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5856 results in Facet Publishing

Page 181 of 293

  • Introduction The information society: myth and reality

  • John Feather
  • Book:
    The Information Society
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 March 2013, pp xiii-xxii

  • Summary

    A little more than a decade into the new century, people over the age of 35 in the industrialized countries are increasingly conscious of living in a world that is profoundly and fundamentally different from that into which many of them were born. In less than two decades, we have seen technological, economic, political and cultural change on a scale which, as a retrospective view becomes possible, is beginning to justify the use of the word ‘revolution’ to describe it. But revolution is a word that we associate with violence, with the storming of the Bastille or the bombardment of the Winter Palace. The 1990s were indeed a violent decade in some places, but our revolution was only indirectly a part of that. It began in the 1970s and is not yet complete; it has been at once less obvious and more far-reaching than a mere change in a regime or even in a whole political system. It has been a revolution in our way of living, which, in one way or another, has affected every human being on the planet.

    The symbol of the revolution is the computer, the ‘electronic brain’ of the ‘boffins’ in science fiction films of two or three generations ago, which now seem far older than their 50 or 60 years. The computer is in every office, on most desks and in millions of homes. Behind the scenes it is involved in almost everything we do, from buying our groceries to making a telephone call. Even after more than a century of almost continuous innovation in the technology of communication, and the invention of devices from the telegraph and the telephone to the television, the computer is perceived, however vaguely, as being in some way different. By understanding that difference, we can begin to understand the new society which the computer is helping to create, the revolution which it has both inspired and driven.

    It is now two centuries since the last comparable revolution was at its height in Britain. The exploitation of the power of steam was creating a new economy, and in so doing reordering patterns of work, social relationships and the structure and political organization of society. The new arrangements which stabilized in the first half of the 19th century were recognizably the successor of what had gone before, but unmistakably different from it.

  • 1 - The National Archives Conditions for Loans policy

  • from Appendices
  • Helen Forde, Jonathan Rhys-Lewis
  • Book:
    Preserving Archives
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    09 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 March 2013, pp 225-230

  • Summary

    (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/our-services/

    conditions-for-loans.htm)

    Identifying items

    Discovery, The National Archives’ new catalogue, provides information about our records. There are also many images of documents and parts of documents available online through the ‘Image Viewer’ on Discovery. When requesting a loan, the borrower must give details of the exact folio, or folios, to be displayed. If necessary, the borrower can make use of The National Archives’ research service in order to identify a suitable folio.

    Timescales

  • • We must receive your application for a loan not less than six months prior to the opening date of the exhibition. This is to allow sufficient time for the necessary condition checks, paperwork, conservation, photography and mounting to be carried out.

  • • We will normally acknowledge your application within ten working days.

  • • The normal loan period is three months.

  • • Irrespective of the terms of the loan, the borrowing authority must return any or all of the exhibits at the written request of The National Archives.

  • • The National Archives reserves the right, at any time, not to proceed with a loan.

    • Suitability

    The suitability of a loan will normally be assessed by Collection Care staff at The National Archives. In cases where we are unable to lend a document due to its condition, size, format or similar reason, we will suggest a good quality facsimile as an alternative.

    The documents will usually be accompanied to and from the exhibition by a designated member of The National Archives’ conservation staff, who has absolute discretion to withdraw the documents on loan if dissatisfied with the conditions at the designated venue.

    We do not usually lend more than ten documents to any one exhibition.

    Costs

    The borrower will be responsible for expenses incurred by The National Archives in making a loan, including:

  • • standard charges for staff time required for administration, conservation treatment, documentation, mounting, packing and couriering exhibition items as set out in the current Lord Chancellor's Statutory Instrument

  • • the cost of security negatives, microfilm, photographic or facsimile copies and insurance where required

  • • travel and accommodation for The National Archives’ staff member who accompanies the item; for security purposes, air travel will usually be at business class rate.

  • 6 - Information, the state and the citizen

  • from Part 3 - The political dimension
  • John Feather
  • Book:
    The Information Society
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 March 2013, pp 135-172

  • Summary

    The value which can be assigned to information, both directly and indirectly, has done more than simply turn it into a commodity to be traded in the market-place. There is some information which can never be the simple neutral object of a commercial transaction. Possessing it can bring too many benefits, and not possessing it too many disadvantages, for that to be possible. The creators of information are creating a piece of valuable property; sometimes it may be so valuable to the creator and possessor that it cannot be made generally available at all. These considerations underlie a complex and sometimes shadowy set of relationships between information itself, its creators, owners and providers, individual consumers or beneficiaries of information, and the apparatus of a state which seeks to regulate these interactions.

