors, and the ability to assure anonymity. This paper presents a review of
Internet-based research on sexual behavior in MSM, a general discussion of the
methodologic and ethical challenges of Internet-based research, and
recommendations for future interdisciplinary research.
Policing of information from internet
breast cancer list: "list mining" raises new issues in research
ethics.
BMJ. 2006 May 6;332(7549):1095. No
abstract available.
PMID: 16675828 [PubMed - indexed for
MEDLINE]
NO ABSTRACT
Ethics Behav.
2003;13(1):45-60.
Internet research: an opportunity to
revisit classic ethical problems in behavioral research.
The Internet
offers many new opportunities for behavioral researchers to conduct
quantitative and qualitative research. Although the ethical guidelines of the
American Psychological Association generalize, in part, to research conducted
through the Internet, several matters related to Internet research require
further analysis. This article reviews several fundamental ethical issues
related to Internet research, namely the preservation of privacy, the issuance
of informed consent, the use of deception and false feedback, and research
methods. In essence, the Internet offers unique challenges to behavioral
researchers. Among these are the need to better define the distinction between
private and public behavior performed through the Internet, ensure mechanisms
for obtaining valid informed consent from participants and performing
debriefing exercises, and verify the validity of data collected through the
Internet.
Nurse Educ Today.
2005 Jan;25(1):3-8.
An overview of the ethics of
cyber-space research and the implication for nurse educators.
This paper
provides an overview of the techniques available to the cyber-space researcher
together with a consideration of the specific ethical issues that such research
generates. It is acknowledged that these research methods are, at present, not
widely utilised within health care sciences, thus this paper draws upon the
experiences and debates that are current within other disciplines,
predominantly those of the social sciences. The primary areas of ethical
concern are suggested to be those surrounding consent, privacy, identification
verification and disguise. These issues are further considered for their
implications for nurse educators and for those academics that are either
undertaking cyber-space research of their own or supervising student's
Internet-based research projects.
Contemp Nurse.
2003 Dec-2004 Feb;16(1-2):114-23.
Ensnaring webs and nets: ethical issues
in Internet-based research.
The Internet
is a relatively new medium for research that few nurse researchers have
embraced. While it offers countless opportunities for nursing research, it also
is prey to many perils. In the crucible of cyberspace, the very nature of not
only the research process, but also that of the participant researcher
relationship is transmuted. This paper critically examines the major and often
unique ethical issues of online research, and argues these must be adequately
addressed if online nursing research is to effectively protect participants and
researchers from harm, and optimally meet the profession's and society's best
interests.
J Prof Nurs.
2004 Jan-Feb;20(1):68-74.
Ethical and legal issues of conducting
nursing research via the Internet.
In February
2001, President Clinton's Information Technology Advisory Commission reported
that information technology has the potential to advance biomedical research.
As nursing research via the Internet expands, important ethical and legal
issues need to be addressed. The purpose of this article is to report one
researcher's journey in attempting to conduct ethical and legal nursing
research via the Internet. The ethical and legal issues needing attention are
discussed. Potential guidelines are provided for researchers wanting to use
Internet technology
Oncol Nurs Forum.
1998 May;25(4):673-6.
Comment in:
Oncol Nurs Forum.
1998 Oct;25(9):1497-8.
Internet cancer support groups: legal
and ethical issues for nurse researchers.
PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES:
To explore the legal and ethical issues surrounding the use of information
obtained from Internet cancer support groups (ICSGs) in research. DATA SOURCES:
Published articles, news broadcasts, books, government reports. DATA SYNTHESIS:
ICSGs are a rich source of information for people with cancer, their families,
caregivers, and nurse researchers. Because ICSGs are new in research, potential
legal and ethical conflicts in this setting exist. CONCLUSIONS: ICSGs are an
early prototype of patient groups empowered to seek health through the use of
information technology. Nurses are ideally suited to advance this new area of
healthcare technology. Honoring the trust that patients have always placed in
nurses is essential if this technology is to be developed further. IMPLICATIONS
FOR NURSING PRACTICE: Given the dearth of guidelines to direct researchers,
legal and ethical conflicts may occur. Nurse researchers should be cognizant of
the potential legal and ethical implications involved in conducting research
via the Internet.
