File(s) under permanent embargo
Our anonymous online research participants are not always anonymous: Is this a problem?
When educational research is conducted online, we sometimes promise our participants that they will be anonymous—but do we deliver on this promise? We have been warned since 1996 to be careful when using direct quotes in Internet research, as full-text web search engines make it easy to find chunks of text online. This paper details an empirical study into the prevalence of direct quotes from participants in a subset of the educational technology literature. Using basic web search techniques, the source of direct quotes could be found in 10 of 112 articles. Analysis of the articles revealed previously undiscussed threats from data triangulation and expert analysis/diagnosis. Issues of ethical obliviousness, obscurity and concern for future privacy-invasive technologies are also discussed. Recommendations for researchers, journals and institutional ethics review boards are made for how to better protect participants' anonymity against current and future threats.
History
Journal
British journal of educational technologyVolume
45Issue
3Pagination
428 - 437Publisher
WileyLocation
London, Eng.Publisher DOI
ISSN
0007-1013Language
engPublication classification
C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2014, British Educational Research AssociationUsage metrics
Categories
No categories selectedLicence
Exports
RefWorks
BibTeX
Ref. manager
Endnote
DataCite
NLM
DC