Social Media Research

08/01/2017
SocialMediaResearch:AGuidetoEthics
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Dr.LeanneTownsendandProf.ClaireWallace
TheUniversityofAberdeen
Withcontributionsandfeedbackfrom:ChristianFuchs,UniversityofWestminsterCurtis
Jessop,NatcenDaveHarte,BirminghamCityUniversityElviraPerezVallejos,University
ofNottinghamHayleyLepps,NatcenJenniferHolden,UniversityofAberdeenKate
OrtonJohnston,UniversityofEdinburghLukeSloan,CardiffUniversityMichaelSmith,
UniversityofAberdeenSamanthaMcGregor,EconomicandSocialResearchCouncil
SuzannaHall,UniversityofRoehampton.
ThisworkwassupportedbytheEconomicandSocialResearchCouncil[grantnumber
ES/M001628/1]andwascarriedoutatTheUniversityofAberdeen.
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.gla.ac.uk/media/media_487729_en.pdf&gws_rd=cr&ei=jRRyWOCLC8aNvQTeqYugCA
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Contents
1.Introduction
1.3Background
1.2Aimsofthisdocumentp3
1.3Socialmedia,researchandethicsp4
2.Keyareasofconcernwithinsocialmediaresearchp5
2.1Privatevs.public?p5
2.2Informedconsentp6
2.3Anonymity
2.4Riskofharm
3.Frameworkforethicalresearchwithsocialmediap8
3.1Terms,conditionsandlegalitiesp9
3.2Privacyandriskp10
3.3Reuseandrepublicationp12
4.Concludingcommentsp15
5.Furtherreadingandresourcesp15
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1.Introduction
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1.1Background
Inrecentyearsthenumberofpeopleengagingwithsocialmediahasexploded.Socialmedia
platformsarenowutilisedaskeylocationsfornetworking,socialisingandimportantly,for
reflectingonallaspectsofeverydaylife.Suchonlinespacesthereforeholdvastquantitiesof
naturallyoccurringdataonanynumberoftopics,fromconsumerbehaviours,toattitudes
towardsproenvironmentalpolicies,topoliticalviewsandpreferences.Thisprovides
researcherswithahugeopportunitytogatherdatathatwouldotherwisehavetakenmuch
timeandresourcetoobtain.Yetthisopportunityisaccompaniedbyresponsibilitytoensure
thathowweobtainandreusesuchdataisdonetothehighestpossibleethicalstandards.
Traditionalethicsframeworkscaninformresearcherstosomeextentinthis,butsocial
mediadatabringsnewcontextualchallengeswhichthemoretraditionalapproachesarenot
equippedtodealwith.Thiscallsforanewconsiderationofbestpracticeinthisdomain.
Thisdocumenthasresultedfromresearchandworkshopactivitiescarriedoutby
researchersattheUniversityofAberdeen,ontheESRCfundedprojectSocialMedia,
PrivacyandRisk:TowardsMoreEthicalResearchMethodologies.Thepurposeofthis
projectwasthreefold1)tocarryoutresearchintoapproachestakenbyresearchersand
ethicscommitteestoensuringethicalapproaches2)tounderstanduserperceptionsand
expectationsinregardstotheuseoftheirsocialmediadataforresearchand3)toproduce
asetofethicsguidelinesforusebyresearchers,students,ethicscommittees,andanyone
elsewithaninterestintheethicsofonlineresearchmethodologies.Itisthethirdaimofthe
projecttheproductionofethicsguidelinesforsocialmediaresearchwhichinformsthe
contentsofthisdocument.Theseguidelineswerecoproducedbyparticipantsatatwoday
workshopthatwasheldinFebruaryof2016inAberdeen.Theparticipantsweresomeofthe
keythinkersinthisarea,andtheyareacknowledgedonthetitlepageofthedocumentfor
theircontributionsandfeedback.
