Thinking about Research & Ethics

The following material is intended for Soci 476 (field methods) and Soci 685 (Seminar in Critical Ethnography).

TIS ETHICS ISSUE

The Following articles are from a special issue of THE INFORMATION SOCIETY
(Vol 12, #2, 1996) on the ethics of research in cyberspace. They are
intended for class use only and may not be reprinted.

• Introduction to the the issues - Jim Thomas
• When Cyber-Research goes Wrong (Rim Study) - Jim Thomas
• Researching Internet Communities Storm King
• The Ethics of Online Research - Dennis Waskul
• Informed Consent and Study of Online Communities - Elizabeth Reid
• Ethics and Language in Computer Contexts - Susan Herring
• Ethical Research In Cyberspace - Sharon Boehlefeld
• The "Golden Rule" and cyber-ethics - Christina Allen
• Responses to the articles - Storm King

The Martin Rimm/"Carnegie Mellon Anti-Porn" Study

The so-called "Rimm/CMU" study raises a number of issues related to
the obligations of fieldwork researchers to subjects. It also illustrates
why we must be concerned with ethical issues, whether as students,
administrators, or average citizens.
Documents and papers related to the "Rimm Study"

Miscellaneous Papers

• "Ally or Enemy? In Defense of IRBs/RCR"
• Balancing the Ethical Antinomies of Net Research"
• "Dirty Information" in Field Research (Marquart/Thomas)

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