1. Ethical Treatment of Participants in Studies of Online Behaviors Barbara M. Wildemuth School of Information & Library Science University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

2. Basic Principles Respect for persons Beneficence Justice

3. Respect for Persons Acknowledge the individual’s autonomy –Voluntary participation –Informed consent Protect those with diminished autonomy –Children –Diminished mental capacity –Language differences, literacy

4. Beneficence Do no harm Maximize benefits and minimize risks Justice Distribution of risks and benefits

5. Questions Arising in Studies of Online Behavior When is a data collection activity defined as “research”? When is a participant a “human subject”? Do participants need to be informed when you are using traces of past behavior?