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Ethics and Credibility Workshop

Page history last edited by ted.coopman@... 13 years, 1 month ago

Directions:

This workshop has online and in class components and consists of a self-paced slide show, tasks for you to complete and bring to class, as well as links and basic information below. The slides are available in Keynote and PDFs (PDFs are accessible for screen readers). These slides are plain and designed to download fast and simply provide you with information you need for this course.

 

Once you have looked over these slides, you need to make at least one comment below (100 word minimum) that directly address the slides content for workshop credit, ask questions, etc. There is also work that must be completed and brought to class.

 

While you are not quizzed on this workshop, you are responsible for using this information for your course projects. This is stuff you need to know. Refer back to these slides.

 

Keynote: Ethics_Info_Quality_156i_online.key

PDF: Ethics_Info_Quality_156i_online.pdf

 

This Guide is from William H. Dutton, Director of the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford

http://people.oii.ox.ac.uk/dutton/2010/02/05/principles-to-guide-research-ethics-in-the-social-sciences/ 

 

Six Principles to Guide Research Ethics in the Social Sciences

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) has published a revised ‘Framework for Research Ethics (FRE)’, which is available in full on the Web. This highlights six key principles of ethical research — principles that the ‘ESRC expects to be addressed whenever applicable — are:

1. Research should be designed, reviewed and undertaken to ensure integrity, quality and transparency.
2. Research staff and participants must normally be informed fully about the purpose, methods and intended possible uses of the research, what their participation in the research entails and what risks, if any, are involved.
3. The confidentiality of information supplied by research participants and the anonymity of respondents must be respected.
4. Research participants must take part voluntarily, free from any coercion.
5. Harm to research participants must be avoided in all instances.
6. The independence of research must be clear, and any conflicts of interest or partiality must be explicit.

 

In addition, the report highlights key procedural issues for implementing these principles:

•    The responsibility for conduct of the research in line with relevant principles rests with the principal investigator and the research / employing organization.

•    The responsibility for ensuring that research is subject to appropriate ethics review, approval and monitoring lies with the research organization seeking or holding an

     award with the ESRC and which employs the researchers performing it, or some of the researchers when it is acting as the co-ordinator for collaborative research

     involving more than one organization.

•    Research organizations should have clear, transparent, appropriate and effective procedures in place for ethics review, approval and governance whenever it is  

      necessary.

•    Risks should be minimized.

•    Research should be designed in a way that the dignity and autonomy of research participants is protected and respected at all times.

•    Ethics review should always be proportionate to the potential risk, whether this involves primary or secondary data.

•    Whilst the secondary use of some datasets may be relatively uncontroversial, and require only light touch ethics review, novel use of existing data and especially data

     linkage, as well as some uses of administrative and secure data will raise issues of ethics.

•    Research involving primary data collection will always raise issues of ethics that must be addressed.

 

The US Department of Health and Human Services has a decision tree that offers a very useful set of issues that research in any nation should consider.

 

Judging Information Credibility

 

YouTube plugin error

 

Comments (28)

daren johnson said

at 6:13 pm on Feb 16, 2011

This workshop was one of the best so far. Very precise and clear slides and the few case examples were very helpful to ground the point. I was somewhat disturbed over the "U.S. Press" example. While I did realize that journalism was an industry going through technological change and therefore maybe losing some 'brick and mortar' jobs, I had not taken into account the possibilities of journalists restricting or debating on what to report, if that story would be potentially harmful to their career. I also thought the video was very alarming, and alas, probably true. I did laugh though at the end, when I thought it was over, and the guy comes back and says, “everybody lived happily ever after.” LOL.

