Hello UX meeting-y people (and I've cc'ed tor-project as well, if anyone wants to give me their two cents):
I have gotten an unusual request--a researcher wants to observe us. Are there guidelines on this sort of thing?
My immediate gut reactions is: well, this is technically a public channel but having someone observe us and participating are different. And as a researcher, I know that people being aware that they are being observed cause them to act differently versus when they are unaware anyway (not that he shouldn't have asked for consent, he definitely should have).
What are your thoughts?
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: COLLIER Ben s1263350@sms.ed.ac.uk Date: Wed, Apr 12, 2017 at 7:10 AM Subject: Tor Research - Re: [tor-project] Weekly UX meeting on Jitsi! To: "linda@torproject.org" linda@torproject.org
Dear Linda,
I hope that this finds you well. I'm a doctoral researcher at the University of Edinburgh currently researching the Tor Project and the broader Tor community - in particular my research seeks to explore how antisurveillance tech communities discuss and express values through design processes. I've been conducting some initial interviews with members of the Tor community and I was hoping to carry out some online research - in particular sitting in on a couple of discussions like the one on Jitsi mentioned in your email below.
In terms of meetings like this one, or on Tor Project's IRC channels, do you think it would be possible for me (with the consent and knowledge of participants) to observe and include these in an anonymised form in the research? If so, I'm very keen to conduct these in a mindful and respectful way, and to minimise any disruption, and would be happy to discuss the best way to do this in this particular case. I would also be very happy to feed back and discuss my findings with participants and the wider community once the research is complete. I'm also absolutely happy to answer any questions or discuss any concerns which you or any other member of the team have about my research.
Very best,
Ben Collier
Twitter: @JohnnyHistone Scottish Centre for Crime and Criminal Justice Research: http://www.sccjr.ac.uk/about-us/people/ben-collier/ Edinburgh University PhD Student Profile: http://www.law.ed.ac. uk/research/students/viewstudent?ref=339 PhD Blog: https://bencollierblog.wordpress.com/
------------------------------ *From:* tor-project tor-project-bounces@lists.torproject.org on behalf of Linda Naeun Lee linda@torproject.org *Sent:* 11 April 2017 20:22:14 *To:* tor-project@lists.torproject.org; ux@lists.torproject.org *Subject:* [tor-project] Weekly UX meeting on Jitsi!
Hi all,
We're meeting weekly on https://meet.jit.si/TorUX on Mondays at 15:00 UTC. Currently, it's going to be discussions about redesigning the website.
Feel free to listen in on what is going on, if you are curious.
The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with registration number SC005336.
Hi all,
Many thanks for forwarding this on - very much appreciated! If anyone has any thoughts or concerns about my potentially carrying out this kind of research I'd be really grateful to hear them. As Linda points out in their email, it wouldn't be right for me to carry out this kind of observational research without talking to people about it first and getting informed consent. While some types of research do try to observe participants without their knowledge, as a sociologist I'm not comfortable doing this and I don't think it would be an ethical way to go about things. I think that mindfully, respectfully carrying out this kind of research with the consent and knowledge of the participants isn't only ethical best practice, but ultimately also gives you a much more interesting perspective (and hopefully might mean that the research could be of more use to the participants when it's finished). As before, I'm happy to answer any questions at all about the research or the current stage of the project, or discuss what might be the best way to go about something like this.
Very best,
Ben
________________________________ From: tor-project tor-project-bounces@lists.torproject.org on behalf of Linda Naeun Lee linda@torproject.org Sent: 12 April 2017 15:11:19 To: Isabela Bagueros; Alison; colin@torproject.org; Antonela Debiasi Cc: tor-project@lists.torproject.org Subject: [tor-project] Fwd: Tor Research - Re: Weekly UX meeting on Jitsi!
Hello UX meeting-y people (and I've cc'ed tor-project as well, if anyone wants to give me their two cents):
I have gotten an unusual request--a researcher wants to observe us. Are there guidelines on this sort of thing?
My immediate gut reactions is: well, this is technically a public channel but having someone observe us and participating are different. And as a researcher, I know that people being aware that they are being observed cause them to act differently versus when they are unaware anyway (not that he shouldn't have asked for consent, he definitely should have).
What are your thoughts?
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: COLLIER Ben <s1263350@sms.ed.ac.ukmailto:s1263350@sms.ed.ac.uk> Date: Wed, Apr 12, 2017 at 7:10 AM Subject: Tor Research - Re: [tor-project] Weekly UX meeting on Jitsi! To: "linda@torproject.orgmailto:linda@torproject.org" <linda@torproject.orgmailto:linda@torproject.org>
Dear Linda,
I hope that this finds you well. I'm a doctoral researcher at the University of Edinburgh currently researching the Tor Project and the broader Tor community - in particular my research seeks to explore how antisurveillance tech communities discuss and express values through design processes. I've been conducting some initial interviews with members of the Tor community and I was hoping to carry out some online research - in particular sitting in on a couple of discussions like the one on Jitsi mentioned in your email below.
