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I agree with the others...you have no business sitting there and listening
in on our
conversations in the name of "Research".  I've been involved in several of
these projects for various reasons and each time they needed MY WRITTEN
PERMISSION to use my input...and at work one of the administrators did her
thesis on email/voice//communication and she had to obtain WRITTEN
PERMISSION of everyone in our office who was involved in the company email
system (some 75 people)  or she couldn't use it and YOU DON'T HAVE MY
PERMISSION.  Joan Hartman
----- Original Message -----
From: Bruce Warr <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, August 28, 1999 8:22 AM
Subject: Research


> Dear friends,
>
> There have been some concerns expressed to me about my research.  I would
like to put these to
> rest.  First of all, I will restate the purpose of my research.
>
> The Topic: "A Comparison of the Efficacy of Online and Face-to-face
Medical Support Groups to
> Satisfy the Needs of Their Membership."
>
> Research question #1:  is there a significant difference in the type of
support provided by
> online and face-to-face medical support groups?
>
> Research question #2:  is there a significant difference in the level of
support provided by
> online and face-to-face medical support groups?
>
> Research question #3:  is there a significant difference in the
personalities of online and
> face-to-face medical support group members?
>
> Methodology.
>
> Data collection.
>
> For the list serve and the bulletin board,
>
> Content analysis will be used to categorize the postings (messages) as
empathetic,
> non-empathetic, factual, contextual, and other.  No detailed analysis will
be made nor will
> the subject nor the sender be retained.  Names mentioned in the body of
the message will be
> deleted.
>
> For the chat room.
>
> I will capture the conversation in a log format.  The same analysis will
be applied to the
> information exchanged.  Again, the specific content will not be analyzed
and all names will be
> deleted.
>
> A demographic survey and a satisfaction questionnaire will be administered
to those who wish
> to participate.  No addresses will be taken, and your name will be
replaced by an ID number.
>
> The only statistics generated will be for the entire group, not for
individuals.
>
> The same methodology will be applied to the face-to-face group (the Johns
Hopkins young onset
> support group.)
>
> I will be collecting data on the face-to-face group during their next two
meetings.  For the
> list server and the bulletin board group, I will just use messages from
the Digests.  For the
> chat room, I will just retain a log every time I'm on.  I will notify the
participants that
> I'm doing so.
>
> Bottom-line.
>
> I will not be making any changes to the chat room etc..  As a byproduct of
my research I will
> send a report to those in charge which will contain recommendations on how
to improve the
> effectiveness of information exchange within the group.  It will be up to
those in charge to
> make any changes.
>
> Individual statistics will not be used.  All data will apply to the group
as a whole.  There
> will be absolutely no way to link the data to individuals..
>
> If anyone does not want their messages used, just e-mail me with your name
and messages
> containing your name will not be used.
>
> Thank you for your participation.
>
> Bruce
>