QUESTIONS TO ASK WHEN UNDERTAKING INTERNET RESEARCH
A. Venue/environment - expectations - authors/subjects - informed consent
• Where does the inter/action, communication, etc. under study take place?
• What ethical expectations are established by the venue?
• Who are the subjects posters/authors/creators of the material and/or inter/actions under study?
• Informed consent: specific considerations B. Initial ethical and legal considerations
• How far do extant legal requirements and ethical guidelines in your discipline “cover” the research?
• How far do extant legal requirements and ethical guidelines in the countries implicated in the research apply?
• What are the initial ethical expectations/assumptions of the authors/
subjects being studied?
• What ethically significant risks does the research entail for the subject(s)?
• What benefits might be gained from the research?
• What are the ethical traditions of researchers and subjects’ culture and country?
Källa: Ess, Charles & The Association of Internet Researchers (2002) Ethical decision-making and Internet research: Recommendations from the Aoir Ethics Working.
159 PROPOSED CONSIDERATIONS FOR RESEARCHERS AND INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW
BOARDS BEFORE STUDYING AN INTERNET COMMUNITY*
• Intrusiveness—Discuss to what degree the research conducted is intrusive (“passive” analysis of internet postings versus active involvement in the community by participating in communications)
• Perceived privacy—Discuss (preferably in consultation with members of the community) the level of perceived privacy of the community. Is it a closed group requiring registration? What is the membership size? What are the group norms?
• Vulnerability—Discuss how vulnerable the community is: for example, a mailing list for victims of sexual abuse or AIDS patients will be a highly vulnerable community
• Potential harm—As a result of the above considerations, discuss whether the intrusion of the researcher or publication of results has the potential to harm individuals or the community as a whole
• Informed consent—Discuss whether informed consent is required or can be waived (If it is required how will it be obtained?).
• Confidentiality—How can the anonymity of participants be protected (if verbatim quotes are given originators can be identified easily using search engines, thus informed consent is always required)
• Intellectual property rights—In some cases, participants may not seek anonymity, but publicity, so that use of postings without attribution may not be appropriate
*Researchers should explicitly address these issues in their research protocol
Källa: Eysenbach, Gunther, Till, James E (2001) Ethical issues in qualitative research on internet communities. BMJ 2001; 323 : 1103 doi: 10.1136/bmj.323.7321.1103.
Tillgänglig: http://www.bmj.com/content/323/7321/1103.full. Hämtad 4.10 2010.
160
ETHICAL GUIDELINES FOR RESEARCHING INTERNET COMMUNITIES
1. Supply a readily available link to the individuals and institutions responsible for the research project.
2. Describe study aims, potential benefits, and harms.
3. Provide information about what data will be collected and how it will be used.
4. State clearly what kinds of services you are (and are not) able to provide.
5. Identify any commercial or competing interests.
6. Offer direct contact information for the principal investigator and/or study coordinator, so that participants can get their questions answered.
7. Seek informed consent.
8. Grant users that do not consent to be part of research comparable service.
9. Be explicit about steps taken to preserve confidentiality and anonymity.
10. Create policies and procedures to ensure the well-being of the community (e.g., protocols for maintaining community values, moderating site, and managing crisis); make policies public and transparent.
11. Limit the ability of search engines to access message boards directly to safeguard privacy.
12. Gain approval from a credible human subjects ethics review committee.
Källa: Flickner, Sarah, Haans Dave & Skinner, Harvey (2004) Ethical Dilemmas in Reserarch on Internet Communities. Qualitative Health Research. Vol 14 No 1, Januari 2004. 124-134. Tillgänglig: http://www.hawaii.edu/hivandaids/Ethical_Dilemmas_
in_Research_on_Internet_Communities.pdf. Hämtad 4.10 2010.
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ansokningsbyran@novia.fi www.novia.fi
people at the Helsinki University. The research was financed by Svenska Kulturfonden. The aim of this research is to increase the knowledge of Internet discussions as a method for supporting parents and to define it`s possibilities and risks. Parenthood has become more aware and reflective. A resource promoting approach sees parents as active and acting. Social support in virtual communities emphasizes the parents own resources in everyday life. Using Internet has increased the access of information and support which are dependent of time or place. Internet as context offers both possibilities and risks for the users. The results of the research show that parents ask for give and receive resource promoting social support as advice, information, confirming, emotional support and support for reflection in the Internet community. Support is usually provides immediate after someone is asking for it. Experience based social support is important and the interactive dimension of the discussions can be compared to IRL peer support. The conclusions of the research are that the virtual community is activating parents to discuss every day subjects concerning families with children. In social work it´s important to notice possibilities of virtual support methods and parents needs of peer support. Anonymity, time flexibility and experience based informal support should get a more visible role in developing support methods for families with children.
ISSN: 1799-4179
ISBN (online): 978-952-5839-39-5