1.2Aimsofthisdocument
Thisdocumentisintendedforusebyresearchers,students,membersofethicscommittees,
employeesoffundingbodies,andanyoneelsewithaninterestintheethicsofworkingwith
socialmediadata.Themainpurpose
ofthedocumentistoprovideclear
guidelinesontheethicaluseofsocial
mediadatainresearch.Inthis
document,thetermsocialmedia
canrefertoanysocialonlinedatawith
theexceptionofemailsocialmedia
platformssuchasTwitter,Facebook
andInstagramareparticularlypopular
withresearchersduetotheirscaleand
popularity,butresearchersalsoworkwithdatagatheredindiscussionforums,chatrooms,
andviabloggingsitessuchasWordpress.Theworkreflectsonguidanceprovidedin
CopyrightSebastiaanTerBurgviaFlickr
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previouswork(outlinedintheFurtherReadingsectionofthisdocument),whilstupdating
thisguidancebasedonmorecontemporaryunderstandingsofsocialmediaforexample,
somepreviousworkrefersmoretoemail,discussionforumsandpersonalmessaging
services,beingwrittenbeforetheexplosionofsocialmediause.Theintentionistoprovide
anaccessibleandconciseguide,ratherthanalengthyinaccessibledocument.Tothisend,a
frameworkhasbeenproducedwhichenablesreaderstoworkthroughtherelevantareas
andissuesthatarelikelytoarise.Thisframeworkisintendedtoassistindividualsinmaking
informeddecisionsaboutthemostethicalapproachfortheirresearch.Aswellasa
diagrammaticframework,wehaveprovidedreaderswithadditionalguidanceoneacharea
coveredintheframework,intheformofsubsectionswithinthetext.Wehavealso
providedanumberofcasestudieswhichcanfurtherhelptoclarifythebestapproachinthe
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differentsocialmediacontextsthataresearchermayfindhimorherselfworkingwithin.It
shouldbemadeclearthatresearcherswillneedtoseekguidancebeyondwhatthis
documentprovidesinparticularindividualswillneedtoreadthoroughlythetermsand
conditionsofthespecificsocialmediaplatformtheyareaccessingdatafrom,aswellas
consultingwiththeirowninstitutionalguidelinesandanystipulationssetoutbythefunding
bodysupportingtheirresearch.Socialmediaisarapidlyevolvinglandscape,andtheauthors
areunabletopredictwhatnewethicaldilemmasmayariseinfuturesocialmediaplatforms
(orfutureversionsofthosewearealreadyfamiliarwith).
1.3Socialmedia,researchandethics
Socialmediauseisagrowingphenomenonincontemporarysociety.Socialmediaplatforms
offertheirusersaneasywaytoaccessanddevelopnetworksoffriends,familyandrelevant
professionals.Onlinecommunitiesofinterestcanbefoundtosuittheinterestsofalmost
anyone.Socialmediaplatformsareincreasinglyusedbymanyasameansof
communication,sharinginformationandimportantlyforthisdocumentthesharingof
attitudesandbehavioursonahugebreadthoftopics.Itisthisusergeneratedcontentthat
presentssuchavaluableopportunitytoresearchers.Whereas
before,researchersgatheredinformationonattitudesand
behavioursthroughavarietyofmethodssuchas
questionnaires,indepthinterviewsandobservation,such
dataisoftennowaccessibleatthemeretouchofabutton
(ormoreaccurately,typingafewsearchtermsintoa
platformssearchbar).Suchdata,foundonsocialmedia
platforms,onlinediscussionforumsandblogs(tonameafew)
istypicallyrich,numerousandnaturallyoccurring(NatCen
2014).Notsurprisinglythen,socialmediaplatformssuchas
Twitterarebecomingpopularfieldsitesfordatacollectionby
researchersacrossdiversedisciplines.
CopyrightKjyrstenolson
Aswithotherformsofdatacollection,theuseofsocialmediadatainresearchposes
importantethicalconcernsthekeyconcernsareexploredindetaillaterinthisdocument.
Indeed,giventherelativelynewandemergingcontextofsocialmediaplatformsasresearch
sites,thereisasyetnoclearethicalframeworkforresearchersenteringthisfield.There
havebeensomenotablecontributionsintheformofguidanceinrecentyear(seethe
FurtherReadingsectionofthisdocument),yettheseareoftenconflicting(Evansetal.