Ethics Behav.
2003;13(3):211-9.
Ethical issues surrounding human
participants research using the Internet.
The Internet
appears to offer psychologists doing research unrestricted access to infinite
amounts and types of data. However, the ethical issues surrounding the use of
data and data collection methods are challenging research review boards at many
institutions. This article illuminates some of the obstacles facing researchers
who wish to take advantage of the Internet's flexibility. The applications of
the APA ethical codes for conducting research on human participants on the
Internet are reviewed. The principle of beneficence, as well as privacy and
confidentiality, informed consent, deception, and avoiding harm are all illustrated
through the use of a hypothetical online study.
Wood RT, Griffiths
MD, Eatough V.
Online data collection from video game
players: methodological issues.
Cyberpsychol Behav. 2004
Oct;7(5):511-8. Review.
PMID: 15667045 [PubMed - indexed for
MEDLINE]
The paper
outlines the advantages and disadvantages of using the Internet to collect data
concerning both online and offline gamers. Drawing from experience of a number
of studies carried out online by the authors and by reviewing the available
literature, the authors discuss the main issues concerning data collected from
video game players. The paper examines a number of areas, including recruiting
and utilizing participants, validity, suitable methods of data collection
(i.e., questionnaire studies, online tests, participant observation, online
interviews), and ethical issues. It is concluded that online research methods
can be a useful way of examining the psychosocial aspects of video game
playing.
Issues in Internet survey research
among cancer patients.
Cancer Nurs. 2004 Jan-Feb;27(1):34-42;
quiz 43-4.
PMID: 15108950 [PubMed - indexed for
MEDLINE]
Considering
the increasing number of cancer patients who are online, it is clear that the
Internet will provide an important research medium and/or setting for oncology
nurses in the near future. Despite increasing Internet usage in nursing
research and practice, issues in using the Internet among cancer patients as a
research tool have rarely been explored and discussed. The purpose of the
article is to propose future directions for Internet research among cancer
patients based on discussions of practical issues raised in an Internet survey
study among 40 online cancer patients. The issues raised through the research
process include (a) ethical issues, (b) recruitment issues, (c) issues in Web
site development and maintenance, and (d) data entry and analysis issues. On
the basis of the discussions of these issues, some future directions for
Internet survey studies are proposed, including dealing with ethical issues,
getting computer expertise, using motivational strategies, and using national
and international approaches.
Ethics, qualitative research, and ethnography
in virtual space.
J Infor Ethics. 2000 Fall;9(2):82-7. No
abstract available.
PMID: 12530453 [PubMed - indexed for
MEDLINE]
NO ABSTRACT
Annu Rev Psychol.
2006;57:529-55.
The internet as psychological
laboratory.
This chapter
reviews studies published in American Psychological Association (APA) journals
from 2003-2004 and additional studies (received in response to listserv
requests) that used the Internet to collect data (N=121 total studies).
Specific examples of three kinds of Web-based research are reviewed: (a)
translational (established methods and research questions are adapted to the
Web), (b) phenomenological (behavior on the Web is the focus of study), and (c)
novel (methodologically innovations unique to Web-based research). Among other
findings, our review indicated that 21% of APA journals published at least one
article that reported on Web-based research, most Web-based psychological
research uses experimental methods, a surprising number use college student
samples, and deception in Web-based research is not uncommon. Strengths and
weaknesses of Web-based psychological research in general, and our sample of
studies in particular, are reviewed with special attention to possible concerns
about sampling and the use of deception.
Kralik D, Warren
J, Price K, Koch T, Pignone G.
The ethics of research using electronic
mail discussion groups.
J Adv Nurs. 2005 Dec;52(5):537-45.
