Internet Research: An Opportunity to Revisit Classic Ethical Problems in Behavioral Research

Abstract

The Internet offers many new opportunities for behavioral researchers to conduct quantitative and qualitative research. Although the ethical guidelines of the American Psychological Association generalize, in part, to research conducted through the Internet, several matters related to Internet research require further analysis. This article reviews several fundamental ethical issues related to Internet research, namely the preservation of privacy, the issuance of informed consent, the use of deception and false feedback, and research methods. In essence, the Internet offers unique challenges to behavioral researchers. Among these are the need to better define the distinction between private and public behavior performed through the Internet, ensure mechanisms for obtaining valid informed consent from participants and performing debriefing exercises, and verify the validity of data collected through the Internet.

HIV Behavioral Research Online

“…For a more detailed discussion, the reader is referred to the growing body of literature dedicated specifically to the ethical issues surrounding Internet based research. 51,53,[56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66] While some have argued that Internet-based research is inherently no more risky to human subjects than traditional research methods, 62 there are fundamental differences in the nature of human subject-related risks, the ability to assess those risks, and in the safeguards against them. The ethical principles involving research with human subjects have been formalized in federal regulation known as the Common Rule, which establishes guidelines for assessing risk to human subjects in research (http://ohsr.od.nih.gov/guidelines/45cfr46.html).…”

“…Individuals accessing these forums probably have no reasonable expectation of privacy, and it has been argued that their online behavior within these forums should be considered public and exempt from Common Rule regulations. 62,63,67,68 On the other hand, individuals accessing restricted membership forums with explicitly posted recording policies probably possess a reasonable expectation of privacy, and their behaviors are likely protected by Common Rule regulations. 62,63 Researchers must also be aware that technology may factor into privacy expectations.…”

“…62,63,67,68 On the other hand, individuals accessing restricted membership forums with explicitly posted recording policies probably possess a reasonable expectation of privacy, and their behaviors are likely protected by Common Rule regulations. 62,63 Researchers must also be aware that technology may factor into privacy expectations. Many Web sites create logs displaying the IP addresses of the machines accessing its sites.…”

Methods for Evaluating Interactive Information Retrieval Systems with Users

“…that have been created by users -for instance, as part of myspace.com, amazon.com, and in other environments that promote social interaction. Some of the first researchers to study internet groups and online communication were from the communication and sociology fields [85,98,214,252,289]). These researchers discovered that collecting and analyzing data that people post online in "public" venues was not as straightforward as it seemed; many people who posted messages became upset with how their messages were used and repurposed.…”

Emotional responses to casual sex experiences: The roles of sexual motives and romantic attachment styles.

“…As a research tool, the Internet is becoming an emerging medium for behavioral researchers, especially for those who study sexuality and relationships (Gosling, Vazire, Srivastava, & John, 2004;Pittenger, 2003;Whitty, 2004). The Internet may be particularly advantageous when investigating aspects of sexuality, in that individuals feel more comfortable reporting personal information while online, which may lead to individuals to respond in a more honest manner (Pealer, Weiler, Pigg, Miller, & Dorman, 2001).…”