Sociological Research

Hello,

I am a Human Services worker who is doing a research study on online communities such as second life. I am looking for volunteers to participate in the study. I frankly need as many people as I can get to participate. The requirements are not hard. You do not have to provide any personal information about your self. If you are interested in participating in this study please send an e-mail to [email]rainod@msn.com[/email] with the subject as interested in participating in study. I will then respond by sending a survey. You simply fill out the survey the best you can and resend it back to me. Thanks for your time.

Have you received approval from Linden Lab? http://secondlife.com/knowledgebase/article.php?id=062

I was not aware that I needed consent from linden labs to conduct research. I understand that they are trying to look out for their residents. However after reviewing the post it does not say that I need permission to do a study, it was regarding whether or not linden labs endorsed the study. Unfortunately it is also their way of trying to censor the information gathered by researchers. The procedure must remain unbiased and any interference from linden lab would disrupt the validity of the research. In a perfect world their only concern would be the safety of the residents, but the reality of it is they are “trying to cover their own asses.”

"If we feel you have a valid project, we will alert the community to your proposal."

If I were to include Linden Labs in this process is would disrupt the study’s integrity as unbiased. The bottom line is that Linden Labs wants to control what information is obtained about them in order to protect their business name. Any researcher will tell you when conducting s sociological study that involves a business organization, that there is a risk of censorship by the company and that is why it was not considered to let them know about the study. However I was also unaware that they had such a policy. I will have to confer with my colleges as to whether or not they feel that censorship by Linden Labs is something that we are willing to risk. If this breach of Linden Lab’s desires is found offensive to the community then I apologize for not researching Linden lab’s polices before starting the study.

The freedom of information act also entitles us to do our research without seeking the consent of the company. If every company had a say about what researchers were allowed to find out about then there would be a lot of unfortunate company practices that would have been left undiscovered. The policy should be more about the resident’s safety than that of company’s reputation. I however will personally guarantee that the information that we are trying to collect will have nothing to do with any personal information that can give away any valid real life information that may compromise the safety of the participants.

Keep in mind that this study is being done based on survey results not interviews. Anyone who does not want their input published shouldn’t participate in the study. Those who do participate should know that the information they provide will be included as statistical analysis. It should be left to the individuals who choose to participate to decide if they want their voices heard not linden lab’s choice.

Hmm, this sounds like you are biased. You want to control certain factors but no one else including the company who runs the software, can. Not a good way to start. I think LL's take on it is to make sure you aren't some bamboozler who is looking to either A: write a book using material gleened from innocent participants or B: some voyeur looking for matherial for their own private enjoyment.

I would not expect a legitimate researcher to use some of the words listed below or object to being under scrutiny.

Perhaps it would help if you disclosed more details about who you are. The fact that this message is prefaced by a somewhat ambigous "I am a Human Services worker" makes this whole thing sound slightly dubious...

(no disrespect intended, but when I've been approached by bona-fide social researchers in SL in the past, they've always _immediately_ disclosed the establishment they're working for, the precise nature of the study, their real life (non-SL) name, what qualifies them to be carrying out such a study, etc etc.... and most importantly, which professional body or research institution I can contact to verify their details. By comparison, your approach here just seems a little... unprofessional).

Looks like that document is also outdated -- at the top is says

"Please refer to the newest version at its original source here."

You click on the link and there's nothing there either -- so I guess that means they have a new version they haven't posted yet.

Unfortunately you are correct about their being individuals who are capable of masquerading under the guise of conducting research. However when you have studied sociology as long as I have you tend to notice underlying themes behind policies. I am a researcher and like every other human on the face of the earth am subject to being biased.

there are control factors in place for this type of research that eliminates that biased from interfering with the result of the study. You would be hard pressed to find any researcher that doesn’t already have a preconception of the subject they are researching. That is how these studies get started by researchers wanting to test their preconceptions and determine if they were accurate or not.

The focus of the study includes but is not limited to the psycho-social affects of an online community. This study is not endorsed by any particular organization, it is an independent study done by a team of researchers who are interested in the socio-economic relationship to how the members of the community are treated. There is also an element of the study based on the business ethics and costumer service practices from the stand point of the community.

This study was inspired by findings conducted by the Better Business Bureau regarding consumer service.

My qualification to participate in conducting this study comes from a degree in applied science of human services. The applied Science of Human Services means that I am a mental health generalist with focus being on psychology, sociology, and biology. The information was not provided on this forum will be provided in the survey packet, including consent forms, confidentiality statements, and focus of the study. We did not diclose personal information on this forum because we are not asking for your personal information.

The reason those individuals who you have come across went through the whole introductory speech is because their method of evaluation was oral interviews and it is customary for them to present their qualifications when conducting oral interviews. This study is based on survey analysis. The survey packet will contain all the necessary background information.

Thx to Kim and Jason for bringing this to our attention -- we'll fix it up, I hope soon today.

Okay, looks like the Research Ethics info @ http://secondlife.com/knowledgebase/article.php?id=062 *is* the latest. I removed the header to avoid confusion.

If it gets changed again, we'll update it accordingly. Thank you!

I believe that Linden Labs is pretty lenient about giving permission for studies and more people would feel comfortable participating if it went through proper channels.