    The role of the state: an introduction

    In essence, the state can intervene in four ways between the information owner and the information-seeker. First, it can protect information as a piece of property in which the rights of ownership clearly belong to its legal possessor. This is the function of the law of copyright, and a number of associated forms of protection known to lawyers as ‘adjacent rights’ or, more generally, ‘intellectual property’. Secondly, the state can prevent the unauthorized use of information that has been legitimately collected. This is the purpose of the growing body of law concerned with the protection of data, especially data on the personal and financial affairs of individuals. Thirdly, the state can guarantee the right of access to certain categories of information of concern, interest or benefit to its citizens. Freedom of information legislation works in several ways, but is normally concerned primarily with facilitating general access to information of general importance, while ensuring that individuals are aware of, and have some control over, data that concern them at a personal level including data collected and held by the state itself. Finally, the state can prevent the dissemination of information. This can be for reasons of security, morality or political expediency, and can be overt or covert; it is, necessarily, the most difficult area to explore.

  • 5 - Safeguarding the building and its contents

  • Helen Forde, Jonathan Rhys-Lewis
  • Book:
    Preserving Archives
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    09 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 March 2013, pp 59-70

  • Summary

    Introduction

    All archives need to install certain safeguards against threats, both to the records themselves and to the people working in the building, both public and staff. This chapter looks at the main threats and ways of mitigating them; they include:

  • • security provision

  • • fire prevention, detection and suppression

  • • water detection.

    • Security

    Security is ‘the very essence of a repository’ (Kitching, 1993, 33) and must be taken very seriously. Breaches of security are potential threats to the validity of the documents stored in an archive, since loss of custody could jeopardize authenticity. But physical security installations are not enough. They must go hand in hand with good security procedures to ensure the maximum protection possible, always bearing in mind the need for access to the building by the public. A balance must be struck between fortress-like security and permitting rights of access to information. Not all security precautions need apply to the whole building and where archives form only a section of a building this must be recognized. Selecting the appropriate level of security for each part is important, as overprovision results in irritation and delay, as well as possible reliance on installations where better or tighter procedures might provide a preferable solution. To ensure that the measures are appropriate a risk assessment must be carried out; no two archives will face exactly the same problems. A major issue, common to all archives, libraries and museums, is that staff are a greater risk to the organization and its holdings than members of the public. This is an uncomfortable truth, but one which must be taken into account when considering appropriate security measures and procedures.

    Questions for security risk assessment

    The following questions might form the basis for a risk assessment but will be supplemented by others relating to particular circumstances.

    • Are any roof lights or basement openings planned?

    • What kind of external lighting/security lighting is planned?

    • What kind of planting is planned round the building?

    • Will internal CCTV be installed?

    • Will intruder alarms be installed?

  • 4 - Access to information

  • from Part 2 - The economic dimension
  • John Feather
  • Book:
    The Information Society
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 March 2013, pp 75-108

  • Summary

    It is comparatively easy to demonstrate that information is not free. A book borrowed from a public library may be ‘free’ to the user at the point at which the service is delivered, but the costs are borne from taxation. There may be a mismatch between taxpayers and borrowers, but in practice every borrower is, in one way or another and with only rare exceptions, an indirect contributor to the cost of both the book and the library. It is possible to calculate the direct cost of each loan, and that piece of information can be used to make a basic calculation about the value for money of the service. Financial calculations, however, are only the beginning. What is far more difficult to assess is value. In part, the problem is that such an assessment has to deal with a negative, the thorny problem of the loss which may be incurred by the absence of information. This can probably never be more than an approximation, but information providers who operate successfully in the more competitive parts of the market-place have long since realized that they can charge very high prices to those for whom the lack of information is a matter of concern. The user who needs instantaneous financial data will not query their cost until it manifestly exceeds the losses which would be incurred by not having access to them. It is on this assumption that much of the commercial information industry has been built. This assumption, however, is now being challenged. There is a growing belief that information content should be freely available despite the costs of generating it. Among researchers, this is seen in the demand for open access to journals, an issue which is now beginning to have a political as well as an academic dimension. More generally, the challenge to the very concepts of intellectual property and copyright are producing legal as well as cultural and moral dilemmas which remain to be resolved.

