Janet Salmons

Thursday, May 8, 2014 at 14:00 GMT 5 Tips for Teaching E-Interview Methods

I created a video introduction for points we'll discuss in the tweetchat. See: http://bit.ly/1jvAT2s

I've also created a number of course outlines that can be adapted for your classes. They are posted here.

To participate, just log into Twitter and enter #NSMNSS. If you haven't been in a tweetchat before, here are some instructions: http://bit.ly/1kQDHH2 .

We'll also discuss the issues here, so please post your thoughts and questions about integrating online research topics into methods courses. Also, feel free to share any examples of learning activities, assignments or readings you have used in research methods classes (as a student or instructor).

Success Strategy: Keep “informed” in Informed Consent

Many researchers view informed consent as an obstacle, a required step that takes time and keeps them from the desired activities involved with actually conducting the study. Others, such as the British Psychological Society (2013), see problems for online researchers who try to "inform" participants online:

Participants may nominally give consent but without actually reading the relevant information. In this sense, consent is provided but it is not informed consent. …

However, as discussed in the webinar, the consent process can be an opportunity for qualitative researchers to make sure they are on the same  (virtual) page. It is a time to clarify:

• Expectations for participant: How many interviews or interactions do you want to have with the participant? What do you want them to contribute to the study, over what period of time?
• Types of data you intend to collect: In addition to the interview are you planning to use participants' posts or exchanges on one or more social networking site(s)? Images or media?
• Options for using identifying characteristics or direct quotations (or not). Can you use avatar names? Can you use exact wording of quotes? Is it acceptable or not, to identify the participant? If the participant wants to be anonymous, what characteristics might allow someone to identify the participant? 
• Potential publication of the findings: Does the participant understand that the data will be used in scholarly, popular or other kinds of publications.

I've created a handout, with an example posted in Survey Monkey for an informed consent agreement with questions/options you can use. See the handout here:http://vision2lead.com/design/. 

I suggest discussing the agreement as well as just sending/posting a document. The interview can begin by reviewing key points in the agreement, especially any items you think might be sensitive.

Please post any thoughts, questions or example!

See: British Psychological Association (BPS) Report of the Working Party on Conducting Research on the Internet: Guidelines for ethical practice in psychological research online (2013) http://www.bps.org.uk/sites/default/files/documents/conducting_research_on_the_internet-guidelines_for_ethical_practice_in_psychological_research_online.pdf

Join the Fair & Good webinar on Monday 5/5 @ 17:00 GMT or 1 EDT

A link to the recording will be posted after the event.

When reflecting on your own design or completed study, when reviewing student work-- or serving as a peer reviewer-- what should you look for in qualitative studies that use data collected online? What ethical questions should be considered? These are some of the topics we'll discuss.

As background to this conversation, you might these two documents of interest. One is a report I put together this spring after an analysis of discussion transcripts from the New Social Media, New Social Science network to identify ethical dilemmas reported by researchers, and a review association ethics codes to see whether and how these emergent issues were addressed. I discussed the report in this recorded presentation. Reviewed materials included guidelines from the Association of Internet Researchers(AOIR), British Educational Research Association (BERA), British Psychological Society (BPS), CASRO, European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR) and Market Research Society (MRS), and Association (MRA) and a number of books and articles listed here.

The other is based on a study that looked at social media users' perspectives on the use of their content by researchers. 

As the map illustrating this post shows, online research ethics are complex. But to conduct quality research that adds new knowledge, we need to find ways to navigate this maze and make the best decisions. Given the scope of the topic, we won't be able to cover the full range of issues in one webinar. Please post your questions and dilemmas and I'll do my best to cover them. Even better, come and ask your questions in the webinar!

Welcome Amy.

I treat a qualitative questionnaire similiarly to a written, text-based interview. In the next discussion thread I will open a conversation about technology choices and types of data-- including text, images/visuals and audio.

Best, 
Janet

Follow the link to a report on ethical issues I wrote this spring; I discussed the report in this recorded presentation. Reviewed materials included guidelines from the Association of Internet Researchers(AOIR), British Educational Research Association (BERA), British Psychological Society (BPS), CASRO, European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR) and Market Research Society (MRS), and Association (MRA) and a number of books and articles listed here.