Kyle Perry said

at 10:38 pm on Feb 16, 2011

The workshop was great, very interesting. I find it very applicable to every situations, where most of the time if you want the truth then you need to seek out yourself. The news has an agenda, and ultimately is a business trying to make money. The information in the video gave a great example of that played out. I like that the workshop pointed out that research involving primary data will always raise an issue of ethics. It is important to gather accurate data. To manipulate the data, whether consciously or unconsciously, is ethically wrong and should be carefully controlled. Any taint of credibility will completely discredit your hard work and ruin results. I also thought it was important to respect what your participants have to offer, because ultimately they are volunteering their opinions. Overall this is a great workshop to refer to when conducting my own research, and will provide a great reference to conduct my research ethically.

daren johnson said

at 12:16 am on Feb 17, 2011

Workshop Task: You belong to a local car club. It has a Facebook page and a Google Group listserv. Anyone can request to join. You want examine how people represent themselves in this venue.

1. What are 3 potential ethical issues of this research?

Question of credibility. There is no confirmation any member is truly interested in cars or this car club, nor screening process either, thus it would be difficult to base any results on certifiably being associated with this car club.

Question of informed consent. If you request informed consent from the group and its members, the issue of collecting “real” data is compromised, once the members know they are being observed.

Question of public vs. private venue. As this is an online group with access to virtually anyone, the issue of the right to privacy might be questioned.


2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of getting informed consent in this situation?

Advantages :
1) Most ethics require both written and verbal consent to participate in a research study. By getting informed consent, the researcher has fulfilled this need.
2) Any research with informed consent will likely withstand attack and criticism better than one without it.
3) Informed consent can also help to deflect any self-serving motives or conflict of interest suspicion with the study, as the researcher has not tried to be deceptive.

Disadvantages :
1) People may “lie” or tell the researcher what he or she wants to hear, simply to please them.
2) People may give feedback indicating what they want to be seen like, rather than what they are really like.
3) The group may try to manipulate or alter the results to reflect their particular interests.

3. Is there potential harm in such a study? If so what? If not, why not?

Although on face value, the study does not seem to be dangerous, slide #8 notes that “the repercussions and potential harm of a study can be hard to predict,” thus I would not close the book on such a possibility.

jstoltz89@... said

at 2:44 pm on Feb 17, 2011

I really likes this workshop. I am taking a communications ethic class so having had a bit of background on the topic already came in handy when completing this workshop. I thought each slide provided very detailed information on what is considered to be ethical. I think this subject can defenitly be tricky when trying to do research. You want to get the most accurate results and get people acting natural, but you dont want to study them without their knowledge. I really appreciated the slides that gave examples. Some of the examples I would not have necessarily was a big deal or unethical but after reading further, I have a better understanding on whats appropriate. This workshop will defenitly be useful in this upcoming project

jstoltz89@... said

at 2:45 pm on Feb 17, 2011

Here is my workshop assignment-
1. What are 3 potential ethical issues of this research?
One issue is that people are not always honest, and may not accurately portray themselves online. Another issue is that if people are not informed that they are being studied this can be a huge invasion of privacy and it would be unethical to use their specific information regarding anyone apart of the club without their consent.

2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of getting informed consent in this situation?

Advantages-
• People are aware of what is occurring so if at the end of the research someone says that they didn’t know they were being studied.
• If the information/ purpose of the study is presented to the volunteers, those who are a part of the study will have more trust in the researcher and study.
• Helps with potential legal issues, for example, invasion of privacy
Disadvantages-
• If people know what they are being studied for then they may not act the way they normally do, making the research results not necessarily accurate
• In a way, the researcher almost loses control over the experiment since the people involved can manipulate the results.

3. Is there potential harm in such a study? If so what? If not,
why not?

I don’t think that a study like this is necessarily harmful to those involved, the only thing I can think of is people like their privacy and it’s important to not be intrusive on people’s lives if they don’t like it.