    The underlying cultural change is not so much in the solution of such conundrums, but rather in the articulation of them.

  • 5 - Sampling

  • from Part 1 - Starting the research process
  • Alison Jane Pickard
  • Book:
    Research Methods in Information
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 January 2013, pp 59-70

  • Summary

    Why sample?

    Sampling is used when it is not possible or practical to include the entire research population in your study, which is usually the case. Sampling is the process of selecting a few from the many in order to carry out empirical research. It needs to be accepted from the outset that a sample represents a form of trade-off between the desirable and the attainable, but this is more often the case in statistical sampling than it is in descriptive sampling. In qualitative descriptive sampling the case is selected based on what we can learn from the case and the goal is rarely to make inferences about the wider population based on this discovery. There is discussion concerning the use of generalization in qualitative research but I would always tend to discourage this; transfer of findings is very different from generalization and if generalization is the purpose of the research then the applicability of qualitative research should be questioned. In most quantitative research the point is to take a sample and make inferences about the rest of the population based on that sample. With both approaches it may well be much more informative to study the entire population but this would almost always be impossible based on cost and time. For this reason we sample.

    The method of sampling used plays a major role in any research investigation. Very often it is the characteristics, composition and scale of the sample that give weight to any findings that emerge from the investigation. You must take care when selecting a sampling technique; there are a number of different approaches to sampling and choice of approach should be influenced largely by the purpose of the investigation. You will need to demonstrate the appropriateness of the chosen sample to the nature and output of the research. It is totally inappropriate to engage in a small-scale, localized qualitative study then attempt to generalize from the findings. Likewise, it is inappropriate to engage in a large-scale, broad study and attempt to provide any real detail concerning individuals (unless it is a large-scale investigation involving many researchers investigating many people in a great deal of depth!).

  • 15 - Historical research

  • from Part 2 - Research methods
  • Alison Jane Pickard
  • Book:
    Research Methods in Information
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 January 2013, pp 167-178

  • Summary

    History is a meaningful record, evaluation, systematic analysis and synthesis of evidence concerning human achievement. It is not a list of chronological events like we remember at school. It is an integrated account of the relationship between persons, events, times and places.

    (Burns, 2000, 481)

    Introduction

    Historical research plays a vital role in the development of theory and practice; it has relevance as a research method in all subject disciplines and although very different from the other research methods discussed in this section, it is still a ‘scientific’ method, which must conform to standards of practice. The most notable difference between historical research and all other methods available to the researcher is the nature of the ‘evidence’ used to generate theory or test a hypothesis. Historical research relies on data that already exists in one form or another, unlike other methods, which are designed to create or generate data as a part of the research process. This is not to say that historical research cannot create or generate some data but this is likely to constitute a relatively small part of the dataset to be analysed and will depend on the research topic. History, after all, starts with the minute that has just passed; the sentence you have just read has now become a part of your history, however recent. Historical research is essentially qualitative because of the interpretation that is inevitably involved; there are uses for quantifiable data in some investigations but because this approach depends so much on interpretation, by definition it becomes qualitative. Most historical studies deal with natural behaviour in real-life situations and the interpretations the researcher brings to the evidence. Quantifying evidence can be provided where suitable data exists but it can be difficult to justify quantification of anything other than tangible evidence, such as reported statistics or records.

    This research method is concerned with reconstructing the past, identifying pieces of a puzzle and putting them together to provide insight and understanding of a situation, event or process. In the field of information and communication studies historical research can be used to investigate processes, behaviour, individual events or patterns of use.

  • Preface to the second edition

  • Alison Jane Pickard
  • Book:
    Research Methods in Information
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 January 2013, pp xi-xii

