I'm getting ready to write a research paper, and I've decided to either do it on DRM or the Open Source idea. Which of these do y'all think would be easier to research and/or write about?

Does anyone have any good articles, or sites of interest off-hand that you could share?

Thanks!

I think DRM would be funnier to write/read on about :D

That maybe depends on what exactly you want to write about it. I believe it's easier to get statistics and working papers for open source than drm.

Open Source should be easier on account of how much material has already been published on the subject. On the other hand, it's probably hard to come up with new insights.

Don't think DRM has been researched to any significant degree?

I think DRM would be the more interesting and original subject. On the other hand, finding actual source material to work from will probably be a great deal more difficult than if you choose Open Source. Also, drawing any actual conclusions about DRM whilst remaining objective is probably going to be difficult, especially in the absence of any objective studies.

Heart says DRM, head says Open Source!

Why does it have to be one or the other? If you focus on the idea and philosophy that is Open-Source software, it will without doubt lead you straight into comparing the different development models to the closed-source one for instance.

Digital Rights Management is not limited to video games but also rampant in most proprietary software solutions, hardware-userspace tandems, in real life, culture, etc...

Of course the subject of Open-Source is very, incredibly broad but it's possible to restrict it all to a clear idea, concept which you and anyone that reads your paper can follow.

The future of open source software is a massive area, in my opinion a lot bigger than DRM. There are different established models for making money from open source (for example red hat, google, microsoft - oh yes they do). That's a much bigger subject area, and much more easy to get decent figures from. As far as your research goes, open source is the way to go.

Problem is, a lot of the "anti-DRM" sources you'll find are just average joes on the internet who don't have a fancy degree to support their common sense. So good luck trying to cite that in a research paper :P

Still, that would probably be the better topic. It's a little more of a "hot button" issue, so it would be easier to find information on.

DRM would be more interesting, Open Source easier. I'll say, go with Open Source. ;)

OK, it sounds like Open Source is the way to go...now it's a fairly short paper...only 1200 words or so, so what do y'all think is a more narrow topic to cover? And any good websites to look at?

Thanks a bunch guys!

All your sources on DRM will be heavily biased (well not all, but most). Open Source can be biased but there's plenty of raw data and original statements by proponents out there as well.

I don't know if you're trying to make some sort of statement or not, but Open Source as a topic would likely be way easier.
You should probably start here:
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/

Not that the GPL is the only FOSS license but it's been written about the most due to its nature.

From a european point of view:

Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure e.V.
http://ffii.org/

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