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Applied TheoryLegal and Regulatory Issues forTechnical Communicators ConductingGlobal Internet ResearchHeidi A. McKee and James E. PorterAbstractPurpose: This article discusses the ethical and regulatory issues that technicalcommunicators need to consider when conducting Internet research.Method: We open by considering how technical communicators live, work, and doresearch in global contexts where distributed networks for the design, development,and distribution of documents, interfaces, and technologies span cultural andgeographic borders. By drawing on published case work and interviews with technicalcommunicators who work in global contexts, we examine the key legal and ethicalissues technical communicators face when they are conducting Internet research. Wepropose heuristics for technical communicators to use when addressing these issues.Results: Key legal and regulatory issues that technical communicators face whenconducting Internet research include the diversity of legal regimes, the variabilityof privacy laws and cultural differences, the impact of government surveillance onresearch risks, and the complexity of intellectual property in a global world.Conclusion: Technical communicators need to be aware of the potential legal andregulatory challenges they may encounter when conducting Internet research thatspans cultural and geographic borders. By consulting precedent cases, seeking advicefrom diverse audiences (e.g., focal participants, corporate legal), and remaining flexiblein research design, technical communicators can successfully meet these challenges.Keywords: internet research ethics, privacy, intellectual property, law, globalizationPractitioner’sTakeaway• When conducting Internet researchthat spans cultural and geographicborders, technical communicatorsneed to be informed of applicablelaws and regulations, includingknowing what country hasjurisdiction.• Because understandings andexpectations for privacy are culturallydetermined, technical communicatorswill be well served to understand thecultural expectations of the personswhose communications they study.• Technical communicators need tobe aware that in many countriesand regions of the world, Internetcommunications are closely watched,censored, and regulated, raising risksfor researchers, the companies forwhom they work, and the personswhose communications they study.• To seek answers in the ever-changingregulatory, legal, and cultural climate,technical communicators need toask a range of questions, consultprecedent cases, and seek advice fromdiverse audiences.282 Technical Communication l Volume 57, Number 3, August 2010
Applied TheoryMcKee and PorterIntroductionIsn’t all research global research by now? If not yet,it is probably moving there. Increasingly, technicalcommunicators live, work, and do research in globalcontexts, where distributed networks for the design,development, and distribution of documents,interfaces, and technologies span cultural andgeographic borders. As Starke-Meyerring, Duin, andPalvetzian (2007) noted, “As workplace professionalsand as citizens, technical communicators increasinglyexperience a fundamentally changed communicationenvironment as a result of globalization” (p. 141)—and, we would add, particularly as a result of Internetbasedglobal communications. More and more, thework of technical communicators is “distributed”work (Spinuzzi, 2007) in global networks.For example, as technical communicators work withcolleagues, partners, and clients around the globe, U.S.technical communicators create training manuals usedby managers in China—and vice versa. Internationalproject teams comprising members from, say, Kenya,India, and the United States, all of whom work for thesame transnational corporation, create documentationfor users in East Africa and Southeast Asia. Increasingly,the design of online information products—forinstance, basic decisions about information architecturefor a given product (McCool, 2006)—requiresknowledge about potential audiences.To be most effective and successful working amidthe complexities of global networked environments,technical communicators need to develop knowledgeabout, and therefore conduct research on, cross-culturalaudiences and communication issues—a point made byformer Technical Communication editor George Hayhoe:“Today we must address the needs of global audiences.. . . To do our jobs, we need research about audiences incultures with whom we are beginning to communicate. .. . It is vital for the continued success of our companiesand our profession” (Hayhoe, 2006, p. 141).Testing for usability, for instance, increasinglydemands that we develop a better understanding of howto design information for cross-cultural audiences usingmobile devices. Such an effort will require research,much of which will be Internet-based. For example,to understand how audiences from different culturesaccess and use mobile text messaging systems, Sun(2006) conducted a comparative case study of users inAlbany, NY, and in the Hangzhou region of Zhejiangprovince in China. Sun’s research showed that U.S. andChinese participants used text messaging in differentways, bringing different cultural expectations to theirhabits of texting that have important implications forthe design of mobile devices and handheld interfaces.Such studies will become the foundation for technicalcommunicators who are designing and structuringinterfaces, producing documentation, conductingusability studies, and developing content managementsystems for global users.Global research raises many methodologicaland ethical challenges for technical communicators,particularly for those working with Internettechnologies, because of the cross-cultural, international,and transnational nature of the work. In the process ofplanning, collecting data for, and presenting a researchstudy, Internet researchers face myriad issues, includinglegal and regulatory issues. Negotiating legal codes andgovernment regulations—as well as actual governmentpractices, which may or may not be consistent withlaws and regulations—is an important aspect of anyresearcher’s work; it is especially important for Internetresearchers, who often face additional complexitiesbecause of the networked, global nature of the Internet.Our aim in this article is to focus on howinternational laws and regulations affect technicalcommunicators doing Internet-based research. Becauselaws and regulations are continually revised, we will notattempt to provide an up-to-date report on current lawsin various countries—an impossible task that wouldbe out of date as soon as we finished. Nor will weattempt a comprehensive discussion of the full rangeof government oversight that might affect researchers.Instead, we will focus on a few examples drawn fromthe experiences of researchers we interviewed, focusingon three main considerations: issues of privacy,government censorship, and intellectual property.Our analysis is based on interviews with technicalcommunication researchers and on published reportsof research. (For a full description of the methodologyand theoretical framework for this article, see McKee& Porter, 2009.) Our goal here is to highlight the kindsVolume 57, Number 3, August 2010 l Technical Communication 283
Page 1 and 2: AUGUST 2010Volume 57 Number 3SPECIA
Page 3 and 4: PresidentMichael A. HughesVice Pres
Page 5 and 6: VoLuME 57, NuMBER 3AUGUST 2010ISSN
Page 7 and 8: Guest EditorialKirk St.Amant and Ma
Page 9 and 10: Applied ResearchTechnical Communica
Page 11 and 12: Applied ResearchNicole St. Germaine
Page 25 and 26: Applied TheoryTatiana BatovaIntrodu
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