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
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
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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
I should clarify. The closed discussion will be with 10-12 bloggers and their identities and anything they say there will be protected. But I would like to be able to discuss their blogs (and the blogs in the larger sample) which are publicly-available, and be able to use the blog's real URL/name. Is it customary to use a blog's real name and URL in an article and treat any content as public? If so but there might be a privacy concern, I could not explicitly link the participant's username with their individual blog. ________________________________ From: jeremy hunsinger <jhuns@vt.edu> To: C Sosnowy <c_sosnowy@yahoo.com> Cc: "air-l@listserv.aoir.org" <air-l@listserv.aoir.org> Sent: Saturday, November 26, 2011 12:24 PM Subject: Re: [Air-L] blogs and confidentiality 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
"their identities and anything they say there will be protected" So you won't be quoting from your interviews/discussions??? Blogs would be fair game, but should you decide later on that you want to quote from the interviews even with pseudonyms but you didn't get permission before doing these interviews beforehand, you will be banging your head on the wall regretting your decision. This happened to a several friends of mine. Trust me, you don't want to be in that situation. Think ahead would be my suggestion... On Sat, Nov 26, 2011 at 12:19 PM, C Sosnowy <c_sosnowy@yahoo.com> wrote:
I should clarify. The closed discussion will be with 10-12 bloggers and their identities and anything they say there will be protected. But I would like to be able to discuss their blogs (and the blogs in the larger sample) which are publicly-available, and be able to use the blog's real URL/name.
Is it customary to use a blog's real name and URL in an article and treat any content as public? If so but there might be a privacy concern, I could not explicitly link the participant's username with their individual blog.
________________________________ From: jeremy hunsinger <jhuns@vt.edu> To: C Sosnowy <c_sosnowy@yahoo.com> Cc: "air-l@listserv.aoir.org" <air-l@listserv.aoir.org> Sent: Saturday, November 26, 2011 12:24 PM Subject: Re: [Air-L] blogs and confidentiality
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 way I have it set up (on my not-yet reviewed IRB app) is that the closed discussion would require a consent form. By protected, I mean the usual that while I may quote from them, I will not use their real name (although I am giving them a choice of what name they want me to use). My concern is the connection between my participant and what they say on a closed site and their public blog. It seems I will have to keep these separate and wouldn't identify person X as the author of blog Y. ________________________________ From: Burcu Bakioglu <bbakiogl@gmail.com> To: C Sosnowy <c_sosnowy@yahoo.com> Cc: jeremy hunsinger <jhuns@vt.edu>; "air-l@listserv.aoir.org" <air-l@listserv.aoir.org> Sent: Saturday, November 26, 2011 1:25 PM Subject: Re: [Air-L] blogs and confidentiality "their identities and anything they say there will be protected" So you won't be quoting from your interviews/discussions??? Blogs would be fair game, but should you decide later on that you want to quote from the interviews even with pseudonyms but you didn't get permission before doing these interviews beforehand, you will be banging your head on the wall regretting your decision. This happened to a several friends of mine. Trust me, you don't want to be in that situation. Think ahead would be my suggestion... On Sat, Nov 26, 2011 at 12:19 PM, C Sosnowy <c_sosnowy@yahoo.com> wrote: I should clarify. The closed discussion will be with 10-12 bloggers and their identities and anything they say there will be protected. But I would like to be able to discuss their blogs (and the blogs in the larger sample) which are publicly-available, and be able to use the blog's real URL/name.
Is it customary to use a blog's real name and URL in an article and treat any content as public? If so but there might be a privacy concern, I could not explicitly link the participant's username with their individual blog.
________________________________ From: jeremy hunsinger <jhuns@vt.edu> To: C Sosnowy <c_sosnowy@yahoo.com> Cc: "air-l@listserv.aoir.org" <air-l@listserv.aoir.org> Sent: Saturday, November 26, 2011 12:24 PM Subject: Re: [Air-L] blogs and confidentiality
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
I think that once you've given them the choice to be private about their identity, you have to continue to provide that, or the 'anonymity' is sort of pointless. In other words, you either treat this as public, and all the information is available to the extent that the authors of the blogs have made it publicly available, or if you start making things private, you have to continue to anonymize, that includes the blog names. if the blog is public and it is clearly public, then it is a document and you follow the rules of documentary research, and then you treat the authors as authors, not as 'research subjects'. However, as you are not only doing documentary research, and in your parallel research you are seeking to protect the identities of the people who write the blogs private, you have to keep doing it, or you've just undermined the privacy techniques you've used. basically, you can't have it both ways, you can't have public and private if the public is going to undermine the private. you can only have private/private or public/public, and i think either of those two are fine so long as you get consent of the people you interview and they agree.
Thanks, everyone. This has been very helpful. ________________________________ From: jeremy hunsinger <jhuns@vt.edu> To: C Sosnowy <c_sosnowy@yahoo.com> Cc: "air-l@listserv.aoir.org" <air-l@listserv.aoir.org> Sent: Saturday, November 26, 2011 1:28 PM Subject: Re: [Air-L] blogs and confidentiality I think that once you've given them the choice to be private about their identity, you have to continue to provide that, or the 'anonymity' is sort of pointless. In other words, you either treat this as public, and all the information is available to the extent that the authors of the blogs have made it publicly available, or if you start making things private, you have to continue to anonymize, that includes the blog names. if the blog is public and it is clearly public, then it is a document and you follow the rules of documentary research, and then you treat the authors as authors, not as 'research subjects'. However, as you are not only doing documentary research, and in your parallel research you are seeking to protect the identities of the people who write the blogs private, you have to keep doing it, or you've just undermined the privacy techniques you've used. basically, you can't have it both ways, you can't have public and private if the public is going to undermine the private. you can only have private/private or public/public, and i think either of those two are fine so long as you get consent of the people you interview and they agree.
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
participants (3)
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Burcu Bakioglu -
C Sosnowy -
jeremy hunsinger