[Air-L] [SPAM: 7.500] Ethical approval for online data collection?

[Sue Tait]

Sorry I was over tired when I replied to this - it doesn't matter what your
project is, if it involves the use of human subjects initially, or as a
result of something you develop, you need ethical approval


On 11/20/07 10:42 PM, "Tomas Lin" <tomaslin at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi everyone,
> 
> I am starting a research project that tries to explore the potential
> of data collection and online surveys through Facebook Applications.
> 
> Given that this is an independent project not founded by my university
> and not attached to any faculty member, should I go through the ethics
> process of getting approval and ethical review? How would this affect
> the validity and publishing potential of this data?
> 
> There are already applications on Facebook that claim in their terms
> of services "This data could be shared with interested third parties".
> And I think my application is no different. What would be the
> advantages of getting ethics forms approved for this type of research?
> Do journals look down on data that is not obtained through traditional
> academic routes?
> 
> I am concerned that since ethics review boards do not understand the
> nature of this technology, and there are many dimensions of this
> exploratory study that simply do not conform to the information being
> required in forms from ethics boards. I am also concerned about many
> of the potential limitations that will be placed on this research
> project from ethics.
> 
> Any guidance will be appreciated,
> 
> Thank you,
> 
> Tomas
> _______________________________________________
> The Air-L at listserv.aoir.org mailing list
> is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org
> Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at:
> http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
> 
> Join the Association of Internet Researchers:
> http://www.aoir.org/