I like your sense of humor

Again let me emphasize that we were unaware such a policy existed till it was brought to our attention so we never went through “Proper Channels.” Our only goal was to seek out individuals interested in participating in the survey. The dark ages of social science ended long ago. We are simply collecting information to compare and contrast to previous findings. If you are interested in providing input GREAT! Send us an e-mail. If not don’t stress your self out about this posting.

How are "consent" and "endorsement" even remotely the same thing? All the policy says is you need their permission to study their world. Endorsement would mean they'd be providing active support. Consent just means approval. Big difference.


That in itself is an extremely biased statement on your part, you must realize.

Anyway, let me offer a bit of history here on how the policy came about, and maybe you'll better understand why it's in place. As I started in SL almost 3 years ago as a part of class researching online worlds, and as that class's publications helped to spark some of the controversy that led to the policy having been written, I believe I'm qualified to lend you some insight here.

My class was one of the first of its kind at the time, and Linden Lab, obviously excited about it, gave us substantial free land for the semester, lots of friendly attention, and all the support they could muster. However, the class instructors didn't quite return the favor, as assignments often required the publication of chat logs and other private information on the class website.

That was obviously a huge breach of privacy for all concerned, not to mention a clear violation of SL's community standards. People who didn't want to feel like they were being spied on eventually began to shun us, and complaints began to circulate. These people were well within their rights to be upset, of course, but none of us realized that at the time. There was a clear need for LL to step in and say "here's what you can do and what you can't." Ever since then, LL has rightly wanted to make sure that researchers knowingly and deliberately agree to abide by community standards BEFORE beginning their research.

This policy is absolutely reasonable, and exists for everyone's benefit, including yours. It's got nothing to do with Linden Lab's image, or about censoring any information. People have a fundamental right to protect their own privacy, and Linden Lab has a responsibility to ensure that all of us are able to do that. It's that simple.


Sure, but why are you so convinced they'll interfere? Again, it seems the only bias shown so far is from you.


According to your (biased) assumption, not any facts. Show me the evidence that they're trying somehow to sweeten your findings towards their own interest, and maybe I'll believe you. Until then, there's not reason to assume that that's what's going on.

Again, they have an obligation to make sure that we as their customers are able to protect our own privacy. In order to do that, they have to be aware of who is doing what research for what purpose, so that they can make sure the rest of us are properly informed.


How? All they've said is they will alert the public to your presence, just as you have already done yourself. What possible difference could it make to your results whether we read about it in a post authored by you or by one of the Lindens? Either way, it would say the same thing.


And you know this how? Again, you're assuming. I hope that that's not the kind of attitude you normally apply to your research efforts. If so, it's doubtful you'll ever get truly unbiased results, as your own psyche will inevitably curb the outcome with self fulfilling prophesy.


So you'd rather beg forgiveness than ask permission, huh? Not very ethical.


Again, who said anything about censorship? All they want to do is understand your intentions so they can give you the green light. Once you've got that, what you do from there is up to you. Just don't break the rules like we did, and you've got nothing to worry about.

If this really is such a big deal to you, something is awfully wrong.


Uh, the FOIA applies to the federal government, not private companies. When you signed on to Second Life, you agreed to abide by the Terms of Service and the Community Standards. That's a legal and binding contract between you and Linden Lab. Should you seek to breach your agreement with them, they're absolutely within their rights to kick you out of their private system.


Every company does have a say. Ever heard of trade secrets? They are legally protected, you know. Civil penalties for divulging private information can be quite severe. Private companies, just like individuals, are entitled to privacy. Just because you might want to know something doesn't mean you're automatically allowed to find it out.


It is. I have no idea why you keep insisting it's not.


Oh, well when you put it that way, everything you say must be on the level. I mean a personal guarantee from a complete stranger is like money in the bank, right?

Seriously, if everything you're doing is on the up and up, you should have no problem with Linden Lab's desire to verify that before allowing you to proceed. The question is not what do THEY have to hide, it's what do YOU have to hide.


For the umpteenth time, LL has a responsibility to protect us, their customers, from potential abuse. Yes, participation should be up to each individual, but the rules of the system are entirely up to Linden Lab, just as they should be. One of those rules states that before conducting research, you need to tell them you're doing it. Unless you're planning on breaking any other rules by your conduct, then following that one simple rule really shouldn't be a big deal.

I apologize for coming across as biased; my intentions weren’t to start any conflict. I will suspend my efforts until I go through approval process.

I've has dealings with "Therapists" "Psych Majors" "Councellors" "Psychologists" Psychiatrists" and just about every other self appointed description of Human behavioral science Researcher that you could Possibly think of in my last four years In On Line Communities and i have found two things to be Common among all of them.
First, they Always claim to be doing research, BUT the structure of the questions asked ALWAYS betrays a preconception, Bias or outright Negative Slant, An elementary error even the Most Basic student of Psychological research would not make.
And second;
Even the ones who don't strongly resist giving an account of their credentials usually lack the qualifications to serve French fries at McDonalds let alone conduct a Proper study into Human behavior, It is small wonder i am Far from enthusiastic about their sticking their Noses into my recreations.
I have always found their Meddling to be destructive to those who get involved with them.

Dude, If you want to study, Go read a Book and leave our Second Lives Alone.

Angel.