Internet Research Ethics
ThemesInternet Research Ethics
What is this about?
Internet Research Ethics refers to application of ethical principles to research carried out on the Internet, whether its intention is to collect data or study human behavior online.[1]
- ↑ 1. Shelley-Egan C. Internet Research Ethics. SATORI. European Commission. 2015 June. [cited 2021 Feb 4]. Available from: https://satoriproject.eu/media/2.d.2-Internet-research-ethics.pdf.
Why is this important?
Internet can be used as a research tool to collect data (“non-intrusive analysis”) and as a venue when it engages the participants of the web source, i.e. human subjects (“engaged analysis”).[1] However, this distinction can be blurred when it comes to social media, for example Facebook or Twitter where “participant recruitment”, data collection, analysis and dissemination can occur in the same space.[1] Regardless of whether we use Internet as a tool or a venue, it is important to distinguish public and private data.[2]
Dealing with private data and human subjects in research poses challenges related to privacy, anonymity and informed consent.[3] Although it is not always clear whether online venues are public or private, some pointers might help to distinguish them. E-mail lists and closed online debates can be considered private because they are property of the community that created them.[4] Some online settings determine for themselves whether their postings are public or private. For instance, a private and password-secured Facebook group can be considered private, while an open discussion on Twitter where users post their opinions on certain topics can be considered public.[5]
Confirming the identity of participants of online sites can be challenging as well. People might use an avatar or adopt a username to participate in an online discussion, which makes difficult or impossible to contact them.[6] Participants can even fabricate their identity. Students might have a parent or another student providing them with answers during an online test or a survey.[7] One of the extreme cases is that of American blogger Debbie Swenson who pretended to be a teenager “Kaycee Nicole”, a fictitious online persona suffering from terminal leukemia. Swenson blogged about her condition and convinced the readers of her own death.[7]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Stanford Encyclopedia of Philospphy. Internet Research Ethics. First published Fri Jun 22, 2012; substantive revision Tue Jan 12, 2021. [cited 2021 March 2]. Available from: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-internet-research/.
- ↑ Snee H. Making Ethical Decisions in an Online context: Reflections on using blogs to explore narratives or experience. Methodological Innovations Online. 2013;8(2):52-67.
- ↑ Sugiura L, Wiles R. Ethical challenges in online research: Public/private perceptions. Res. Ethics. 2017;13(3-4):184-199.
- ↑ Berry DM. Internet research: Privacy, ethics and alienation: An open source approach. Internet Res. 2014;14(4):323-332.
- ↑ Townsend L, Wallace C. Social Media Research: A Guide to Ethics. [cited 2021 Feb 4]. Available from: https://www.gla.ac.uk/media/Media_487729_smxx.pdf.
- ↑ Warrell JG, Jacobsen M. Internet research ethics and the policy gap for ethical practice in online research settings. Can. J. High. Educ. 2014;44(1):22-37.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Pace LA. Protecting Human Subjects in Internet Research. EJBO. 2005;10(1):35-41.
For whom is this important?
What are the best practices?
From the end of the 1990s some research institutions and journals began to establish and develop rules and guidelines for research in online setting. In 1999 the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) issued a report Ethical and Legal Aspects of Human Subjects Research on the Internet which emphasized the importance of using informed consent with disclosure of the risks and benefits of the research to the human subject. To this day, the AAAS report is considered “a benchmark” reference for the Internet research ethics .[1]
In the past few years, organizations such as The Association of Internet Researchers, The British Educational Research Association, The British Psychological Society and The Norwegian National Research Ethics Committees, have also released guidelines with aim of providing frameworks for researchers facing ethical challenges in online research. While most of them stress the necessity of informed consent, some highlight obstacles and difficulties in obtaining it. For example, when children and other vulnerable groups are involved in research, the consent must be obtained from their parent or guardian. Also, children might pretend to be their parents, which would make the consent invalid.[2] Researchers working with children online must respect also the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and when collecting children’s personal data, they must clarify how they intend to use the information.
Another important issue is securing participants’ anonymity. Although complete anonymity may be difficult to ensure, guidelines recommend removal of all identifying data prior to publication and, where an individual is identifiable, require explicit consent before publication.[3] The British Sociological Association in Researching Online Forums case-study recommends that when collecting data from online forums, all names and any identifying information should be removed, which includes URLs or “links” to forum websites.
Social media data might contain copyrighted material. In such cases researcher should obtain the copyright holder’s consent.[4] If researcher is planning to publish the materials, they should request consent from all people who appear in photographs, audio or video. Same applies to publication of direct quotes that have not previously been published.[4]
- ↑ Shelley-Egan C. Internet Research Ethics. SATORI. European Commission. 2015 June. [cited 2021 Feb 4]. Available from: https://satoriproject.eu/media/2.d.2-Internet-research-ethics.pdf.
- ↑ American Psychological Association. Psychological Research Online: Opportunities and Challenges. 2003. [cited 2021 Feb 4]. Available from: https://www.apa.org/science/leadership/bsa/internet/internet-report.
- ↑ Sugiura L, Wiles R. Ethical challenges in online research: Public/private perceptions. Res. Ethics. 2017;13(3-4):184-199.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Ahteensuu M. Do you use social media data in your research. Responsible Research. 2019 Oct 23. [cited 2021 Feb 4]. Available from: https://vastuullinentiede.fi/en/doing-research/do-you-use-social-media-data-your-research.
Natalie Evans, Andrijana Perković Paloš contributed to this theme. Latest contribution was Aug 20, 2021