megnance@... said

at 10:10 pm on Feb 18, 2011

I found this workshop to be very helpful because most of us don’t even realize that the things we say or do can be harmful to others or even create negative impacts. An important take away I got from this particular workshop include the statement of “There is no such thing as the absence of bias”. We try so hard to avoid opinions and bias in our research, but once we realize that no such research exists, the essence of our work will have its opportunity to reach its intended audience. We focus more on being unbiased, than the study itself and that in itself really takes away from the research we do. The workshop taught us that the “primary axiom of research ethics is do no harm (or as little harm as possible)” and if we spend the majority of our analysis trying to be unbiased and use language that seems neutral we will inevitably hurt or harm someone with our lack of passion or interest in the study. Thank you Professor Coopman for the helpful tips within the workshop, I look forward to incorporating it into my own work.

megnance@... said

at 10:57 pm on Feb 18, 2011

Task:
1. One issue deals with the question of informed consent. When those involved in the study have the study itself explained to them, potentially they are able to put on a facade of who they really are or how they really behave for the sake of being depicted in the "right light". This can compromise the researchers goal to collect "real" or "factual" data.
2. The second issue of ethics is the invasion of privacy. For, I may believe that a Facebook page and Google Group listserv is a public realm for a general audience, another may find it to very private and believe that I'm infringing upon their right to privacy.
3. The third issue of ethics would be credibility. Result of the listserv and Facebook page being open to any and everyone, this can hinder the researcher's ability to gather credible information from individuals who are actually interested in the local car club or in cars in general.

Advantages:
-Those participating in the research have more trust in the study and researcher, so they are more likely to provide 'real' data for the study.
-With any research study, it is a legality to have an informed consent. To ensure your participants engagement and safety within the research will avoid legal issues that may arise.
Disadvantages:
-Once individuals recognize they are being observed, they may behave in an unnatural manner to avoid criticism or negative analysis that would have possibly stemmed from their normal behavior.
-Individuals are capable of lying to the researcher to tell them what he or she wants to hear.
-People say, act, and do whatever they can to manipulate the results to reflects their own self-motives.

There is potential harm in every study based on the topic of research and how the research is conducted. Depending on what the individual researcher is studying, participants may feel uncomfortable with the results of a study and the credibility of the study can be jeopardized based on the actual participants.

Jason Steib said

at 1:17 pm on Feb 19, 2011

Overall I found this workshop to be quite demonstrative in terms of ethical issues in research. I really liked that the book already gave us an introduction into these ethical issues, but liked the reinforcement that this workshop provided. I agree with the notion that in constructing qualitative research, that it is easy for a researcher to find his/herself in a position in which the ethicality of a practice may jeopardize data collection. I enjoyed reading through the different examples that the workshop provided in reference to bringing these issues to our attention, as well as providing us with methods to utilize to minimize and/or solve these problems. Finally, I liked how the workshop pointed out the advantages and disadvantages to look for in different sources.

-Jason Steib

Jason Steib said

at 1:18 pm on Feb 19, 2011

Workshop task:
3 Potential ethical issues in this research could include:
1. Some people in the club may make posts in a fashion that is outside of the way they want to be perceived in real life.
2. There could be an expectation of privacy present in how these people represent themselves to anybody who is outside of the group forums.
3. The fashion in which you may respond to these people in order to try to gain more information to use on how they represent themselves .
Informed consent may be a good way to go about conducting research for this project, but carries some advantages and disadvantages. Advantages could include data collection free from the concern of breaching any privacy expectations, and possibly lead to more information about the way the subject represents him/herself on the forum in general. Some disadvantages could include an alteration in the persona of the subject in the context of future posts after being made aware of the consent agreement, as well as a noted increase in faulty cooperation to fulfill a personal agenda.
I believe that there could be some potential harm in such a study, as there could be with any study. As mentioned before, by researching and making public the way these people present themselves in an online forum by attaching legitimate names to them, you could disrupt and breach a privacy expectation among these people in the groups in regards to how they choose to be perceived in the real world, outside of internet forums.
-Jason Steib

