Human Subjects Protection

We were required to get permission from the land owner or manager in order to make any observations. I wrote up an HSP that detailed what it was I was planning on doing in their community. I discussed with the land owner my objectives and the HSP was signed and returned. With the proper signatures I was now allowed to start my study.

Copy of HSP:

My name is Brock Behme.
I am an undergraduate student enrolled in an introduction to research methods class (Multimedia 333:Introcution to Field Research In Virtual Worlds) at Bradley University in Peoria Il, USA, that is being conducted in Second Life winter/January term, 2009.

We are learning to do field research/ethnography and will not complete formal reasearch this term. But next semester, if we decide to do a project, our projects feature observation of a “community of practice,” that is, a group of people doing similar things in a cultural setting. I am observing this area at this time as I consider what work I might do next term and I am practicing getting the permission of landowners, research subjects, and/or informants.

My observations are merely descriptive: I’ll take notes about what I see and I may summarize those notes in my paper, in class presentations to my classmates, or on my web-blog about this research. The blog is found at: brockunplugged.blogspot.com.

I will not record or publish either the SL or RL name of any avatar/person. Any observations about avatars or recording of their talk transcripts would take place only after having obtained the explicit permission of that avatar/person and would only happen after the name of the avatar had been changed via secret coding scheme.

I do need to remind you that in the case of text chat, others beside myself have copies of text chat (perhaps interviews or general conversations) within their computing systems; likewise, Linden Labs servers have copies. I cannot "control" those copies; I can only promise to control/protect data that is in my possession.

If I were going to observe you as subject, I would ask you if I can have your permission to observe you in general. Any pictures taken in SL, that serve as explanatory data and which might include avatars, will be modified so that avatar names and identifying characteristics are blurred/blocked.

We will also interview subjects and informants about the communities of practice that we are studying. These conversations are, again, voluntary and only with the informed permission of the avatar/person/informant. I may copy out the chat transcript from those conversations/interviews. When we do, we will change/code names so that there is no recorded connection between you/your avatar and the data.

If you agreed to serve as subject of observation, interview, or as an information, you may choose to withdraw at any time without penalty by simply telling me you wish to stop.

You may follow the progress of all of the studies in the class, including this one at: http://slane.bradley.edu/com/faculty/lamoureux/website2/333/mm333ja.html. Presentation of the activities from the class serve as our gift to the communities of practice who share time and knowledge with us; perhaps our perspectives will help residents to more fully understand and appreciate their activities.

If you have questions regarding the class or its activities, you can contact me, in world or out of world via email at BBehme@comcast.net, or my teacher, Professor Beliveau in world or out of world as Ed Lamoureux at ell@bradley.edu, 309-677-2378.

If you are a land owner/venue owner, may I practice observing and interviewing avatars on your land/at your venue? [I may, later, return and ask your permission to do an actual research project here]

land owner/venue operator sign and date here:

_____" xxxx xxxxx "___________________


Thank you for your time and consideration of my requests.