Ethical gaps in studies of the digital divide

  • Authors:
  • Kenneth L. Hacker;Shana M. Mason

  • Affiliations:
  • Department of Communication Studies, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003 USA;Department of Communication Studies, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003 USA

  • Venue:
  • Ethics and Information Technology
  • Year:
  • 2003

Quantified Score

Hi-index 0.01

Visualization

Abstract

There are many reports about the digital divideand many discrepant interpretations of what thereports indicate. This pattern of competinganalyses, often in relation to identical datasets, has endured for a good part of the lastdecade. It is argued here that a major problemwith much of the digital divide research is afailure to include ethical concerns as anexplicit part of analyzing and interpretingdigital divide gaps. If researchers includemore recognition of ethics with their findingsabout divide gaps, it is likely that they willproduce better research and findings as well asmore defensible linkages between study reportsand policy deliberations.