Andrew Terry said

at 2:11 pm on Feb 20, 2011

Their was many interesting considerations to think about when conducting a study and handeling ethical situations. This workshop gave me some more thought into what I need to consider when gaining information about my topic. I like that the workshop said that their is different options to think about when conducting a stud and to think if the direction you decide to take is going to be ethical/harmful to the people in the study. Another way the workshop wants us to think about is being considerate to the participants and not make an impact other than observing. Getting involved can bring in more bias opinions and alter the outcome of the study. Some ethical situations will occur in collecting data and it is important to think about what other options as a researcher are their so the data from the study. One last thing that I thought this workshop was helpful was to think about how to conduct a study without causing harm to the people in the study and to minimize risk.

uismiguel@... said

at 3:32 pm on Feb 20, 2011

First at all, this workshop is very detailed and clear, and all what we need to do and know is there. It was very easy to follow. The information given in ethics will help shape our research better and give us the tools when writing about the study and gathering the information to support the research. Something I really liked in this workshop specifically was the example of online dating because it was risky and difficult to get it done. As Dr. Coopman says, “the harm in dating is that it is an emotional charge activity,” and that is not easy for anybody, especially if it is a girl.
3 ethical issues
1. There is not honesty when people present themselves on-line.
2. People’s consent is being violated.
3. Some people may get offended if the information is published to the open public.
4. The reputation of that car club could be denigrated.
Advantages
1. The researcher will avoid legal issues
2. There will be lots of information from all the individuals to reinforce the research.
3. The study can be more substantial and easy because the researcher and the participants would be aware that they are being studied.
Disadvantages
1. People will act differently knowing the fact that they are being studied.
2. People may alter their opinions, age or give irrelevant information.
3. There would be more subjectivity in the research rather than objectivity, and the research will be in a way bias.
I will be concerned about the car club’s reputation because after all, the page is about the club. This would be the only harm, and this may disrupt the company and some people if the information published is not what they concurred with. Other than that, it should not be harmful.

Rebecca said

at 8:10 pm on Feb 20, 2011

I thought this workshop was interesting and eye opening. I thought it was cool how you kind of gave the background of the newspaper and how it used to be driven by different political groups who wanted to push their agendas across, and with time it became a source to make money and thus it needs to meet certain requirements to appeal to the masses (so now it has dull info). I also began to understand what you meant about the definition of privacy when you had asked the question "what do we determine to be private when it comes to ourselves?" When you put it that way I want to say whatever I am doing or wherever I am I would consider it a private manner. I never really think that anything I do should be considered public; if I'm in a classroom, or eating at a restaurant those are private moments to me even though I am in a public setting.

1. What are 3 potential ethical issues of this research?
1. You need to receive everyone's consent that you are watching
2. You might need permission to observe facebook, and the google page depending if it is set to private or public settings.
3. What ever you might publish make sure it doesn't hinder the existence of the car club.
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of getting
informed consent in this situation?
1. Since it is a car club, its has a limit environment so you can easily get all the participants' permission.
2. You may not need permission to observe the facebook group if its set to public, and the memebers know that when a group is set to public; whatever they write will be shown to the public.
3.If you have no initial interest in cars, and you want to join the car club for research the club can say no, and you won't have a project to research!

Rebecca said

at 8:10 pm on Feb 20, 2011

3. Is there potential harm in such a study? If so what? If not,
why not?
I fell the only harm that could happen is if what the researcher publishes will affect the way the car club is look as in a negative way. Like making the car club seem like a cult or something. Also because facebook maybe a private place for some people, so if you put into the public what they are saying it might offend the participate.

mchaidez0785@hotmail.com said

at 8:40 pm on Feb 20, 2011

This workshop opened up my eyes to things I never really took into account when looking at sources. Some of those things was how there is always bias in research and in what people present. Our everyday experiences have had an impact on how we see and evaluate the world. Another key concept was that of informed consent and how it can alter the facts because people may now be telling you what they think you want to hear. I enjoyed the workshop because I will now take more things into consideration on how I conduct my research. Some of the things I plan on doing is having more sources to have more of an overall consensus rather than someones biased beliefs. I really liked how it ended in what are the advantages and disadvantages of each different type of source.
-Manny C.

