COM 327
February 7 2013
BIG DATA
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Quiz
Group Presentation
History of Research Ethics
Group work: Can we do anything? Should we? Do we want to?
1. The article by Chee, Taylor and de
Castell explores questions of privacy and
research ethics regarding which type of
document?
a)Passport
b)Fake Driver’s License
c)EULA
d)US Constitution
2. In the questionnaire distributed by
Chee, Taylor & de Castell, the majority of
study participants answered “______” to
the question, “How much of a EULA do
you read?”
a)True
b)False
c)All of it
d)None of it
3. “______________________” is the
process by which a researcher explains a
study to a potential subject, so that the
subject can knowingly agree (or not) to
participate.
a)Informed Consent
b)Discourse
c)EULA
d)Standardized testing
4. In the MediaShift article, Stearns looks
to the historical example of “Big
_______”’s funding of the “truth
campaign” as one way that digital literacy
activists can raise awareness of Big Data.
a)Tobacco
b)Bird
c)East
d)Bang Theory
5. Bonus! Reviewing research proposals to
ensure that researchers treat their subjects
fairly and humanely is the job of:
a)Research subjects
b)Institutional Review Boards
c)Biebertron 5000
d)Parents
What is “Big Data”?
Bronislaw
Malinowski in
his tent
What does this image communicate?
Men’s public restrooms, electric shocks and online media…
What is the connection?
World of Warcraft
Laud Humphreys’ Tearoom Trade
Tuskegee Syphilis Study (1932-1971)
• Study examined the effects
of UNTREATED syphilis over
a period of time
• Researchers told 600 Black
sharecroppers they were
going to get free medical
insurance
• Cure for syphilis discovered
in 1947 but subjects were
left untreated
Milgram Experiment (1960’s)
E = Experimenter / authority figure
T = Subject giving (fake) shocks
L = Person receiving (fake) shocks
Tearoom Trade (1970): a study of homosexual encounters in public places
• Posed as look out for men engaging in consensual sex in public washrooms
• Recorded their license plate number as they drove away Interviewed them at
their houses under false pretenses
• Found that most participants were not ‘out’ & were in fact (socially
conservative) men with wives & families
Tearoom Trade: Implications
• Showed how a scandalous practice was
actually victimless – and that homosexual
activity is not confined to people who are
openly queer
• Studied people without their knowledge and
consent
Belmont Report (1979)
http://ohsr.od.nih.gov/guidelines/belmont.html#gob
Outlines procedures for the ethical treatment of human subjects – in the wake of
scandals that arose from studies where people were either not informed they were
participating in a study and/or did not have the power to opt out.
• Tuskegee Syphilis Study
• Tearoom Trade
• Milgram Experiment
The report mandates that:
• participants must always be made aware when, and how, they are being observed;
• participants must be able to freely give consent to enlist in research, and can withdraw
at any time, without penalty;
• researchers are required to maximize the benefits to participants, and minimize the risk,
associated with participation in the study;
• any study involving human participants needs to be approved by an Institutional
Review Board (IRB)
Present day:
“Changes in technology are developing faster than social and
cultural norms can adapt. ” (Stearns, 2012)
There is once again a LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY between
researcher and ‘subject’
“Dedicated role players were more lonely, less happy, more
likely to be disabled, and more likely to have been diagnosed
with depression, substance addictions, behavioral addictions,
attention-deficit disorder, and learning disabilities”
Williams, D., Kennedy, T., and Moore, R. (2011). Behind the
Avatar: The Patterns, Practices, and Functions of Role Playing
in MMOs. Games and Culture 6(2), pp. 171-200.
GROUP WORK
The MediaShift article emphasizes the need for “digital
literacy”.
In groups of 4, address the following questions:
• What is “digital literacy?”
• What does the author hope “digital literacy” might
accomplish?
• What do you think are the limitations & issues with
this approach? Aka, what else is needed to address
the issue that companies & govts have access to our
data, and they can (and are) using it against us?