[Air-L] Dissertation

[mhward]

Like Alex, I think that a blog that is not password-protected, and any
comments left on that blog, constitute a public forum, not a semi-private
one. Letters to the editor are a completely public forum, surely? I don't
think that one's view of the internet affects this in the slightest.

I am doing a PhD about the process of doing a PhD, and am one of a group of
PhD candidates who are blogging what it's like for them. However, recently a
strange situation has arisen where my public blog (in which I rarely mention
my PhD) has been targeted by people who claim that I leave comments on other
blogs in order to stir up controversy for my PhD! As my PhD isn't about
blogging, and the blogs in my study aren't available to casual searchers,
this is a strange accusation to make. One person has even threatened to
contact my university, claiming that I am 'not of good character'.

This is where I are glad that I have an Ethics Committee to protect me. If
this person did contact the university it would be referred to my supervisor
and the Ethics Committee and it would be quickly cleared up. But it has been
interesting to observe how people who construe my behaviour as threatening
and bullying when I post or comment assertively are so paranoid about being
'studied' that they assume that's what I'm doing when they see that I'm
doing a PhD that has a remote connection to the blogosphere.

M-H



On 10/8/07 7:31 AM, "Alecea Standlee" <stan0504 at yahoo.com> wrote:


<snip>
.
> A bloggers response is a semi-public forum. If you treat
> Internet spaces like a document, then is akin to a
> "letter to the editor" in a newspaper.
> If on the other hand you view Internet spaces in a
> more post-modern light, and see it as a location. Then
> it is a public venue, a place where ethical rules of
> observation or participant observation in a public
> space function. I do however, suggest that you ask
> your bloggers to notify their readership that they are
> particpation in your research. While it may somewhat
> influence the behavior, I think that outing yourself
> as a researcher fulfills you ethical obligations...
> Just my humble opinion.
> Alecea