Derek De Vine said

at 8:48 pm on Feb 20, 2011

Workshop Comment:
Not only is this Ethics and Credibility Workshop prudent for our research project, but also for our daily lives. The quality of being honest and transparent with our participants about the purpose, methods, and intentions of a research project is their right to know. And being aware of participant’s feelings is important as well. We only want to research on participants whom agreed and volunteered. And the best way for us researchers to be more aware about these ethical concerns is to imagine being the participant and to think whether or not we would allow the data we share to be shared globally. And further more we should review and follow the guidelines to ethical concerns when conducting our research projects.

Derek De Vine said

at 8:48 pm on Feb 20, 2011

3 Potential Ethical Issues:
1. A participant may only tell a researcher what they want to hear, because they want to be viewed in a positive “light.”
2. “Bias and Subjective Reality” A participant is only honest as they can be. They may not be able to escape their culture, education, experiences, family, race, gender, etc…
3. And some participants may truly lie, which is why we must have wide range of data from multiple sources.

Advantages of Getting Informed Consent:
1. The participant will truly know what the research is about to be ethical and provide extensive data.
2. The participant will also be able to provide unbiased answers knowing the purpose of the research project

Disadvantages of Getting Informed Consent:
1. The participant may not want to further go-on with the research due to their emotional or physical capacity due to the topic.
2. Some people don’t like being observed, like me, and may opt-out of the research.

Potential Harm in Study?
Some users may not know their Facebook page is public and that anyone can access their information, so it may cross the line of ethics in terms of privacy. However, at the same time if the Facebook page is public and anyone can join it’s only fine line and a researcher may examine how a public group of people represent themselves. I would still get informed consent from the group members to be ethical, safe, and receive the permission from the group because it’s a social and somewhat “private” environment.

Christopher Harrell said

at 9:25 pm on Feb 20, 2011

First off, while the workshop was very informative and the PDF was easy to read and interesting, the six principles to guide research ethics in the social sciences was very dry. That however is to be expected. I really liked the video. The thing about Fox news’ decision to fire two journalists who were trying to report the stories as they found it, and not as Fox wanted to portray that information really drives the point home that the stories that you hear on the air or online really don’t necessarily have to be the truth. There is a lot of wiggle room to be had with these companies.
1. What are 3 potential ethical issues of this research?
a. The line between observation and research without consent
b. Is it a public or a private area? It is a specialized site, but the ability for anyone to join means that the people who join may or may not be the people you were expecting to observe
c. The ability for the website to continue to provide service to the people. If the site gets a bad reputation for having people survey others on the site it may die off
2. Advantages: bypasses some ethical issues of whether it is public or private domains, grants the ability for the people to willingly participate. Disadvantages: since people have anonymity, they can present themselves in whichever way they wanted.
3. Yes there is potential harm in the study. I think there is potential harm in almost every study. However the harm is small, because all you are really doing is looking at the way people project themselves online. There is no real way to find out who is really doing the postings, so there is nothing that is out there that the people didn’t expressly put out there themselves.

Christina Salacup said

at 10:12 pm on Feb 20, 2011

The 3 potential ethical issues of this research
First, anyone can join which means the members will get numerous postings with different agendas. Secondly, it could cause harm to the members due to privacy issues because they could be exposing themselves to marketers. Thirdly, it could be “public v. private” issue if it turns out that a car manufacturer, dealer, or a salesman who owns the page or group.


The advantage of getting informed consent in this situation is that you can cite the club in your research and you will not be liable for misusing your membership. The disadvantage is the possibility of dishonesty because the members do not want to ruin the club’s image.


There is a potential harm in such a study because it will come from a blog like websites that may not be a credible source.


mateoman89@... said

at 10:33 pm on Feb 20, 2011

This workshop was very informative and gave some great examples. Consent plays a much larger role in research than I had anticipated.

The 3 potential ethical issues of this research include:
1. A participant may only tell a researcher what they want to hear, because they want to be viewed in a positive light.
2. people's consent is being violated
3. credibility. It will be hard to determine if information from an internet website is honest info.