In terms of meetings like this one, or on Tor Project's IRC channels, do you think it would be possible for me (with the consent and knowledge of participants) to observe and include these in an anonymised form in the research? If so, I'm very keen to conduct these in a mindful and respectful way, and to minimise any disruption, and would be happy to discuss the best way to do this in this particular case. I would also be very happy to feed back and discuss my findings with participants and the wider community once the research is complete. I'm also absolutely happy to answer any questions or discuss any concerns which you or any other member of the team have about my research.
Very best,
Ben Collier
Twitter: @JohnnyHistone Scottish Centre for Crime and Criminal Justice Research: http://www.sccjr.ac.uk/about-us/people/ben-collier/ Edinburgh University PhD Student Profile: http://www.law.ed.ac.uk/research/students/viewstudent?ref=339 PhD Blog: https://bencollierblog.wordpress.com/
________________________________ From: tor-project <tor-project-bounces@lists.torproject.orgmailto:tor-project-bounces@lists.torproject.org> on behalf of Linda Naeun Lee <linda@torproject.orgmailto:linda@torproject.org> Sent: 11 April 2017 20:22:14 To: tor-project@lists.torproject.orgmailto:tor-project@lists.torproject.org; ux@lists.torproject.orgmailto:ux@lists.torproject.org Subject: [tor-project] Weekly UX meeting on Jitsi!
Hi all,
We're meeting weekly on https://meet.jit.si/TorUX on Mondays at 15:00 UTC. Currently, it's going to be discussions about redesigning the website.
Feel free to listen in on what is going on, if you are curious.
The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with registration number SC005336.
Ben:
I don't hear any responses.
I then invite you to the UX meeting, on the condition that if anyone does not give consent, then you do not perform your research. People are welcome to reply to this email, but if they don't, I'll just introduce you to people at the beginning of the meeting and explain what you are doing to get consent.
My guess is that people are okay with this, as we have had other people (like Biella) hang out with us to study us before. See you there!
On Tue, Apr 18, 2017 at 7:15 AM, COLLIER Ben s1263350@sms.ed.ac.uk wrote:
Hi all,
Many thanks for forwarding this on - very much appreciated! If anyone has any thoughts or concerns about my potentially carrying out this kind of research I'd be really grateful to hear them. As Linda points out in their email, it wouldn't be right for me to carry out this kind of observational research without talking to people about it first and getting informed consent. While some types of research do try to observe participants without their knowledge, as a sociologist I'm not comfortable doing this and I don't think it would be an ethical way to go about things. I think that mindfully, respectfully carrying out this kind of research with the consent and knowledge of the participants isn't only ethical best practice, but ultimately also gives you a much more interesting perspective (and hopefully might mean that the research could be of more use to the participants when it's finished). As before, I'm happy to answer any questions at all about the research or the current stage of the project, or discuss what might be the best way to go about something like this.
Very best,
Ben
*From:* tor-project tor-project-bounces@lists.torproject.org on behalf of Linda Naeun Lee linda@torproject.org *Sent:* 12 April 2017 15:11:19 *To:* Isabela Bagueros; Alison; colin@torproject.org; Antonela Debiasi *Cc:* tor-project@lists.torproject.org *Subject:* [tor-project] Fwd: Tor Research - Re: Weekly UX meeting on Jitsi!
Hello UX meeting-y people (and I've cc'ed tor-project as well, if anyone wants to give me their two cents):
I have gotten an unusual request--a researcher wants to observe us. Are there guidelines on this sort of thing?
My immediate gut reactions is: well, this is technically a public channel but having someone observe us and participating are different. And as a researcher, I know that people being aware that they are being observed cause them to act differently versus when they are unaware anyway (not that he shouldn't have asked for consent, he definitely should have).
What are your thoughts?
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: COLLIER Ben s1263350@sms.ed.ac.uk Date: Wed, Apr 12, 2017 at 7:10 AM Subject: Tor Research - Re: [tor-project] Weekly UX meeting on Jitsi! To: "linda@torproject.org" linda@torproject.org
Dear Linda,
I hope that this finds you well. I'm a doctoral researcher at the University of Edinburgh currently researching the Tor Project and the broader Tor community - in particular my research seeks to explore how antisurveillance tech communities discuss and express values through design processes. I've been conducting some initial interviews with members of the Tor community and I was hoping to carry out some online research - in particular sitting in on a couple of discussions like the one on Jitsi mentioned in your email below.
In terms of meetings like this one, or on Tor Project's IRC channels, do you think it would be possible for me (with the consent and knowledge of participants) to observe and include these in an anonymised form in the research? If so, I'm very keen to conduct these in a mindful and respectful way, and to minimise any disruption, and would be happy to discuss the best way to do this in this particular case. I would also be very happy to feed back and discuss my findings with participants and the wider community once the research is complete. I'm also absolutely happy to answer any questions or discuss any concerns which you or any other member of the team have about my research.