  • Summary

    I'd like to start this preface with a huge thank you to the generous and kind individuals who reviewed the first edition. Stupidly, it hadn't occurred to me when writing it that it would be ‘out there’ and subject to the usual scrutiny all texts are exposed to; the realization dawned when a close friend and colleague told me to read the review in the online journal Information Research. It took me a while to click the link he had sent in the e-mail, I was genuinely terrified! To see the words ‘I have found it! Finally, I have found what I was looking for, since I started working with research students! A book that makes it clear’ (Maceviciute, 2007) made my heart jump and I decided that would be the only review I read. But of course it wasn't. I hope this second edition goes some way to address the things that people thought were missing from the first – thankfully there weren't many. In fact, I'm not entirely sure it was time for this but my publishers thought differently and I trust their knowledge and understanding. The most significant additions are the two guest chapters included here by close colleagues of mine: Professor Julie McLeod, Sue Childs and Elizabeth Lomas have provided an excellent chapter on Data Research Management, which is part of the output of their JISC-funded DATUM project. Dr Andrew Shenton has also contributed a chapter on the analysis of existing documents which adds another dimension to the text. My work has primarily been one of updating and restructuring in response to comments from colleagues and students, as well as my own desire to add or remove certain things. I hope I have addressed most if not all of the comments and I hope this second edition is useful to the current and next generation of LIS researchers.

  • 8 - Case studies

  • from Part 2 - Research methods
  • Alison Jane Pickard
  • Book:
    Research Methods in Information
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 January 2013, pp 101-110

  • Summary

    The case study method is a kind of research that concentrates on one thing, looking at it in detail, not seeking to generalise from it. When you do a case study you are interested in that thing in itself, as a whole.

    (Thomas, 2011, 3)

    Introduction

    Case studies are not as simple to define as many other research methods, because of the nature and form of the method. A case study can be both the process engaged in to investigate a phenomenon and the written output of that investigation. The study is both the fieldwork and the report of that fieldwork. Leaving aside the written output for now, we shall focus on the method of investigation. The most commonly applied definition of case study research is provided by Yin, who defines it as: ‘an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context; when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident; and in which multiple sources of evidence are used’ (Yin, 2008, 23).

    Although you will find this definition is the one most often used by authors discussing case studies, you must remember that many case study researchers claim Yin takes a rather positivist approach to the case study method, and that a case study can be either qualitative or quantitative depending on what it is you are investigating and how you can acquire knowledge of the case.

    Case study research is a method designed to study the particular within context and has a very specific purpose. The term has been used very broadly to cover a far wider remit than is appropriate: ‘The case study has unfortunately been used as a “catch-all” category for anything that does not fit into experimental, survey or historical methods. The term has also been used loosely as a synonym for ethnography, participant observation, naturalist inquiry and fieldwork’ (Burns, 2000, 458).

    It is not surprising then that definitions of ‘case study’ have become rather blurred. A case study should be a study of ‘a functioning specific’ (Stake, 1994, 236). That is to say, a system that operates within well defined boundaries; the size and nature of that system are not the issue – what dictates the case is the purpose of the investigation.

  • 9 - Surveys

  • from Part 2 - Research methods
  • Alison Jane Pickard
  • Book:
    Research Methods in Information
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 January 2013, pp 111-118

  • Summary

    The aim of a survey is to obtain information which can be analysed and patterns extracted and comparisons made.

    (Bell, 1999, 13)

    Introduction

    The purpose of survey research is to gather and analyse information by questioning individuals who are either representative of the research population or are the entire research population. The term ‘survey’ usually refers to a study that has used a representative sample; if the entire population is involved in the study it is a ‘census’. Questions must be asked using a standardized questioning procedure applied equally and consistently to all research participants.

    The aim of survey research is to study relationships between specific variables, which are identified at the outset of the research and stated as either a hypothesis or a research question, or to describe certain characteristics of the population. The findings from the survey can then be generalized to the wider population. Survey research can include qualitative and quantitative research, but is usually quantitative with a limited qualitative element, which is more likely to be anecdotal than truly qualitative.

    The term ‘survey’ is often used interchangeably with ‘questionnaire’; the two are not the same thing and it can lead to confusion if the distinction between the two is not made very obvious. A survey is a research method, the purpose and aims of which have already been stated; although data collection must be standardized, there are options for data collection within a survey. A questionnaire is a very specific data collection technique, which can be used within a variety of research methods. A survey, then, is the research method used to structure the collection and analysis of standardized information from a defined population using a representative sample of that population. Probability sampling is vital in order to make valid general izations about the wider population. When non-probability sampling is used you must take care with any statements you make that attempt to generalize to the wider population.

    There are two types of survey: descriptive surveys and explanatory surveys. It is possible to apply both methods in the same study, as will become apparent when examining the nature of the two approaches.

