MichaelZimmer.org

Michael Zimmer, PhD, is a privacy and data ethics scholar at Marquette University

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New Entry in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: “Internet Research Ethics”

Posted by on in Internet Research Ethics, Publications2 Comments

I'm thrilled to announce that the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy has published a new entry on "Internet Research Ethics", written by Elizabeth Buchanan and myself. I'm confident the existence of this entry in such a popular and prestigious publication will help increase awareness of these important issues.

ICA 2012: Researching Social Media: Ethical and Methodological Challenges

Posted by on in Events, Internet Research Ethics, Social Media

I'm currently in Phoenix, AZ for the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, participating on an important panel on "Researching Social Media: Ethical and Methodological Challenges", organized by Anders Olof Larsson (Uppsala) and Hallvard Moe (Bergen). The panel is…

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UW-Milwaukee Seeking Fellow in the Social Studies of Information

Posted by on in Professional

The School of Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is accepting applications for a Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Social Studies of Information for the 2012-2013 academic year, to work closely with the School’s newly established Social Studies of Information Research Group (SSIRG). The postdoctoral fellowship is designed for recent PhDs who are interested in research and pedagogy in the historical, social and cultural dimensions of information at its most fundamental levels, including information institutions, practices, industries, technologies, disciplines, users, policies, and ethics.

New Survey Confirms Librarians’ Commitment to Protecting Privacy Rights

Posted by on in Libraries, Privacy, Publications

In celebration of Choose Privacy Week, the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom has released preliminary findings from a new survey on "Librarian Attitudes and Behaviors Regarding Informational Privacy" that I conducted on their behalf with generous support from the…

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Research Ethics and the Blackberry Project

Posted by on in Internet Research Ethics, Mobility2 Comments

Forbes privacy columnist Kashmir Hill recently published a profile of University of Texas-Dallas developmental psychology professor Marion Underwood's large-scale research project titled “The Blackberry Project.” The Blackberry Project is an ongoing longitudinal study examining teen behavior and sociability, which first recruited its subjects in 2003. Then, in 2009, the subjects (now entering 8th grade) were provided with BlackBerry devices with unlimited text and data plans paid for by the investigators. The devices were configured so that the content of all text messages, e-mail messages, and instant messages was saved to a secure server to be mined by the researchers -- over 500,000 messages a month are being archived. While the Blackberry Project appears to have been managed properly through the IRB rules and regulations, it highlights emerging ethical concerns with projects of this nature, including issues of consent, undue influence, and privacy & anonymity.