[Air-L] Online research ethics

[Mark D. Johns]

Alecea Standlee wrote:
> Dear List Members,
> 
> I was hoping I could get some feedback on an ethical
> issue that I am trying to work through with my
> dissertation commitee... 

Alecea,
	You've already received a lot of great advice. What I've found amazing 
is that many of the people responding have neglected to mention that 
they are members of the AoIR Ethics Committee, which exists to help 
people address questions such as yours.

The Ethics document, already mentioned above, and the Ethics Committee 
members, can be very helpful in dealing with your IRB, and as has been 
noted, in the U.S. it really doesn't matter what your dissertation 
committee says, the bottom line is what the IRB or HSRB will approve.

I won't add much other than a plug for a book I edited awhile back:
Online Social Research: Methods, Issues, and Ethics (Digital Formations 
Series, Vol. 7 – Steve Jones, Series Editor) Edited by Mark D. Johns, 
Shing-Ling Sarina Chen, and G. Jon Hall, Peter Lang Publishers, New York 
© 2004 ISBN 0-8204-6101-6

Nick Jankowski has already noted his book, which is a little newer and a 
bit cheaper (it's hard to beat "free!").

There's lots of literature and lots of help available, so I'm glad you 
asked!
-- 
Mark D. Johns, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Head of the
  Department of Communication Studies
Luther College, Decorah, Iowa USA
http://academic.luther.edu/~johnsmar/
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"Get the facts first. You can distort them later."
     ---Mark Twain