Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
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Provides the opportunity to ask questions about any aspect of the research.
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Informs participants of the nature of the research.
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Indicates clearly that participation is voluntary, with a statement that
there are no consequences, implied or otherwise, for deciding to with-
draw from, or choosing not to participate in, the study.
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Informs participants of any significant factors that may be expected to
influence their willingness to participate (e.g. use of personal informa-
tion, possible risks and benefits of participation, etc.).
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Outlines the nature of confidentiality and how it will or will not be
maintained.
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Notes any applicable governmental regulations and, where applicable,
institutional review board requirements.
(Adapted from The American Sociological Association's web site, http://
www2.asanet.org/members/ecostand2.html accessed 11 April 2007)
Archived data
In addition to being stored by participants, computer-mediated communica-
tion may also be archived for later retrieval by others. Text is often retrievable
even when it was not intentionally archived. In some instances, text may by
read by a search engine even after deletion, making it possible for anyone to
retrieve a discussion using a search application such as Google or Yahoo!
Hence, there is no such thing as a “private” conversation online. As there are
no easy answers, researchers are advised to utilize available guides when deter-
mining what constitutes acceptable practice in their own field of research prior
to embarking on a major online study.
Unique to the electronic environment is the fact that others can access the
researchdata(Williams,Rice&Rogers,1988).Inthisenvironment,theresearcher
often cannot control who saves the data nor what is done with it. Although it
may not be an issue for others to have access to the data, it should be recog-
nized and acknowledged that by virtue of asking someone to participate in a dis-
cussion the researcher is also exposing that individual to a potential
misrepresentation of their contribution in someone else's research.
It would be futile and naïve to think that participants in most qualitative
research online could be prevented from keeping log files of interactions. In
addition, attempting to control it may only drive those storing the data into hid-
ing. Therefore, it is probably best to be open and honest about it. A researcher
could indicate that they are aware of the possibility and that they are comfort-
able with others keeping log files and, possibly, using the data for research
purposes. In addition, though, note that a participant, like other researchers, has
