Inf. Soc.Pub Date : 1996-06-01DOI: 10.1080/713856142
Dennis Waskul, Mark Douglass
{"title":"Considering the Electronic Participant: Some Polemical Observations on the Ethics of On-Line Research","authors":"Dennis Waskul, Mark Douglass","doi":"10.1080/713856142","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/713856142","url":null,"abstract":"Ethical issues arise at all phases of the research act. However, this article is intended to identify and discuss ethical issues that researchers should consider during the research act at the phase of methodology construction and in the course of data collection. During this phase, researchers must be keenly aware of the experiential dimension of the phenomena they are studying, taking great care not to harm the participants or the context of the research itself. This article explores ethical issues that emerge from the dynamic form of interaction that defines on-line communication. On-line communication is a form of social interaction that is publicly private, anonymous, multiple and simultaneous, and faceless/nonoral. The publicly private nature of on-line interaction necessitates that researchers distinguish between what is ''publicly accessible'' and ''publicly distributed.'' It must be acknowledged that ''private interactions'' persist in spite of ''public accessibility.'' The anonymity of on-line i...","PeriodicalId":259468,"journal":{"name":"Inf. Soc.","volume":"58 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1996-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123683228","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Inf. Soc.Pub Date : 1996-06-01DOI: 10.1080/713856145
S. A. King
{"title":"Researching Internet Communities: Proposed Ethical Guidelines for the Reporting of Results","authors":"S. A. King","doi":"10.1080/713856145","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/713856145","url":null,"abstract":"Communication researchers and social scientists are quickly discovering the value of data that exists in the postings of members of Internet e-mail, Usenet, and real-time groups. The ability to communicate with one's peers, no matter how esoteric the interests, is causing an explosion in the number of new virtual communities. The interpersonal dynamics of these groups are increasingly coming under the scrutiny of academic research. The publicly available archived records of Internet virtual communities are being analyzed for a wide variety of research interests. The ability to do naturalistic observations of group dynamics, as they are exhibited in these exchanges of text, has captured the attention of many researchers. The institutional review boards of major universities are granting researchers exempt or expedited (exempt from full review) status for this work, due to the public nature of the notes being analyzed. These studies often involve the lack of informed consent, where the group members under s...","PeriodicalId":259468,"journal":{"name":"Inf. Soc.","volume":"35 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1996-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121986741","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Inf. Soc.Pub Date : 1996-06-01DOI: 10.1080/713856146
Christina Allen
{"title":"What's Wrong with the 'Golden Rule'? Conundrums of Conducting Ethical Research in Cyberspace","authors":"Christina Allen","doi":"10.1080/713856146","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/713856146","url":null,"abstract":"Three key values for ethical cyberspace research practices are evident in recent discussions: (1) protect the subjects from harm as a result of the research fieldwork and the research practices; (2) produce good social science research; and (3) do not unnecessarily perturb the phenomena studied. Much of the argumentation aims to negotiate the ethical conflicts that often emerge between these goals. Bakhtin argues that one can only strive for a bottom-up ethical wisdom built upon concrete examples, and disputes the possibility that rigid top-down application of universal rules constitutes ethical action. His perspective has key implications for ethical research practices. I illustrate this perspective at work through my recent fieldwork and writing practices in a virtual community. Research ethics for cyberspace are like research ethics for any other site. They should be situated, dialogic agreements that develop over time between researchers and the participants of the research study. It is unlikely that ...","PeriodicalId":259468,"journal":{"name":"Inf. Soc.","volume":"36 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1996-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134358970","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Inf. Soc.Pub Date : 1996-06-01DOI: 10.1080/713856140
James J. Thomas
{"title":"When Cyberresearch Goes Awry: The Ethics of the Rimm 'Cyberporn' Study","authors":"James J. Thomas","doi":"10.1080/713856140","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/713856140","url":null,"abstract":"Like most things that we take for granted, we rarely pay attention to ethical issues in research until something goes horribly wrong. Focusing on a recent cyberresearch project gone awry, this essay illustrates why ethical issues should be continually confronted and discussed by scholars and nonscholars alike.","PeriodicalId":259468,"journal":{"name":"Inf. Soc.","volume":"49 8","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1996-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114009048","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Inf. Soc.Pub Date : 1996-06-01DOI: 10.1080/713856138
Elizabeth Reid
