The Ethics of Internet Research: A Rhetorical, Case-Based Process

Drawing from interviews with Internet researchers from across the globe who work in diverse disciplines and in a wide array of online venues, this book examines ethical issues and questions that Internet researchers may encounter throughout the research process. Although the ethics of Internet research are complex, the aim of the book is to provide a rhetorical, case-based process to aid researchers in ethical decision making. In doing so, the book provides Internet researchers with useful resources and heuristics for engaging in ethical practices, interactions, and problem solving for their research.


About the Author
The Authors: Heidi A. McKee is Assistant Professor of English and an affiliate faculty member of Interactive Media Studies at Miami University. Her research interests include writing theory and practice, digital rhetoric, research methodology, and research ethics. She serves on Miami's Human Subjects IRB, and she co-chairs the Qualitative Research Network, a national organization of writing and rhetoric researchers. Her co-edited books include Digital Writing Research: Technologies, Methodologies, and Ethical Issues (2007) and Technological Ecologies and Sustainability (2009).
James E. Porter is Professor of English and Interactive Media Studies at Miami University, where he also serves as director of the composition program. His primary research areas are rhetoric theory, digital media and composing, research ethics and methodology, and business and technical communication. His books include Audience and Rhetoric (1992), Opening Spaces: Writing Technologies and Critical Research Practices (1997, with Patricia Sullivan), and Rhetorical Ethics and Internetworked Writing (1998).