Internet-based crowdsourcing and research ethics: the case for IRB review

Area of Science:

• Bioinformatics
• Computational Biology
• Research Ethics

Background:

• The success of Foldit in solving the Mason-Pfizer monkey virus (M-PMV) protease structure highlights crowdsourcing's potential.
• Internet-facilitated, game-like research models are novel and require ethical evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the ethical implications of crowdsourcing in scientific research.
• To demonstrate potential harms and manipulative aspects of this research model.

Main Methods:

• Conceptual analysis of internet-facilitated crowdsourcing in research.
• Examination of ethical issues related to participant engagement and data utilization.

Main Results:

• Crowdsourcing research models may pose risks of harm to participants.
• These models can employ manipulative techniques to ensure continued participation.
• Participants may be unknowingly used as experimental subjects.

Conclusions:

• Crowdsourcing research models necessitate careful ethical scrutiny.
• Protocols utilizing crowdsourcing require review by institutional review boards (IRBs).