[Air-L] public private

[Jeremy Hunsinger]

>>
> I can't agree with the definition of a subject as simply *someone* you
> intervene with or *someone* whose private information you have.

that is the federal definition though as cited on the umich irb and  
many others.


> A subject should be a *unique someone* in one's research, a single
> person and not a single persona (unless of course your research design
> specifically addresses this issue of multiple personas). While the
> opinions expressed in a blog like Jeremy's can be attributed  
> relatively
> safely to him, opinions in a forum or behaviors in an online world
> cannot be attributed to any single person. In my book, failing to
> convincingly address the issue of web anonymity is sloppy research. A
> signed consent form goes some way (but not all the way) in addressing
> this very real problem.

which problem?  that your research needs identifiable individual  
subjects?   in that case, you are very likely going to have the  
ethics issues noted earlier, which will then be resolved in some way  
like a consent form.

>
> just my two euro-cents.
>
> George Floros, MD
> MSc Medical research methodology,
> Thessaloniki , Greece.
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Jeremy Hunsinger
Information Ethics Fellow, Center for Information Policy Research,  
School of Information Studies, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee  
(www.cipr.uwm.edu)

Words are things; and a small drop of ink, falling like dew upon a  
thought, produces that which makes thousands, perhaps millions,  
think. --Byron