I'm in the midst of revising an IRB protocol for my dissertation. I will be interviewing fashion bloggers about their experiences with blogging and their thoughts on the relation between blogging and fashion media. The bloggers I will be interviewing are all public figures, to one degree or another, and I don't see the questions I'm asking as being very sensitive in nature. I planned to interview respondents using their choice of Skype or instant messaging service. The IRB reviewer asked me to clarify how I plan to ensure privacy and confidentiality over Skype and IM specifically because they are online. I'm a little unsure of what to say. I suppose I can't guarantee privacy 100% over a public network, but is the threat really much more notable than being overheard during a face to face or phone interview? I was wondering if anyone had any advice or could refer me to any articles that address this issue. Are there any IM programs I could use that might minimize threats to privacy? -- Jennifer Whitmer, MA Dept. of Sociology University of Nevada, Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV 89154-5033 phone: 440-429-5957