PMID: 16268860 [PubMed - indexed for
MEDLINE]
AIM: The aim
of this paper is to identify and discuss the ethical considerations that have
confronted and challenged the research team when researchers facilitate conversations
using private electronic mail discussion lists. BACKGROUND:The use of
electronic mail group conversations, as a collaborative data generation method,
remains underdeveloped in nursing. Ethical challenges associated with this
approach to data generation have only begun to be considered. As receipt of
ethics approval for a study titled; 'Describing transition with people who live
with chronic illness' we have been challenged by many ethical dilemmas, hence
we believe it is timely to share the issues that have confronted the research
team. These discussions are essential so we can understand the possibilities
for research interaction, communication, and collaboration made possible by
advanced information technologies. DISCUSSION: Our experiences in this study
have increased our awareness for ongoing ethical discussions about privacy,
confidentiality, consent, accountability and openness underpinning research
with human participants when generating data using an electronic mail
discussion group. We describe how we work at upholding these ethical principles
focusing on informed consent, participant confidentiality and privacy, the
participants as threats to themselves and one another, public-private
confusion, employees with access, hackers and threats from the researchers.
CONCLUSION: A variety of complex issues arise during cyberspace research that
can make the application of traditional ethical standards troublesome.
Communication in cyberspace alters the temporal, spatial and sensory components
of human interaction, thereby challenging traditional ethical definitions and
calling to question some basic assumptions about identity and ones right to
keep aspects of it confidential. Nurse researchers are bound by human research
ethics protocols; however, the nature of research by electronic mail generates
moral issues as well as ethical concerns. Vigilance by researchers is required
to ensure that data are viewed within the scope of the enabling ethics approval
Ethical issues in the ethnography of
cyberspace.
Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2000;925:170-86.
Review.
PMID: 11193012 [PubMed - indexed for
MEDLINE]
The project of
developing an anticipatory anthropology of the future reveals unique ethical
opportunities. For example, the increased importance of performance means there
is a substantial potential for a substantive "resocialing" of work in
organizations, just as the decline of Modernism opens space for collective,
situated ethics as opposed to individualized categorical imperatives. An
anthropology of the future should address the question of the future of ethics in
general. The very possibility of human agency, of informed individual moral
action, is brought into question in new ways. The profound flexibility of the
computer as a medium carries with it the dangers of hyper-abstraction, while
the consolidation of capital reproduction on a global level increases the scope
for apparently permanent mystification. Also important are the new ethical
challenges raised for those engaged in knowledge "production" or
science broadly conceived. These include the necessary effort to acknowledge
fully the role of non-human agency, and the potentially profound possibilities
in a transformation in the character of knowledge, a correlate, at least in
part, of the commodification of knowledge associated with distance learning.
These challenges accompany the more overt threats of transgenic entities and
ecological degradation. How can one be an ethical intellectual or academic
under these circumstances, let alone teach others to be? There are also some
specific challenges facing anthropology in particular. Some derive from the
increasing "privatization" of ethnography, both in its growing
popularity in modes of social reproduction more directly implicated in the
reproduction of capital and in the declining academic support for anthropology.
In a very specific sense, anthropology has grounded its ethics on an
appreciation of and support for the reproduction of "really existing"
culture. This ethical compass is not available to the ethnographer who studies
the future. How do we participate ethically in the construction of a future in
whose character we are inevitably implicated?
Applied
Science and Technology Full Text
Ayers, T. Report looks at
human subjects research on the Internet. Science v. 287 no. 5453 (January 28
2000) p. 673
The American
Association for the Advancement of Science examined the ethical and legal
aspects of human subjects research on the Internet in a recently released
report of that name, based on a workshop held at AAAS in June 1999.
Professional and online communities, research institutions, and government
agencies took part in the workshop, funded by the U.S. Office for Protection
from Research Risks, to explore the issues related to online research. With
predictions of 500 million people online worldwide by 2003, the Internet
represents a rich resource for scientists, but questions exist about the ethics
of researchers anonymously or pseudonymously recording interactions on a site
without the knowledge of the participants, the complexities of obtaining
informed consent, the expectation of privacy in cyberspace, and the unclear
distinction between public and private domains.
