Another shameless plug for a new book, just published by Peter Lang and now shipping: Online Social Research: Methods, Issues, and Ethics (Digital Formations Series, Vol. 7 -- Steve Jones, Series Editor) Edited by Mark D. Johns, Shing-Ling S. Chen, and G. Jon Hall (C) 2004 Back cover: Online Social Research: Methods, Issues, and Ethics is a collection of essays by veteran online researchers who provide testimonial illustrations as to how traditional research methods may be modified for effective online research as well as identify and discuss the critical issues and dilemmas encountered. The former serves as a resource for teachers, students, and researchers who utilize online environments for information gathering. The latter is designed to stimulate ongoing debates and creative ideas about an as yet nonregulated arena of research. Online Social Research addresses online research in the fields of communication, journalism, sociology, psychology, marketing, education, and medicine, as well as related disciplines that may have occasions to utilize surveys, interviews, and observations for information gathering in online environments. Since this book deals with methodological consideration, it is designed as a text for research methods classes as well as a resource for researchers. Table of contents appears below. ------ Mark D. Johns, Ph.D. Asst. Professor of Communication/Linguistics, Luther College, Decorah, Iowa http://faculty.luther.edu/~johnsmar/ ----------------------------------------------- "Get the facts first. You can distort them later." ---Mark Twain Contents Online Environments and Interpretive Social Research Norman K. Denzin, University of Illinois–Champaign-Urbana Part I—Methods of Online Social Research Introduction: Technological Environments and the Evolution of Social Research Methods Clifford G. Christians, University of Illinois–Champaign-Urbana; Shing-Ling Sarina Chen, University of Northern Iowa Reengineering Focus Group Methodology for the Online Environment Matthew Williams, Cardiff University; Kate Robson, University of Wales College of Medicine Researching OURNET: A Case Study of a Multiple Methods Approach Sharon S. Kleinman, Quinnipiac University Managing Visibility, Intimacy, and Focus in Online Critical Ethnography Kathleen LeBesco, Marymount Manhattan College “Seeing and Sensing” Online Interaction: An Interpretive Interactionist Approach to USENET Support Group Research Mary K. Walstrom, Sonoma State University Part II—Issues of Online Social Research Introduction: Opportunities and Challenges in Methodology and Ethics Amy S. Bruckman, Georgia Tech Surviving the IRB Review: Institutional Guidelines and Research Strategies Mark D. Johns, Luther College; G. Jon Hall, University of Northern Iowa; Tara Lynn Crowell, Richard Stockton College Participants and Observers in Online Ethnography: Five Stories About Identity Lori Kendall, SUNY, Purchase Representation in Online Ethnographies: A Matter of Context Sensitivity Annette N. Markham, University of Illinois at Chicago Research Paparazzi in Cyberspace: The Voices of the Researched Shing-Ling Sarina Chen, G. Jon Hall, University of Northern Iowa; Mark D. Johns, Luther College Part III—Ethics of Online Social Research Introduction: Ethics and Internet Studies Steve Jones, University of Illinois at Chicago Reexamining the Ethics of Internet Research: Facing the Challenge of Overzealous Oversight Jim Thomas, Northern Illinois University Issues of Attribution and Identification in Online Social Research Susan B. Barnes, Rochester Institute of Technology “Electronic Eavesdropping”: The Ethical Issues Involved in Conducting a Virtual Ethnography Katherine M. Clegg Smith, University of Illinois at Chicago “NEED HELP ASAP!!!”: A Feminist Communitarian Approach to Online Research Ethics G. Jon Hall, University of Northern Iowa; Douglas Frederick, University of Iowa; Mark D. Johns, Luther College Epilogue Are We There Yet? Emerging Ethical Guidelines for Online Research Charles Ess, Drury University