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

• Published in: Journal of medical ethics Vol. 39; no. 2; pp. 115 - 118
• Main Authors: Graber, Mark A, Graber, Abraham
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Institute of Medical Ethics 01.02.2013; BMJ Publishing Group; BMJ Publishing Group Ltd; BMJ Publishing Group LTD
• Subjects: Addiction; Addictions; Administrative law; Age; Behavior, Addictive - etiology; Biomedical research; Crowdsourcing; Crowdsourcing - ethics; Crowdsourcing - methods; Crystal structure; Ethical aspects; Ethics Committees, Research; Ethics, Research; Games; Games, Experimental; Health aspects; Human subjects; Humans; Informed Consent; Institutional review boards; Internet; Internet addiction; Mason-Pfizer monkey virus - enzymology; Medical ethics; Modeling; Peptide Hydrolases - chemistry; Protein Folding; Proteins; R&D; Research & development; Research Design; Research Ethics; Research Personnel - psychology; Research Subjects - psychology; Researchers; Retroviridae Proteins - chemistry; Review boards; Simian immunodeficiency virus; Social Control of Human Experimentation; Studies; Worry
• ISSN: 0306-6800; 1473-4257; 1473-4257
• DOI: 10.1136/medethics-2012-100798

The recent success of Foldit in determining the structure of the Mason-Pfizer monkey virus (M-PMV) retroviral protease is suggestive of the power-solving potential of internet-facilitated game-like crowdsourcing. This research model is highly novel, however, and thus, deserves careful consideration of potential ethical issues. In this paper, we will demonstrate that the crowdsourcing model of research has the potential to cause harm to participants, manipulates the participant into continued participation, and uses participants as experimental subjects. We conclude that protocols relying on this model require institutional review board (IRB) scrutiny.