The advantages of informed consent is that the subject may be more likely to express themselves if they trust the researcher.
the DIsadvantage of getting informed consent is that the subject may taint the information to be viewed in a positive light and won't act "natural" when they know someone is studying them.

The Harm in a study like this is that a subject can simply lie and give you false data for your research.

~Matt LOGAN

mchaidez0785@hotmail.com said

at 11:03 pm on Feb 20, 2011

3 potential ethical issues:
1. There really is no privacy due to the fact that anyone can join; since there is no privacy some of the members may choose not to disclose their actual thoughts and feelings.
2. People can be liars; they can make many profiles and can pose as someone they are not in order to discredit the car club.
3. Invasion of privacy is also an issue to look at; some people may say something assuming it is just meant for those in the car club but later learn that someone outside the club got hold of this knowledge without the person's consent. (i.e. illegal street racing and your place of employment got hold of it and were fired)
Advantages/Disadvantages of informed consent:
Advantage:
-No invasion of privacy
-People are informed of what you are doing and why
Disadvantages:
-People most likely will watch what they say; you no longer are getting the whole 'truth'
-People become someone they want to present to people, not who they really are
-
Potential harm:
The harm is that you have no control of who sees what you post. You have to keep in mind that anything put on the web is out there for everyone to see and may later come back to bite you in the butt. If you talk about someone's car as being ugly or a POS (piece of 'crap') that person may not like it too much. You might be confronted by that person and get into trouble. Most people's cars are their 'baby' and take a lot of pride in their cars; be careful with what you say about people's car especially being in a car club.

mchaidez0785@hotmail.com said

at 11:04 pm on Feb 20, 2011

sorry last post by . . .
-Manny C.

Glenn said

at 11:24 pm on Feb 20, 2011

1. Potential Issues of Research:
1) People in a study could potential have their own agendas and may intentionally or sub-consciously represent themselves as they wish to be seen.
2) People in a study may tell a researcher what it is what they think the researcher wants to hear.
3) People have explicit and implicit agendas and can use the research process to try and further their own ends.
2. Advantages and Disadvantages of Informed Consent:
With the very action of informed consent the individual is aware of the entire procedure and thus affected by it. Any and all action afterward can no longer be considered truly natural. However this is a necessary part of research and it must be completed no matter what. Following through on this is imperative for any results to be considered valid.
3. Potential Harm?
It could vary from extremely miniscule, to extremely devastating to an individual. Ultimately as a researcher is impossible to judge the collective values of all their subjects. It is best just assume any and all information should be kept private until explicitly told otherwise in writing and clearly voiced.

kenuy15@... said

at 11:30 pm on Feb 20, 2011

1.) The first potential issue is that there is a possibility that the participant is unaware that he/she is being observed. The second issue is that if the participant is unaware then the researcher is deceiving the participant. The third potential issue is that the reputation of the social club is at stake. This could lead to potential harm.

2.) One of the advantages is that the participants will be informed of the study. The disadvantages are that people may opt-out or change their behavior once they know they are being observed.

3.) Although this is a public forum, participant may mistake this as private space and could share private information that they did not intend on sharing.

Ryan Black said

at 11:58 pm on Feb 20, 2011

In going through this workshop, the importance of the " gatekeeper" is once again revisited. The idea of privacy of the people that you are interviewing and the confirmed concent of all that are involved prove to be very important in this process. In the specific case of the online profile, there are some major ethical issues. First, the people that are being observed or being decieved in thinking that they are communicating with a real person. Secondly, the people being observed are not aware they are part of a study and thus have not given their consent. Thirdly, it would be difficult to determine the validity of information that is obtained from people that you are not actually meeting face to face. The advantages of gaining informed consent in this situation are that people would be fairly informed on what study they are doing and that they would not be being decieved by giving out information to people that they may not otherwise be comfortable with giving outl. Disadvantages of concent in this situation would mainly consist of people not giving honest information because they may be embarassed of something or perhaps uncomfortable with someone that is conducting research knowing something private about them. There is harm in this as it must be considered an invasion of privacy in going under a false identity to unveil information about someone that is unaware of the research study that they are unwillingly apart of.

