Download - Research, the Cloud, and the IRB
Research, the Cloud, and the IRB
PRIM&R WorkshopDecember 3, 2011
Michael Zimmer, PhDAssistant Professor, School of Information Studies
Co-Director, Center for Information Policy ResearchUniversity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Agenda
What is Cloud Computing
Opportunities for Use in Research
Ethical Dimensions Subject confidentiality & anonymity Data privacy & security Data ownership & stewardship Research integrity & authorship
What can Researchers and IRBs do?
What do Researchers and IRBs need?
What is Cloud Computing?
KEXINO (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) http://www.flickr.com/photos/kexino/4202662815/
What is Cloud Computing?
On-demand, network-based access to computing recourses
Location independent, flexible, scalable, cost effective, little (if any) local support or maintenance
As of September 2008, 69 percent of Americans were using webmail services, storing data online, or otherwise using software programs, such as word processing applications, whose functionality is located on the web.
3 Layers of Cloud Computing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cloud_computing.svg (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Application Layer
“Software as a service”
Providing productivity applications via the Web; no local software needed
Platform Layer
“Platform as a service”
Providing application development platforms and operating systems via the Web
Can deploy applications without needing your own infrastructure
Infrastructure Layer
“Infrastructure as a service”
Provide computing infrastructure on demand
Outsourcing servers, storage, network equipment, processing power, data centers
3 Layers of Cloud Computing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cloud_computing.svg (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Research Opportunities for Cloud Computing
Application layer Most common and easiest application of cloud Data gathering, storage, collaboration
Platform layer Hosted apps for recruitment & surveys
Infrastructure layer Access to increased processing power for large-
scale research projects Some non-traditional uses
Research Opportunities: Applications
Data gathering using web-based survey applications SurveyMonkey Zoomerang Qualtrics
Typically used “in the wild”, sometimes institutionally-bound
Research Opportunities: Applications
Data storage & sharing using cloud-based applications Dropbox Box.net iCloud
Communication & collaboration using cloud-based applications Gmail, IM, Skype Google Docs, Office Live Wikis
Research Opportunities: Platforms
With skilled programmers, can build custom apps to deploy via cloud-based platforms Subject recruitment and screening apps on
Facebook Building and deploying test instruments within
online gaming platforms Monitoring and activity tracking apps on mobile
device platforms
Research Opportunities: Infrastructure
Leverage cloud-based computing infrastructures to handle resource-intensive processing tasks Clinical trial data storage & processing Sharing extremely large databases
Innovative, non-traditional use of cloud-based processing “resources” ____@Home (distributed computing) FoldIt Amazon Mechanical Turk
FoldIt
FoldIt
Web-based puzzle video game to assist with protein folding research
Leverage millions of gamers to assist in data processing
Players produced an accurate 3D model of and AIDS-related enzyme in just ten days Researchers had been trying for 15 years
Amazon Mechanical Turk
Facilitates outsourcing of computational or other mundane tasks
Requesters post “Human Intelligence Tasks” offering minimal fees
Workers select tasks to complete for micropayments
Ethical Dimensions
Subject confidentiality & anonymity
Data privacy & security
Data ownership & stewardship
Research integrity & authorship
Subject Confidentiality & Anonymity
When recruiting subjects or collecting data with cloud-based applications… Are IP addresses logged in such a way to allow
re-identification of subjects Using a Facebook app might provide researchers
access to unnecessary personal information Are cloud providers tracking data and usage
themselves? Delivering ads?
Data Privacy & Security
Critical concern of any cloud system, takes on even more importance when dealing with subject data Are cloud-based communication and
collaboration systems using SSL encryption? Is data stored on cloud-servers encrypted? What is service’s policy regarding 3rd party access
AdvertisersInvestigative inquiry vs. subpoena vs. warrants?Electronic Communication Privacy Act (ECPA)
Data Ownership & Stewardship
Who owns, and who controls (meta)data in the cloud? Are you granting the cloud provider any license to
use your data or activities (for advertising, data mining, etc)?
Can you ensure data remains in the U.S.? Can data be destroyed on demand, including
backups? Can you ensure cloud provider won’t hold your
data “hostage”, or disappear?
Research Integrity & Authorship
Should researchers rely on cloud-based data processing and analysis? Must trust (audit?) external/collaborative
processing platforms Ethical to use Mechanical Turk, or otherwise
outsource mundane tasks? Authorship claims?
What can Researchers & IRBs do?
Read and understand the Terms of Service Incorporate in risk analysis
Include mention of cloud-based services in consent forms Level of detail?
Monitor cloud services over life of project Have terms or practices changed?
All this is new, complex, and difficult…
What do Researchers & IRBs need?
Training in interpreting ToS
Tools to help make translation between federal regulations and ToS, and evaluate protocols
What else?
