Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
as an online conference call whereby many people can participate in a discussion
simultaneously. While IM functions in a similar way, typically IM is thought
of as a one-on-one type of interacting, while IRC is most often thought of as a
multi-user environment. Instant communication is nowdays also available in
the comment area of blogs, and at social sites such as Myspace, Facebook and
Twitter.
As these various computer protocols enable individuals to interact in new
ways, they open new spaces and forms of interaction that warrant research.
Likewise, they make it possible to conduct research in new ways. An interview
or focus group can be conducted asynchronously through email or synchro-
nously in a chat room using an instant messaging or internet chat relay applica-
tion. Any place where text is available on the internet represents the possibility
for any number of qualitative studies such as narrative analysis and content
analysis. Any place where people interact online represents a potential place
where interactants can be observed and discussions can be analyzed. The loca-
tions for posting a survey or accessing potential study participants are virtually
unlimited. In addition, accessible data abounds online from organizations
such as the US Center for Disease Control (http://www.cdc.gov/datastatistics/),
the International Monetary Fund (http://www.imf.org/external/data.htm) and
the World Bank (http://www.worldbank.org/).
Blurring the boundaries
of traditional research
Before getting into the meat of our topic, it is worth making a few additional
introductory remarks. Online researching has opened new environments to
researchers that move beyond traditional research and challenge some of our
notions of what it means to research, how people engage online, and so forth.
A body of literature relative to assessing the value and experience in online
learning environments has expanded to include games and simulations
(Gibson, Aldrich & Prensky, 2007; Prensky, 2006). These environments not
only offer new ways for learning, but also new ways in which to conduct
research, creating simulations and testing conclusions (e.g. Gibson et al. 2007;
Seo & Barrett, 2007).
One area often overlooked when reviewing the literature, but available nonethe-
less, is a growing body of work on ethical and legal considerations related to online
research. For example, there are an increasing number of books on confidentiality
(applied to research participants in this context) (e.g. Smedinghoff, 1996b). In the
United States, any kind of health or medical related research requires adherence to
federal regulations such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
(HIPAA) (http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/), as well as adherence to copyright laws
(e.g. Imparl, 2006; http://memory.loc.gov/learn/start/cite/index.html). It is safe to
