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Lois Ann Scheidt<br />Doctoral Student<br />Terms of Service Agreements and Research Design<br />

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

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

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Conflicting responses to academic involvement<br />

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

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Social Utility Sites<br />

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

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You can always ask…and what should ask before you begin your research project.<br /><ul><li> Ask for

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permission to conduct research within the social utilities domain?

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exemption from any Term that will make your initial research design problematic?</li></ul>Notification only?<br />

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Always have a back-up plan. Maybe even more than one.<br />

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Appendix A<br />

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