Hello!
I hope everybody is fine!
Thank you Stuart Geiger for sharing your thoughts. I very much sympathies with your ethical concern.
In my view something which characterize Wikipedia is the plurality of motivations in the people participating in the community. There is people participating from different types of affiliations. Some do it as individuals and for fun, others becouse their work requires to edit Wikipedia, others as part of a learning plan in a students program or for self-learning experiences... and others do it becouse developing a research from an Academic Institution. To participate in Wikipedia you don't need to say who you are or why you do it. In this regards, in general terms in my view you are not violating any community protocol if you do not present your self as a researcher each time. I think it is an issue of "common-sense" in which occasions to make present that you are a researchers (by the way I like very much your idea of including it at your signature) and in which ones there is not the need to force the situation to make it present.
Apart, I am trying to elaborate a question which is related with the ethical concern, but more broad: How to develop a research which could contribute to Wikipedia critical self-awareness and enrich evolving? And I am considering two aspects on this. On the one hand, finding ways for spreading the results of the research in ways that could arrive to the community and benefit it. On the other hand, how to design the research in terms of questions addressed and methodologies used that the research process would contribute to Wikipedia goals in it self. I would appreciate very much any advise or reflection on these questions.
Of course, both questions (the ethical concern and the applicability of the research) are not exclude one to the other.
Thanks in advance. In solidarity! Mayo
Mayo Fuster Morell Research: http://www.onlinecreation.info School of information - UC Berkeley (Visiting researcher until Dec 2008) California mobile phone: 01-510-2064743 E-mail: mayo@ischool.berkeley.edu Skype: mayoneti
European University Institute - Phd Candidate Mobile (Italian): 0039-3345440747 Mobile (Catalan): 0034-659605957 E-mail: mayo.fuster@eui.eu
2008/11/14 Matthew Flaschen matthew.flaschen@gatech.edu
Stuart Geiger wrote:
6.If my research leads me to communicate with Wikipedians off-wiki – whether via e-mail, chat, in person, or other medium outside of the public wikispace – I will use established interview-based research protocols to establish informed consent. This means that those who communicate with me off-wiki will be initially informed of my research project and asked to digitally consent to such communication being used for research purposes. I will work to mutually establish the privacy of data collected in each situation: if the conversation can be quoted, paraphrased, or alluded to; if the author can be attributed by name or username; or if the entire conversation is off-the-record.
One thing I would add here that's important. You may already know this, but you didn't specifically mention it. If you learn something about a subject/Wikipedia editor *off-wiki*, don't disclose it on-wiki unless unless the subject explicitly gives you permission. People are very sensitive about this.
It seems like your protocols are generally well-thought and reasonable. I wish you the best with your research.
Matthew Flaschen
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