- Definitions
IRE is defined as the analysis of ethical issues and application of research ethics principles as they pertain to research conducted on and in the Internet. Internet-based research, broadly defined, is research which utilizes the Internet to collect information through an online tool, such as an online survey; studies about how people use the Internet, e.g., through collecting data and/or examining activities in or on any online environments; and/or, uses of online datasets, databases, or repositories.
Critical to the definition of Internet research ethics is the concept of the Internet as a research tool versus a research venue. The distinction between tool and venue plays out across disciplinary and methodological orientations. As a tool, Internet research is enabled by search engines, data aggregators, databases, catalogs, and repositories, while venues include such places or locales as conversation applications (IM/chat rooms, for example), MUDs, MOOs, MMORPGs, (forms of role playing games, virtual worlds) newsgroups, home pages, blogs, micro-blogging (i.e., Twitter), RSS feeds, crowd sourcing applications, or online course software.
Another way of conceptualizing the distinction between tool and locale comes from Kitchin (2008), who has referred to a distinction in Internet research using the concepts of “engaged web-based research” versus “non-intrusive web-based research:” “Non-intrusive analyses refer to techniques of data collection that do not interrupt the naturally occurring state of the site or cybercommunity, or interfere with premanufactured text. Conversely, engaged analyses reach into the site or community and thus engage the participants of the web source” (p. 15). These two constructs provide researchers with a way of discerning if human subjects protections would apply. McKee and Porter (2009), as well as Banks and Eble (2007) provide guidance on the continuum of human-subjects research, noting a distinction between person-based versus text-based. For example, McKee and Porter provide a range of research variables (public/private, topic sensitivity, degree of interaction, and subject vulnerability) which are useful in determining where on the continuum of text-based versus how person-based the research is, and whether or not subjects would need to consent to the research (pp. 87–88).
III Developing background knowledge (B1/B2/C1)
There is a blog of Nancy Walton, Ph.D. called The Research Ethics Blog https://researchethicsblog.com/. This is a blog about human-subjects research ethics. It is written primarily by Nancy Walton, Ph.D., (with occasional postings by Chris MacDonald, Ph.D.).
Read about a research ethics scandal in Canada and find some other examples of unethical research. Report your findings to the group.
IV Exchanging views and ideas (B1/B2/C1)
1. Group work. David B. Resnik, J.D., Ph.D. in the article What is Ethics in Research & Why is it Important? summarizes specific codes, rules, and policies relating to research ethics specific codes, rules, and policies relating to research ethics adopted by different professional associations, government agencies, and universities to conduct the research. Study these principles and discuss:
1) Which principles are the most important?
2) The application of which principles is limited by the field of study?
3) Which of the principles you would include into your research ethics?
Honesty
Strive for honesty in all scientific communications. Honestly report data, results, methods and procedures, and publication status. Do not fabricate, falsify, or misrepresent data. Do not deceive colleagues, granting agencies, or the public.
Objectivity
Strive to avoid bias in experimental design, data analysis, data interpretation, peer review, personnel decisions, grant writing, expert testimony, and other aspects of research where objectivity is expected or required. Avoid or minimize bias or self-deception. Disclose personal or financial interests that may affect research.
Integrity
Keep your promises and agreements; act with sincerity; strive for consistency of thought and action.
Carefulness
Avoid careless errors and negligence; carefully and critically examine your own work and the work of your peers. Keep good records of research activities, such as data collection, research design, and correspondence with agencies or journals.
Openness
Share data, results, ideas, tools, resources. Be open to criticism and new ideas.
Respect for Intellectual Property
Honor patents, copyrights, and other forms of intellectual property. Do not use unpublished data, methods, or results without permission. Give credit where credit is due. Give proper acknowledgement or credit for all contributions to research. Never plagiarize.
Confidentiality
Protect confidential communications, such as papers or grants submitted for publication, personnel records, trade or military secrets, and patient records.
Responsible Publication
Publish in order to advance research and scholarship, not to advance just your own career. Avoid wasteful and duplicative publication.
Responsible Mentoring
Help to educate, mentor, and advise students. Promote their welfare and allow them to make their own decisions.
Respect for colleagues
Respect your colleagues and treat them fairly.
Social Responsibility
Strive to promote social good and prevent or mitigate social harms through research, public education, and advocacy.
Non-Discrimination
Avoid discrimination against colleagues or students on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, or other factors that are not related to their scientific competence and integrity.
Competence
Maintain and improve your own professional competence and expertise through lifelong education and learning; take steps to promote competence in science as a whole.
Legality
Know and obey relevant laws and institutional and governmental policies.
Animal Care
Show proper respect and care for animals when using them in research. Do not conduct unnecessary or poorly designed animal experiments.
Human Subjects Protection
When conducting research on human subjects, minimize harms and risks and maximize benefits; respect human dignity, privacy, and autonomy; take special precautions with vulnerable populations; and strive to distribute the benefits and burdens of research fairly.
V Summarizing the topic (B1/B2/C1)
1. Study the definition of the research from Wikivercity. Explain the peculiarities of your research to your group members.
What is Research?
Research can be defined as the search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, with an open mind, to establish novel facts, usually using a scientific method. It's all about addressing an issue or asking and answering a question or solving a problem. Research requires you to conduct a study and provide evidence for how you address the issue or answer a question. The methods that you apply to provide this evidence must be transparent, so that anyone who looks at your research could replicate it if desired. In sport we generally consider two types of research:
Quantitative - involves analysis of numerical data (e.g., website hits, blood lactate levels, jump height)
Qualitative - involves analysis of data such as words (e.g., from interviews), pictures (e.g., video), or objects (e.g., an artifact).
2) Make a power point presentation on the topic Approaching Research in Philology/Linguistics, bearing in mind the principles of an effective presentation (see Unit 5). Follow the outline:
1) Initial steps.
2) Needed and testable research question.
3) Limitations.
4) Delimitations.
5) Activities.
VI Project work (B1/B2/C1)
- Write an essay on one of the following topics:
1) Advice on research ethics.
2) What is plagiarism?
3) The difficulties of an academic research.
- Create a web-page with resources on the topic Research Skills.
B PRACTISING SKILLS
TEXT 1 (B2)
Choose the correct heading for sections 1-5 from the list of headings below.
Write the correct letter A-F in the boxes given below. Remember, ONE heading is extra.
List of Headings
AHandling Data
BTeam Leading
CProject Management
DIT Skills
E Researcher Identity
FHandling Budgets