Business
Full Text
MacElroy, B. Web research
needs its own trade group [to promote ethical behavior]. Advertising
Age v. 71 no. 28 (July 3 2000) p. 14
The recently
launched Interactive Marketing Research Organization (IMRO) is dedicated to the
creation of ethical and best practices standards for research conducted on the
Internet. IMRO is a coalition of professionals from top research agencies,
company research departments, and academia. The organization's code of ethics
is strict. It stipulates that many short cuts that make online research cheap
are not ethical. It denounces those agencies that are, to quote one IMRO board
member, "poisoning the well" of Internet respondent goodwill.
Unfortunately, this means that some research bodies will not be interested in
adopting the code as their benchmark of research ethics.
Hill, R. Farming the Web
for research [online research with farmers]. Agri Marketing v. 38 no. 6 (June 2000)
p. 38-9
The time for
Internet-based research in production agriculture has arrived, but there is no
escaping the fundamentals of good research design and execution. Success in
online research relies mostly on the quality of the name list used.
High-quality e-mail lists are in huge demand today, but as the stakes have
grown higher, so has the need for ethical treatment of these lists. The
Internet presents the opportunity to provide more combinations and permutations
of design and execution. In addition, with online research, it is easier and
more convenient than ever for participants to cooperate on studies. Other advantages
are the potential for huge scale economies, access to targets not available
off-line, increased depth of answers, self-coded responses, and the elimination
of interviewer bias. With these benefits, together with careful design and
execution and the right tools and knowledge base, online research can be
conducted successfully in the agricultural industry.
Kozinets, R. V. The field behind the screen: using netnography for
marketing research in online communities. Journal of Marketing Research v. 39 no.
1 (February 2002) p. 61-72
The author
develops "netnography" as an online marketing research technique for
providing consumer insight. Netnography is ethnography adapted to the study of
online communities. As a method, netnography is faster, simpler, and less
expensive than traditional ethnography and more naturalistic and unobtrusive
than focus groups or interviews. It provides information on the symbolism,
meanings, and consumption patterns of online consumer groups. The author
provides guidelines that acknowledge the online environment, respect the
inherent flexibility and openness of ethnography, and provide rigor and ethics
in the conduct of marketing research. As an illustrative example, the author
provides a netnography of an online coffee newsgroup and discusses its
marketing implications. Reprinted with permission from Journal of Marketing
Research, published by the American Marketing Association, (2002).
Pollach, I. A Typology of Communicative Strategies in Online Privacy
Policies: Ethics, Power and Informed Consent. Journal of Business Ethics v. 62 no. 3
(December 2005) p. 221-35
The opaque use
of data collection methods on the WWW has given rise to privacy concerns among
Internet users. Privacy policies on websites may ease these concerns, if they
communicate clearly and unequivocally when, how and for what purpose data are
collected, used or shared. This paper examines privacy policies from a
linguistic angle to determine whether the language of these documents is
adequate for communicating data-handling practices in a manner that enables
informed consent on the part of the user. The findings highlight that corporate
privacy policies obfuscate, enhance and mitigate unethical data handling
practices and use persuasive appeals to increase companies' trustworthiness.
The communicative strategies identified provide starting points for redesigning
existing privacy statements with a view to communicating data handling practices
in a more transparent and responsible manner, laying the groundwork for
informed consent. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.
CINAHL Plus
with Full Text
Methodological and
ethical issues in Internet-mediated research in the field of health: an
integrated review of the literature. (includes abstract) Whitehead
LC; Social Science & Medicine, 2007 Aug; 65 (4): 782-91 (journal article)
CINAHL AN: 2009660094
The advantages and disadvantages of using the Internet in both qualitative and quantitative researches in the field of health are readily available in the literature, but little examination has been made of the factors to be considered in developing and running Internet-mediated research. A bibliographic search of English language publications indexed in eight computerized databases (EBSCO, EMBASE, MedLine, PsycInfo, CINAHL, PubMed, Cochrane, and TRIP) was undertaken with no limit set for the data of publication. The keywords Internet, research, quality, credibility, reliability, and validity were used in all possible combinations, and mappings to headings made wherever possible. The search revealed three key areas in setting up and undertaking Internet-mediated research: addressing sampling biases, ensuring ethical practice, and exploring the validity of data collected using an online interface. This paper contributes to the ongoing development of quality standards in the conduct and write-up of Internet-