  • Part 1 - Starting the research process

  • Alison Jane Pickard
  • Book:
    Research Methods in Information
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 January 2013, pp 1-4

  • Summary

    In Part 1 I want to focus on the initial stages of any research investigation, the areas common to all research regardless of the character and purpose of that research. It is mostly very practical in nature, with the exception of the first chapter, which exam - ines the philosophical underpinnings of research. Although this philosophical debate is not for the faint-hearted, it is fundamental to understanding the entire activity we refer to as ‘research’. I suggest you take the time to engage in this debate if for no other reason than to decide which side of the paradigmatic fence you sit on, to determine your view of the world and the manner in which you feel we can explore that world. I secretly hope that reading this first chapter will capture your imagination and encour - age you to follow up the leads I offer; at the very least it should provide you with a broad overview of the fundamental differences between research paradigms and a framework for thinking about the research process. Following the completely new chapter contributed by Professor Julie McLeod, Sue Childs and Elizabeth Lomas on research data management, this section ends with a discussion of ethics in research.

  • 14 - Action research

  • from Part 2 - Research methods
  • Alison Jane Pickard
  • Book:
    Research Methods in Information
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 January 2013, pp 157-166

  • Summary

    Introduction

    Action research can be a powerfully liberating form of professional enquiry because it means that practitioners themselves investigate their practices as they find ways to live more fully in the direction of their educational values.

    (McNiff and Whitehead, 2011, 8)

    Action research is rapidly becoming one of the most popular research methods in information and communication research among practitioners. Increasingly they are recognizing the value of this approach in improving service provision, encouraging reflective practice and structuring and disseminating experience to the wider community. Action research has been used to investigate organizational functions such as the role of the library and library staff in the provision of distance learning programmes (Bailey et al., 2004), for educational research investigating individual solutions to differing learning needs, such as tackling student referencing errors (Kendall, 2005), and to improve students’ information literacy skills over a longitudinal series of interventions (Pickard, 2005). As Rowley points out:

    Action research encourages practitioners to acquire the habit of researcher in the workplace, and provides them with an approach that teaches them to critically evaluate their practice. Action research differs from other research approaches in that it assumes a tight coupling between research and action. In traditional research, findings and theories may serve as a basis for recommendations for future action. With action research, action and research proceed in parallel. In addition, action research depends upon a collaborative problem solving relationship between the researcher and the client with the aim of both solving a problem, and generating new knowledge.

    (Rowley, 2004, 212)

    Kurt Lewin is the sociologist who first used the term ‘action research’, to describe his work in the field of human dynamics with individuals affected by post-war social problems. He believed that in order to truly make a difference some form of change or action had to be embedded in the research design from the outset. An investigation leads to some form of action, which is followed by an evaluation of that action: ‘The research needed for social practice can best be characterized as research for social management or social engineering. It is a type of action-research, a comparative research on the conditions and effects of various forms of social action, and research leading to social action. Research that produces nothing but books will not suffice’ (Lewin, 1948, 202).

  • 12 - Ethnography

  • from Part 2 - Research methods
  • Alison Jane Pickard
  • Book:
    Research Methods in Information
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 January 2013, pp 135-148

  • Summary

    Introduction

    The goal of ethnography is to combine the view of an insider with that of an outsider to describe a social setting. The resulting description is expected to be deeper and fuller than that of the ordinary outsider, and broader and less culture-bound than that of the ordinary insider.

    (Wilcox, 1982, 462)

    As with ‘case study’, the term ethnography refers to the research method and the research output; ethnography is the process of engagement and the written account of that engagement (Agar, 1996). The most common use of ethnographic research is in anthropology, although social science research has increasingly adopted this method, which focuses on interpretations of behaviour or specific events in the everyday lives of individuals.

    The primary data collection technique is participant observation, although other methods of collecting information concerning the context are often used. An ethnographic study begins with no a priori assumptions; the researcher seeks to explore and although the research will have a focus, the theoretical framework acts as cognitive signposts rather than controlling the direction of the investigation. Ethnography uses descriptive narrative to analyse and present the findings from the investigation; the purpose is to build theory by describing situations as they are and presenting patterns within a context.

    Many of my students have asked me what the difference is between a case study and an ethnography, an understandable question, as these methods are similar. Conducting an ethnographic study may, on the surface, appear to be very similar to case study research but it is the extent to which the researcher is immersed in the context that is the real and most obvious difference. The focus of ethnography is to describe and interpret a cultural and social group, whereas the focus of case study is to develop an in-depth analysis of a single case. A case study site is usually visited at regular intervals to engage in data collection that can be largely predefined, whereas ethnography demands prolonged engagement within the context (Creswell, 1998).

