[Air-l] Help with information gathering - AoIR ethical guidelines

[Charles Ess @ ITU]

Dear Sister and Fellow AoIR-ists:

One of the great delights over the past year is to learn from the occasional
conversation that yes, indeed, the AoIR guidelines are "out there" and
making a difference (positive, so far as I know).  E.g.,

* a young researcher approached her IRB to begin the process of applying for
approval - and was told, without prompting, that she should be sure to look
at the AoIR guidelines since her research involved online venues.  (Yes, her
project was approved.)

* an Australian university (which shall remain nameless until I receive
appropriate documentation and permission) likewise has included the AoIR
guidelines in its resource database on matters ethical.

And...???

(For this philosopher, two data points are good starting points towards a
generalization... smile)

Here's where you come in (I hope).  If you're aware of the guidelines being
used in some way at your institution, by a colleague you know, etc. - and if
you're at liberty to say, would you mind sending me a note to that effect?

My notion is to collect these sorts of listings and include them in a
webpage affiliated with the ethics document.  Presuming there are a good
number of them, this will help other researchers who may want to use the
guidelines in arguing for their particular research project's design for
appropriate ethical requirements and protections - i.e., if said researcher
can point out that other institutions are using the guidelines as well, it
will add credibility to them and thus to his/her argument.

So - if you're aware of uses of this sort and you and/or your institution
are happy to have these publicly noted on a website affiliated with the
document, please let me know.

In the meantime, thanks - and thanks again to all the folk who made AoIR 4.0
such a delicious feast of new ideas, interesting research, and some of the
most enjoyable folks I have the pleasure and honor of knowing.

Cheers and all best wishes,

Charles Ess
Visiting Professor (fall, '03)
Department of Digital Aesthetics and Communication (DIAC)
The IT University of Copenhagen
Glentevej 67
DK-2400 Copenhagen NV
Telephone: +45 38 16 89 63
       Mobile: +45 22 46 06 35
   Fascimile: +45 38 16 88 99

Distinguished Research Professor, Interdisciplinary Studies
Drury University
900 N. Benton Ave.
Springfield, MO  65802  USA
voice: 417-873-7230
fax: 417-873-7435
homepage: <www.drury.edu/ess/ess.html>

Co-chair, CATaC '04: <it.murdoch.edu.au/catac>