science

List mining

List mining is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand List mining rather than just read about it. In short: List mining can be defined as the use, for purposes of scientific research, of messages sent to Internet-based electronic mailing lists. List mining raises novel issues in Internet research ethics.

Key takeaways

List mining belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect List mining to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of List mining from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

List mining can be defined as the use, for purposes of scientific research, of messages sent to Internet-based electronic mailing lists. List mining raises novel issues in Internet research ethics. These ethical issues are especially important for health related lists. Some questions that need to be considered by a Research Ethics Committee (or an Institutional Review Board) when reviewing research proposals that involve list mining include these:

Are participants in mailing lists "research subjects"? Should those participants in a health related electronic mailing list who were the original sources of messages sent to such lists be regarded as "research subjects"? If so, then several ethical issues need to be considered. These include those pertaining to privacy, informed consent, whether the research is intrusive and has potential for harm, and whether the list should be perceived as "private" or "public" space.

Are participants in mailing lists "published authors"? Should those who were the sources of messages sent to such lists be regarded as "published authors"? Or, perhaps, as "amateur authors"? If so, there are issues of copyright and proper attribution to be considered if messages sent to such lists are cited verbatim. Even short excerpts from such messages raise such issues.

Are participants in mailing lists "members of a community"? Participants on mailing lists such as electronic support groups may regard themselves as members of an online "community". Are they? To provide an answer to this question, characteristics of various types of communities need to be defined and considered. For example, if one defining characteristic of a community is "self-identification as community", then virtual groups often have this characteristic. However, if "geographic localization" or "legitimate political authority" are considered to be other defining characteristics of a community, then virtual groups rarely or never possess this characteristic. Of particular importance are virtual groups that, instead of being supportive, may endanger public health in some way. Examples would be mailing lists that attempt to promote actions that may be illegal (such as inciting race hatred), or actions that may be unpopular, but not currently illegal (such as promoting the sale of cigarettes to adults). From a perspective of Internet research ethics, judgements about the potential of particular mailing lists to cause more harms than benefits should be made by a Research Ethics Committee (or an Institutional Review Board), rather than by the researchers themselves.

See also Electronic mailing list Internet research ethics

External links Till, J. E. "List mining" raises novel issues in research ethics. BMJ 2006; 332(7547): 939 (Rapid Response, 24 April 2006) Read Rapid Responses; BMJ 2006(6 May); 332(7549): 1095 Letter Eysenbach, G. and Till, J. E. Ethical issues in qualitative research on internet communities. : BMJ 2001(Nov 10);323(7321):1103-5. Full text. Bruckman, A. Internet Research Ethics: Studying the Amateur Artist: A Perspective on Disguising Data Collected in Human Subjects Research on the Internet. Part of a collection of papers from members of a panel organized for the Computer Ethics: Philosophical Enquiries (CEPE) conference held at Lancaster University, December 14–16, 2001. Abstract. Galegher, J., Sproull, L., and Keisler, S. Legitimacy, Authority, and Community in Electronic Support Groups. Written Communication 1998(Oct); 15(4): 493–530. Archived text. Weijer, C., Emanuel, E.J. Ethics. Protecting communities in biomedical research. Science 2000(Aug 18); 289(5482): 1142–4. PubMed citation Chapman, S. Respect for privacy of groups that endanger public health? BMJ 2001; 323(7321): 1103 (Rapid Response, 12 November 2001). Read Rapid Responses. Madge, C. Developing a geographers' agenda for online research ethics. Prog Hum Geogr 2007; 31(5); 654–74. Abstract Ruttan, S. The Internet, Access, Accuracy and Abuse. Sandra Ruttan blog, 29 September 2007. Blog post

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with List mining

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what List mining claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to List mining before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about List mining ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of List mining

In research: List mining appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses List mining in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: List mining is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Email, Internet ethics, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for List mining outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study List mining in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what List mining means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain List mining out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is List mining in simple terms?

List mining can be defined as the use, for purposes of scientific research, of messages sent to Internet-based electronic mailing lists. List mining raises novel issues in Internet research ethics.

Why does List mining matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study List mining?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on List mining.