Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
intellectual property should also be clearly spelled out in any agreement. This
mayseemextreme,butitlimitsthelikelihoodofresearchideasappearinginan
unauthorized blog or web site, or your customized research application, devel-
oped with your professional insights, being sold on the open market.
Anotherareathatisoftenneglectedandneedstobeclearlyspelledoutisthe
lifecycle of a study. When does the study end? How long will the system need
to be available to the research staff? What should be the process for terminat-
ingtheproject?Whatfinaldocumentation,disks,files,etc.,shouldbeprovided
to the research team at the conclusion of the project? It is considerably frus-
tratingfortechnicalstafftobeleftwonderingabouttheanswerstotheseques-
tions. Likewise, it can be a source of frustration for a researcher to experience
pressuretomakedecisionss/heisunpreparedtomake.Theseissuesshouldbe
consideredandclearlydefinedpriortothestartofastudy.Itisfineforastudy
tohavealonglife.Whatisimportantisthateveryoneunderstandsmilestones,
howandwhendecisionswillbemadeaboutthecontinuedlifeofastudy,when
those decisions will be made, and by whom.
A final note on SLAs. Nothing needs to be written in stone. The purpose of
the SLA is to give people the means for dialog and shared expectations.
Research needs change. System operations change. Staffing needs change.
With a working document, these changes can be easily addressed without
creating any complications for the overall project or people involved. (A good
reference for service level agreements is http://www.sla-zone.co.uk which was
accessed on 9 April 2007.)
The preceding pages are designed to help a researcher address technical
issues early in the study design process. As previously stated, the intention is
not to deter researchers from embarking on an online research project, or to
make the issues appear insurmountable, but rather to enable researchers to be
more efficient and knowledgeable as they move forward in their research
design. The following chapter will build upon the issues raised in this chapter
by offering additional challenges, unique to the online environment, for
consideration; and some practical ways in which to address them.