{"title":"Informed Consent in the Study of On-Line Communities: A Reflection on the Effects of Computer-Mediated Social Research","authors":"Elizabeth Reid","doi":"10.1080/713856138","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/713856138","url":null,"abstract":"In studying on-line communities, researchers must consider the unique environmental factors involved in order to minimize potential harm to human subjects. In particular, the often commented upon disinhibiting effect of computer-mediated communication can encourage people to agree to or even insist on a kind of public exposure by which they may eventually be harmed. On the Internet, where perceptions of interpersonal affect and effects may be obscured by the nature of the medium itself, care must be taken to guard against not only any increased tendency for researchers to objectify subjects, but also the tendency for subjects to underestimate the potential consequences of consent. The criteria for informed consent that may be sufficient in face-toface research environments are not necessarily so in a medium in which subjective experience is easily objectified and information is easily devalued.","PeriodicalId":259468,"journal":{"name":"Inf. Soc.","volume":"13 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1996-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125641023","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Inf. Soc.Pub Date : 1996-06-01DOI: 10.1080/713856137
James J. Thomas
{"title":"Introduction: A Debate about the Ethics of Fair Practices for Collecting Social Science Data in Cyberspace","authors":"James J. Thomas","doi":"10.1080/713856137","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/713856137","url":null,"abstract":"Most of us prefer \"doing right\" to the opposite. But sometimes it is not easy to determine either what constitutes right conduct or how to do it. In this special ethics issue of TIS, scholars involved in cyberspace research explore the problem of \"doing right\" in terms of research subjects. The participants here draw from their own research and the ethical dilemmas they confronted. The offerings illustrate how diverse ethical theories can lead to different views over which, or even whether, new formal guidelines are needed for on-line research.","PeriodicalId":259468,"journal":{"name":"Inf. Soc.","volume":"6 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1996-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127971691","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Inf. Soc.Pub Date : 1996-06-01DOI: 10.1080/713856136
S. Boehlefeld
{"title":"Doing the Right Thing: Ethical Cyberspace Research","authors":"S. Boehlefeld","doi":"10.1080/713856136","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/713856136","url":null,"abstract":"With increased use of the Internet and other computer-based communications resources, researchers have begun examining interactions in, and uses of, ''cyberspace.'' In considering ways to conduct ethical cyberspace research, some have looked to guidelines in their own disciplines. A potentially useful ethics statement for social science researchers to consider is that of the Association of Computing Machinery. Keeping in mind some of the ACM guidelines, as well as the similarities and differences between cyberspace and other communications media, may help researchers to be aware of their ethical responsibilities in conducting their research. The ACM guidelines, especially in consideration with other communications media, help remind researchers of the technological environment within which the social interactions being studied take place.","PeriodicalId":259468,"journal":{"name":"Inf. Soc.","volume":"47 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1996-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115434383","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Inf. Soc.Pub Date : 1996-06-01DOI: 10.1080/713856141
S. A. King
{"title":"Commentary on Responses to the Proposed Guidelines","authors":"S. A. King","doi":"10.1080/713856141","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/713856141","url":null,"abstract":"Cet article est un commentaire a propos du guide propose par cette revue sur l'etude et la recherche en ligne en sciences sociales concernant la dynamique des relations interpersonnelles dans l'utilisation des technologies de l'information telles que les reseaux d'information. Les methodes de recherches sociales concernant les communications virtuelles et les communautes virtuelles sont etudiees et evaluees","PeriodicalId":259468,"journal":{"name":"Inf. Soc.","volume":"121 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1996-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131117910","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Inf. Soc.Pub Date : 1996-06-01DOI: 10.1080/911232343
S. Herring
{"title":"Linguistic and Critical Analysis of Computer-Mediated Communication: Some Ethical and Scholarly Considerations","authors":"S. Herring","doi":"10.1080/911232343","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/911232343","url":null,"abstract":"This essay compares two proposals (Cavazos, 1994; King, this issue) relating to whether and how CMC researches should cite electronic messages used as data. Although the proposals prescribe opposite solutions, both contain similiar assumptions about the nature of CMC (e.g., that it is homogeneous, that members of a \"virtual community\" have shared agendas) and about the nature of research (e.g., that it is content focused; that it is ideally consensual; that it should not affect the researched in any way). These assumptions are argued to reflect discipline-specifc biases that exclude other legitimate forms of CMC research. Two examples are discussed of research paradigms that are excluded by the guidelines: linguistic analysis in the positivist tradition, and critical analysis in the social realist tradition. The critical paradigm in particular raises a number of additional ethical considerations not addressed by the proposed guidelines. It is suggested that the existing ethical guidelines within each disc...","PeriodicalId":259468,"journal":{"name":"Inf. Soc.","volume":"166 3 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1996-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116636575","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}