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may be unknown,” pretty much necessitates recruiting and securing consent
throughadultguardians.Theyfurthersuggestthattoensurethatyouarecom-
municatingwiththecorrectperson,itisagoodideatoconsiderobtainingcon-
sentinpaperformat(ibid.).Thislimitsthepoolofparticipants,butmaybethe
mostappropriatesolutionforincludingminorsinonlineresearch.
Whetherornotparentalconsentiswarranted,thereisanotherconstraint:
access. While a researcher may feel an obligation to seek parental consent,
accesstoparentsmustcomethroughtheyoungpeoplethemselves.Sincethe
online environment enables youthful independence, it is unlikely that many
people will want to seek parental consent for their engagement online. Stern
(2004) notes that this has been the case in her own work and that of others.
Ultimately,shesuggeststhatifparentalconsentisdesiredforastudy,theopti-
malwaytorecruitandgetconsentisoffline.This,however,changesthenature
of an online study by providing a real world link between participant and
researcher,constrainingrecruitment.
Concluding comments
Reflecting on the issues outlined in the preceding pages, along with other
researchdesigncommentsinearlierchapters,wehopethatwehavegivenyou
sufficientinformationtobegintonavigatetheever-changingwatersofonline
research.Attheveryleast,weassumewehaveprovidedyouwiththesensethat
there are no hard and fast rules. The environment continues to change, pre-
senting us with new opportunities for research. We also suggest that as the
environmentcontinuestochange,we,too,arebeingchangedalongwithit.As
wechange,andvirtualenvironmentscontinuetotransform,thechallengesfor
conductingresearchinthesenewspaceswillpersist.Ourapproachhasbeen
toprovideyouwithsomepracticalskillsandtipstohelpyoutamewhatsome
mightfeelisatechnologicalbeast.
To some, the online environment as a shifting research environment may
feeldaunting.Webelieve,though,thatitoffersanexcitingshiftinthepossibil-
itiesforresearchandprovidesawealthofopportunity.Forexample,whenwe
thinkofresearchwetypicallythinkofresearcherandparticipant.Theinternet,
however, appears to be transforming the role of researcher and those being
researched.Whileshiftingrolesmaybecomeincreasinglychallenging,someof
the challenges noted in the preceding pages, such as the line between public
andprivate,ownership,authorship,andsoforth,maydecreaseinimportance
witheachpassingday.
As we continue to struggle with these issues and mature in our online
researchtechniques,allofourdefinitionsandunderstandingsoftheenviron-
mentanditsinhabitantswillcontinuetoevolve.Giventhatwebelievethisis
thefuture,itisourhopethatthisbookwillhelpmanyreaderstoembracethe
changeinpreparationfortheresearchactivitiesoftomorrow.
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