Terms of service agreements and research design

Lois Ann Scheidt
Doctoral Student
Terms of Service Agreements and Research Design

In what ways do the Term of Service (ToS) Agreements of social utility sites impact on research design?

Disclaimer
This work is in a very preliminary phase.
While I may be interpreting the legal language of Term of Service Agreements, I am not a lawyer.

Conflicting responses to academic involvement

To date, ToS’ for social utility sites, as they apply to research design, have not been tested in court.

Social Utility Sites

Issues of Concern
Who has access and to what do they gain access?
How must data be collected, or not collected, within the site?
How must data be presented, or not presented, in publication?
What are acceptable venues for publication?

You can always ask…and what should ask before you begin your research project.
Ask for
permission to conduct research within the social utilities domain?
exemption from any Term that will make your initial research design problematic?
Notification only?

Always have a back-up plan. Maybe even more than one.

Appendix A

Five Criteria That Must Be Met For Academic Fair Use
The research or paper in question must be legitimate academic work.
The material used must be directly relevant to the topic.
The source and possible copyright must be cited.
The paper must be for non-profit educational purposes.
The amount of copyrighted material used must not be excessive, and must not affect the market value of the original.
http://www.uta.fi/FAST/PK6/REF/fairuse.html

Terms of service agreements and research design

by Lois Scheidt on May 05, 2010

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