    Case studies are essentially ‘etic’ – outsider research – although the researcher attempts to gain as much ‘local’ knowledge as possible.

Research Methods in Information
  • Alison Jane Pickard
  • Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 January 2013
  • The long-awaited 2nd edition of this best-selling research methods handbook is fully updated and includes brand new coverage of online research methods and techniques, mixed methodology and qualitative analysis. This edition includes two new contributed chapters: Professor Julie McLeod, Sue Childs and Elizabeth Lomas focus on research data management, applying evidence from the recent JISC funded ‘DATUM’ project; Dr Andrew Shenton examines strategies for analysing existing documents.

  • 10 - Experimental research

  • from Part 2 - Research methods
  • Alison Jane Pickard
  • Book:
    Research Methods in Information
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 January 2013, pp 119-126

  • Summary

    It is almost impossible to establish an experimental situation involving human subjects where a benchmark accurately measures every possible relevant variable present in the pre-test situation.

    (Bertrand and Hughes, 2005, 46)

    In social research there is a familiar slogan that states, ‘covariance is not causation’. The two concepts are very different in terms of their context: the concept of causation is theoretical, whereas covariance is empirical.

    (Corbetta, 2003, 91)

    Introduction

    Experimental research epitomizes the positivist paradigm discussed in Chapter 1. The opening quote in this chapter may appear to be very negative; the reason it is here is to highlight that experimental research has its place in library and information science but I would rarely advocate the application of this method in a study that involved human subjects. This is not to say it has not been done – it has – but I would argue that there are too many unstable elements involved ever to be in a position to construct a true experiment involving human beings and all the complex internal and external variables they are subject to. Experiments are possible on systems with stable functions, variables that can be systematically controlled; the human condition does not fall into this category. ‘Effects studies’ have been carried out in many branches of social science, but inference made from these studies is usually tenuous at best.

    Before you decide to embark on experimental research you need to be very sure about what you are doing and the level of control you have over the situation. An experiment is a controlled research situation, which means ‘(a) that unwanted variables and external influences can be kept out of the experimental environment, and (b) that the researcher can establish the experimental conditions down to the smallest details’ (Corbetta, 2003, 94). When these conditions are not entirely met then the researcher has a responsibility to identify the extent of the error. ‘Experimental error occurs when a change in the DV (dependent variable) is produced by any variable other than the IV (independent variable)’ (Burns, 2000, 134).

  • 7 - Ethics in research

  • from Part 1 - Starting the research process
  • Alison Jane Pickard
  • Book:
    Research Methods in Information
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 January 2013, pp 87-96

  • Summary

    Research ethics is a field which is constantly changing, and its boundaries are at times quite fuzzy. What might be acceptable research behaviour one year may be unacceptable the next.

    (Bow, 1999, 254)

    Introduction

    Research ethics is discussed in all research methods texts – or if it is not, then it should be. Although many of these texts will tell you the same, or similar, things, there is some conflict of opinion. A very public and often cited example of this conflict can be seen in the reaction to the research of Laud Humphreys (cited in Punch, 1994). Humphreys investigated the behaviour of homosexuals in semi-public places. His research was primarily concerned with the social background of the men who met for casual encounters in public toilets. From a vantage point in a city park he observed the behaviour of the men and secretly recorded their car number plates. Using this information he located the individuals, then visited them at their homes; this time he was in the guise of a medical survey researcher. In this way Humphreys acquired a considerable quantity of personal information about these men, which he later published. The reaction to his work demonstrates the conflict of opinion regarding research ethics. Humphreys was awarded one of the highest accolades available by an American research association for his work, but at the same time there was a campaign going on to have his PhD revoked for misconduct; he even received a thump in the jaw from another researcher (Punch, 1994).

    Although this rather extreme example is in no way typical of the majority of social science research today, it raises a number of issues that, to a greater or lesser extent, face all researchers when engaging with other human beings in the research process. I would like to point out that although there is a school of thought that advocates that covert research is acceptable, the stance taken here is that research should be overt, meaning that all research participants have the right to know they are being studied and why they are being studied (Bell, 1999). Their knowledge of the research activity may well have an impact on their behaviour but that will be discussed in Part 2 as we look at individual research methods.

Page 181 of 293