Micah Dela Cruz said

at 12:15 am on Feb 21, 2011

I really liked this week's workshop. There were many aspects to consider when we do observations or things to consider with the project as a whole. Even though we are doing a research project we still have to realize that we are dealing with real people with real lives: and real people can be unpredictable at times. So this workshop made us deal with the potentials that may come along and the ethics and credibility.

1. 3 Potential ethical issues:
A) You have a conflict of interest since you belong to the group.
B) People are unaware that they are being researched (deception).
C) And is this group and what is discussed in Facebook and listserv considered public or private information?

2. Advantages and Disadvantages of informed consent:
Disadvantages to informed consent is that the subject or group will not act natural since they know you are watching, they may lie, do anything to further their agenda or they can opt out at anytime.
Advantages are that people fully know what they are getting into and you are no longer in danger of ethical dangers like invasion of privacy or deception.

3. Potential Harm:
People in the group may do something drastic if they feel they or the group have been misrepresented. Reputations may also be on the line by presenting the facts or evidences.

Andrew Terry said

at 12:21 am on Feb 21, 2011

1. a. People online have the freedom to express themselves however they want. They can lie or stretch the truth on anything they please.
b. People also will give limited information and no guideline which gives you rocky data to retrieve.
c. When observing a group informing them of the study is important and with people constantly joining it is going to be a challenge to keep everyone informed.
2. Advantages: The advantages of consent is that you can know that you are being ethical by informing people that you are going to be observing them.
Disadvantage: You are getting consent but you need to be clear on what you are studying and if a new member joins then you will need their consent also. Also, the truth is not going to be 100% their because people can be biased and not truthful.
3. You never know who you are dealing with online so even though you are covering the guidelines and conducting an ethical report, the possibility of a situation from a participant can occur. I don’t think harm will occur if the consent is given by all people and it is documented.

chewy_g10@hotmail.com said

at 12:37 am on Feb 21, 2011

I really enjoyed this week’s workshop. The ethical dilemmas regarding research studies has always been something that has interested me. I really enjoyed the video I felt that it was very informative also. One thing that really stood out for me in the video is the when is when the man said to not even trust everything that he was saying. I think that was really important for him to say because of the fact that many people who watched that video could automatically think that everything he was saying is true. I think that it is important that he reminds the viewers to not really believe what anyone is saying. This workshop was one of my favorites so far this semester.

chewy_g10@hotmail.com said

at 12:38 am on Feb 21, 2011

1. What are 3 potential ethical issues of this research?

One potential ethical issue in this research is the fact that when people are online they are not always telling the truth. People feel that since they are online they can fabricate anything because who is really going to know what is real or fabricated. Another potential issue regarding ethics in this study is the fact that these people are not being told that they are subjects of a research project and this can be seen as an invasion of privacy. The third potential issue in this research is consent, and the fact that the subjects of the study are not being asked for their consent.
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of getting
informed consent in this situation?
Advantages
-By obtaining consent from the subjects in the study the researchers can avoid criticism.
-By obtaining consent in this situation the researchers avoid potential problems with the subjects of the study saying that they did not know they were we being observed.
-By obtaining consent the researchers avoid any legal problems
Disadvantages
-Telling the subjects that they are being studied can cause the subjects to act differently because they know they are being watched.
-The research subjects can ruin the experiment because they have to the power to change the results.
-Participants in the study might tell the researcher what they think he or she wants to hear.

3. Is there potential harm in such a study? If so what? If not,
why not?
In this particular study I do not think that there is any harm. The only thing that could be a potential issue is the fact that people’s privacy might be put into jeopardy. The researchers could avoid this by simply asking for consent. Other than that I do not feel that this study poses any major harm.

-Christina Gomez

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