Well, I used Google merely as an example. What I meant to say was that if the site is open access, meaning anyone can stumble upon this site while browsing one way or another, generally it is considered to be OK to quote from because technically it has been "published" online. As for password protection, as far as the IRB is concerned,they don't make any distinctions between easy-to-register sites versus hard-to-register sites or how many seconds it takes to register to a site to grant access. If you have to create an account, then it is behind closed doors, so you would need to use informed consent to publish any information you retrieve there. I don't think IRB people are big on nuances nor do they know how the Internet works really. Only you and I (meaning the Internet people) would make the distinctions you mention below. On Sat, Nov 26, 2011 at 6:27 PM, egodard@csun.edu <ellis.godard@csun.edu>wrote:
Googling vs password protection is a weak distinction. Not all public sites are crawlable by Google. And many password "protected" sites require no validation, verification, or even confirmation to restrict access, and are therefore "accessible to all" who invest 12 seconds to "register" a password.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone
----- Reply message ----- From: "Burcu Bakioglu" <bbakiogl@gmail.com> To: "jeremy hunsinger" <jhuns@vt.edu> Cc: "C Sosnowy" <c_sosnowy@yahoo.com>, "air-l@listserv.aoir.org" < air-l@listserv.aoir.org> Subject: [Air-L] blogs and confidentiality Date: Sat, Nov 26, 2011 1:20 pm
The rule of thumb is this: if you can access the same information just by Googling, you don't need IRB or any consent. If forum threads are accessible by all, it is free game. If the information is on password protected sites than you *must* get permission (and IRB). If online discussions are on a closed site, they require permission etc... The fact that they are using usernames and their identities are protected only means is irrelevant. This only means that IRB will give you an exempt permission, that is, they won't have to review the process every other month or so. You would get your permission from the IRB regardless and they will be off your back till the finish time comes.
At least that is my understanding and I conducted 3 field works for my dissertation. This is what the IRB told me.
Best.
On Sat, Nov 26, 2011 at 11:24 AM, jeremy hunsinger <jhuns@vt.edu> wrote:
I am confused, you said they weren't public when they were on a closed site. then you said they were publicly available. if it is closed, it isn't publicly available without permission. On Nov 26, 2011, at 12:19 PM, C Sosnowy wrote:
For my dissertation on personal health blogs, I will be conducting a visual content analysis of 40-50 blogs. I will then be conducting an online discussion with 10-12 bloggers on a closed site. Their identity will be protected by a username of their choice, but can I use the real URL and name of their blogs (I would tell them that I'm doing this)? I'm of the opinion that I can because they are publicly-available, but one of my more traditional advisers has doubts. Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Collette Sosnowy _______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/
Jeremy Hunsinger Communication Studies Wilfrid Laurier University Center for Digital Discourse and Culture Virginia Tech
Imagination is the one weapon in the war against reality. -Jules de Gaultier
() ascii ribbon campaign - against html mail /\ - against microsoft attachments
_______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/
-- Thanks,
Burcu S. Bakioglu, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Fellow in New Media Lawrence University
http://www.palefirer.com http://palefirer.com/blog/
-- "Come to the dark side, we have cookies." ~Anonymous _______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/
-- Thanks, Burcu S. Bakioglu, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Fellow in New Media Lawrence University http://www.palefirer.com http://palefirer.com/blog/ -- "Come to the dark side, we have cookies." ~Anonymous