Very best,
Ben Collier
Twitter: @JohnnyHistone Scottish Centre for Crime and Criminal Justice Research: http://www.sccjr.ac.uk/about-us/people/ben-collier/ Edinburgh University PhD Student Profile: http://www.law.ed.ac. uk/research/students/viewstudent?ref=339 PhD Blog: https://bencollierblog.wordpress.com/
*From:* tor-project tor-project-bounces@lists.torproject.org on behalf of Linda Naeun Lee linda@torproject.org *Sent:* 11 April 2017 20:22:14 *To:* tor-project@lists.torproject.org; ux@lists.torproject.org *Subject:* [tor-project] Weekly UX meeting on Jitsi!
Hi all,
We're meeting weekly on https://meet.jit.si/TorUX on Mondays at 15:00 UTC. Currently, it's going to be discussions about redesigning the website.
Feel free to listen in on what is going on, if you are curious.
The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with registration number SC005336.
tor-project mailing list tor-project@lists.torproject.org https://lists.torproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/tor-project
On 4/18/17 8:15 AM, COLLIER Ben wrote:
Hi all,
Many thanks for forwarding this on - very much appreciated! If anyone has any thoughts or concerns about my potentially carrying out this kind of research I'd be really grateful to hear them. As Linda points out in their email, it wouldn't be right for me to carry out this kind of observational research without talking to people about it first and getting informed consent. While some types of research do try to observe participants without their knowledge, as a sociologist I'm not comfortable doing this and I don't think it would be an ethical way to go about things. I think that mindfully, respectfully carrying out this kind of research with the consent and knowledge of the participants isn't only ethical best practice, but ultimately also gives you a much more interesting perspective (and hopefully might mean that the research could be of more use to the participants when it's finished). As before, I'm happy to answer any questions at all about the research or the current stage of the project, or discuss what might be the best way to go about something like this.
Very best,
Ben
A couple of questions: 1) How long will this observation last? (3 months? 3 years?) 2) How will you inform new members to the community (e.g., a new volunteer joins the community in June; how will they be "notified")?
-- Kathy Brade
Hello Kathy,
Many thanks for your questions on the research - in terms of the observation, I thought I would come along to this first meeting on the 1st May and see how things go, whether people are generally comfortable with me being there and so on. If people are happy for me to do so, then I'd be interested in potentially speaking to some more people individually, or asking permission to join in on/observe other meetings etc. if that were possible (with the consent and agreement of any participants). Overall, I'm hoping for the fieldwork for this project to last until around the start of summer 2018, but in terms of how much observation would be involved, that is entirely dependent on how comfortable people are with me carrying out the research and what fits best with the community.
In terms of new people coming to the project, I think that this is definitely something important for me to take into account - I'd be very keen to make it clear each time that I'm participating in an observational capacity, provide links to verify who I am and what my research is about, and make it clear that if anyone wasn't comfortable with me being there or didn't consent to participating then they could let me know and I would end the observation immediately. I'd be really interested to hear any thoughts or comments which you had on these issues - do you think that this would be sufficient, or is there anything else you think I should take into account?
Very best,
Ben
________________________________ From: tor-project tor-project-bounces@lists.torproject.org on behalf of Kathleen Brade brade@pearlcrescent.com Sent: 20 April 2017 14:36:23 To: tor-project@lists.torproject.org Subject: Re: [tor-project] Fwd: Tor Research - Re: Weekly UX meeting on Jitsi!
On 4/18/17 8:15 AM, COLLIER Ben wrote:
Hi all,
Many thanks for forwarding this on - very much appreciated! If anyone has any thoughts or concerns about my potentially carrying out this kind of research I'd be really grateful to hear them. As Linda points out in their email, it wouldn't be right for me to carry out this kind of observational research without talking to people about it first and getting informed consent. While some types of research do try to observe participants without their knowledge, as a sociologist I'm not comfortable doing this and I don't think it would be an ethical way to go about things. I think that mindfully, respectfully carrying out this kind of research with the consent and knowledge of the participants isn't only ethical best practice, but ultimately also gives you a much more interesting perspective (and hopefully might mean that the research could be of more use to the participants when it's finished). As before, I'm happy to answer any questions at all about the research or the current stage of the project, or discuss what might be the best way to go about something like this.
Very best,
Ben
A couple of questions: 1) How long will this observation last? (3 months? 3 years?) 2) How will you inform new members to the community (e.g., a new volunteer joins the community in June; how will they be "notified")?
-- Kathy Brade
_______________________________________________ tor-project mailing list tor-project@lists.torproject.org https://lists.torproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/tor-project
The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with registration number SC005336.
tor-project@lists.torproject.org
-
COLLIER Ben -
Kathleen Brade -
Linda Naeun Lee