I'm not familiar with this phrase "notifiable offense", but "Notifiable offenses you have to report" sounds like an identity. What makes it notifiable and subject to reporting requirements? An important variable not mentioned previously might be whether or not the behavior had already occurred. There's a difference between someone saying they committed a murder (or theft or harassment or whatever) 10 years ago and someone saying they're going to commit one tomorrow, yes? -eg
-----Original Message----- From: air-l-bounces@listserv.aoir.org [mailto:air-l- bounces@listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of Marj Kibby Sent: Saturday, June 02, 2007 12:54 AM To: air-l@listserv.aoir.org Subject: Re: [Air-l] Research question: interviewing online subjects?
I'm currently researching downloaded music, and my ethics committee was very concerned about my uncovering unlawful activity. While they did not see that I would be obliged to offer the information to authorities, they did say that I would be obliged to report the activity if asked by said authorities.
This seems to be the case for most research here - notifiable offenses such as child abuse excepted - you have to warn participants that if they tell you about, or let you observe illegal activities then you would be obliged to report that to law enforcement if specifically questioned. Notifiable offences you have to report.
Marj
Dr Marjorie Kibby, Senior Lecturer in Communication & Culture Faculty of Education and Arts The University of Newcastle, Callaghan NSW 2308 Australia Marj.Kibby@newcastle.edu.au +61 2 49216604
Ellis Godard <egodard@csun.edu> 06/02/07 4:56 PM >>> The repeated message that I got in grad school was to consider any arguably illegal or immoral behavior as observed facts to be described and explained, not something to be reported beyond the role as researcher. One oft-repeated example (from someone whose courses I took but with whom I never worked closely) concerned having observed a policeman taking money from the wallet of a vagrant while nominally checking his ID. He did not report the theft either to the policeman's supervisors or to anyone else, though did report it as part of his study (and in class discussions of methods and ethics).
That may be wrong, wrong-headed, unpopular, illegal, unapprovable now, and/or something else - but is the requirement to report such behavior now widespread? Universal?
-eg
Erika Pearson wrote:
I've been reading the general sociology literature on conducting interviews as part of a research project, and some of the literature I have come across makes a point of noting that interviewers should be warning interviewees that any illegal or immoral behaviours uncovered during the course of the research/interview may be reported (for example, Adler and Adler, 2003).
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