Internet Research, Privacy of Participants

When conducting Internet-based research, researchers make choices that impact the privacy of participants in a range of ways. Privacy of participants can be protected or compromised in the survey or questionnaire design process. Privacy considerations for participants also exist when researchers make choices within the technological system utilized for online survey collection about what information is collected and stored. This entry discusses these considerations and how researchers who conduct Internet-based research balance the protection of participants’ privacy with the collection of enough in-depth information to meaningfully advance scientific inquiry about communication processes.

Questionnaire Design and Privacy of Participants in Internet-Based Research

In designing online survey questionnaires, researchers interested in protecting the privacy of participants can construct questions in ways that enhance or limit the ability of participants ...

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