Internet research ethics
Encyclopedia
Internet research ethics involves the research ethics
of social science, humanities, and scientific research carried out via the Internet
.
Of particular interest is the example of Wikipedia
and research ethics
. The usual view is that private and public spaces become blurred on the Internet. There are a number of objections to this stance, which are all relevant to Wikipedia research.
An assessment of ethics in Internet-based research, together with some recommendations, has been prepared by a Working Committee of the Interagency Advisory Panel on Research Ethics(PRE)in Canada. PRE is a body of external experts established in November 2001 by three Canadian Research Agencies—the Canadian Institutes of Health Research
(CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
(NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council
(SSHRC) -- to support the development and evolution of their joint research ethics policy the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS).
Research ethics
Research ethics involves the application of fundamental ethical principles to a variety of topics involving scientific research. These include the design and implementation of research involving human experimentation, animal experimentation, various aspects of academic scandal, including scientific...
of social science, humanities, and scientific research carried out via the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
.
Of particular interest is the example of Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
and research ethics
Research ethics
Research ethics involves the application of fundamental ethical principles to a variety of topics involving scientific research. These include the design and implementation of research involving human experimentation, animal experimentation, various aspects of academic scandal, including scientific...
. The usual view is that private and public spaces become blurred on the Internet. There are a number of objections to this stance, which are all relevant to Wikipedia research.
An assessment of ethics in Internet-based research, together with some recommendations, has been prepared by a Working Committee of the Interagency Advisory Panel on Research Ethics(PRE)in Canada. PRE is a body of external experts established in November 2001 by three Canadian Research Agencies—the Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Canadian Institutes of Health Research is the major federal agency responsible for funding health research in Canada. It is the successor to the Medical Research Council of Canada. It aims to create new health knowledge, and to translate that knowledge from the research setting into real world...
(CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada is a Canadian government agency that provides grants for research in the natural sciences and in engineering. Its mandate is to promote and assist research....
(NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council
The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada is an arm of the Canadian federal funding agency. SSHRC supports a wide range of research and scholarship in the social sciences and humanities. The current president of the Council is Chad Gaffield.- History :SSHRC was formally...
(SSHRC) -- to support the development and evolution of their joint research ethics policy the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS).
Further reading
- Zimmer, Michael (2010). Rethinking the Human Subjects Process. Michael Zimmer.org [blog], 14 June 2010.
- Thelwall, Michael (2010). Researching the public web. e-Research Ethics, 12 July 2010. Excerpt: "A simple but strong argument for researching published information on the public web without consent is that the object investigated is the publication and not the person."
- Battles, Heather T. (2010). Exploring Ethical and Methodological Issues in Internet-Based Research with Adolescents. International Journal of Qualitative Methods 2010; 9(1): 27-39 PDF, 120 KB. Excerpt from the abstract: "... the author discusses the methodological and ethical concerns surrounding Internet-based qualitative research with youth."
- Ferguson, Rebecca (2010). Internet research ethics. Slideshare presentation (12 slides). "Which ethics apply to Internet research? If the Internet is conceptualised as space, then social science research ethics apply. However, if it is conceptualised as text/art, then the ethics of the humanities are more relevant."
- Berry, David M. (2004). Internet Research: Privacy, Ethics and Alienation - An Open Source Approach. The Journal of Internet Research, 14(4) PDF, 105 KB. Emphasis on Internet research ethics within the larger context of "open-source ethics".
- Gunther EysenbachGunther EysenbachGunther Eysenbach is a researcher on Open access publishing, health policy, eHealth, and consumer health informatics.Eysenbach was born on 22 March 1967 in Berlin, Germany. While a medical student, he served on the executive board as elected Communication Director, later as Vice-President of the...
and James TillJames TillJames Edgar Till, OC, O.Ont, FRSC is a University of Toronto biophysicist, best known for demonstrating – with Ernest McCulloch – the existence of stem cells.-Early work:...
. Ethical issues in qualitative research on Internet communities. BMJ 2001(10 November); 323(7321): 1103-1105. Emphasis on a perspective from the biomedical and health sciences. - Charles Ess and the ethics working committee of the Association of Internet ResearchersAssociation of Internet ResearchersFounded in 1999, the Association of Internet Researchers is an learned society dedicated to the advancement of the transdisciplinary field of Internet studies...
. Provides access to the Ethics Working Committee document on Internet research ethics that was approved by voting members of the AoIR on November 27, 2002 Recommendations from the aoir ethics working committee1, 330 KB. - Internet Research Ethics: Introduction. An introduction, by Charles Ess, to papers that emerged from a panel presentation organized for a conference held at Lancaster University on December 14- December 16, 2001, building on the efforts of the Ethics Working Committee of the Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR). Emphasis on perspectives of researchers and scholars in the social sciences and humanities.
- Ethical and Legal Aspects of Human Subjects Research in Cyberspace. Provides access to a report of a workshop held in Washington DC on June 10- June 11, 1999 PDF, 65 KB. Includes useful references to the earlier literature.
- Johns, M. D., Chen, S., & Hall, G. J. (Eds.). (2004). Online Social Research: Methods, Issues & Ethics. Digital formations (p. 273). New York: P. Lang.
- Elizabeth Buchanan (ed.) (2004). Readings in Virtual Research Ethics: Issues and Controversies. Hershey: Idea Group.
- Charles Ess, (2009) Digital Media Ethics. London: Polity.
- Elizabeth Buchanan (2010) "Internet Research Ethics: Past, Present, and Future" in Robert Burnett, Mia Consalvo, and Charles Ess (eds.), The Handbook of Internet Studies. Wiley-Blackwell.
- Boehlefeld, S. (1996). Doing the Right Thing: Ethical Cyber Research. The Information Society, 12(2)(2).
- Natalie Young (2006) Internet Research Ethics blog.