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2015).Thisdocumentthereforeaimstosupportresearcherswithaframeworkwhichwill
helpthemtonavigatethecomplexethicalconcernsofworkingwithsocialmediadata.
2Keyareasofconcernwithinsocialmediaresearch
Thefollowingsections,outliningthekeyareasofethicalconcernintermsofsocialmedia
data,havebeeninformedbyaliteraturereviewoftheavailablematerials,interviewswith
researchers,ethicscommitteemembersandsocialmediausers,andtheresultsofatwo
dayworkshopbringingtogetherscholarswithastronginterestintheethicsofsocialmedia
research.
2.1Privatevs.public?
Oneofthebiggestareasofconcernwithsocialmediadataistheextenttowhethersuch
datashouldbeconsideredpublicorprivatedata.Keytothisargumentisthestandpointthat
socialmediausershaveallagreedtoasetoftermsandconditionsforeachsocialmedia
platformthattheyuse,andwithinthesetermsandconditionsthereareoftencontained
clausesonhowonesdatamaybe
accessedbythirdparties,including
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researchers.Surely,ifusershave
agreedtotheseterms,thedatacan
beconsideredinthepublicdomain?
Inourinterviewswithresearchers,a
numberofresponsesindicatedsuch
aviewe.g.itspublicdata,people
knowthatwhentheysignup.SoI
canusethatdatahoweverIlike.
ButaccordingtoboydandCrawford,
itisproblematicforresearchers
tojustifytheiractionsasethical
simplybecausethedataare
Credit:http://www.intoconnection.com
accessibleTheprocessofevaluating
theresearchethicscannotbeignored
simplybecausethedataareseeminglypublic(boydandCrawford2012,p672).Questions
ofwhetheronlinepostingsarepublicorprivatearedeterminedtosomeextentbythe
onlinesettingitself,andwhetherthereisareasonableexpectationofprivacyonbehalfof
thesocialmediauser(BritishPsychologicalSociety2013)forexampleapassword
protectedprivateFacebookgroupcanbeconsideredprivate,whereasanopendiscussion
onTwitterinwhichpeoplebroadcasttheiropinionsusingahashtag(inordertoassociate
theirthoughtsonasubjectwithothersthoughtsonthesamesubject)canbeconsidered
public.Questionsofwhetherthedataispublicorprivaterelatetotheextenttowhichwe
areethicallyboundtoseekinformedconsentfromsocialmediausers(seenextsection)1 .
1 ThiscouldhaveimplicationsforhowandiftheDataProtectionActisapplied,see:
https://ico.org.uk/media/fororganisations/documents/1541/bigdataanddataprotection.pdf
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Thereisalsotheissueofsocialmediadatacontainingdatafrompeoplefrombroader
networks,asinthecaseofpeoplecommentingonasocialmediauserspost.
2.2Informedconsent
Informedconsentisacriticalcomponentoftheethicsofalltypesofresearch.Inmore
traditionalresearchapproaches,informedconsentisusuallybuiltintotheresearchdesign,
forexampleintheformofconsentformsorboxestobetickedandsignedon
questionnaires.Socialmediabasedresearchontheotherhandpresentsproblems
concerningtheinformedconsentof
participants.Inmanycases,asocialmedia
usersdataisaccessedandanalysedwithout
informedconsenthavingfirstbeensought.
Participantsinsuchresearcharerarely
awareoftheirparticipation.Acquiring
informedconsentbecomesmoreproblematic
thelargerthedataset,andcanseemvirtually
impossibleinaggregatedatacontaining
thousandsorevenhundredsofthousandsof
dataunits.Further,itistemptingtoconflatea
Credit:http://www.pixabay.com
socialmediauserhavingagreedtotheterms
ofconditionsoftheplatform(manyofwhichincludeclausesontheaccessingandreuseof
databythirdparties)withinformedconsentinresearch(Salmons,2014)problematic
especiallygiventhatmanysocialmediausersreportnothavingreadthetermsand
conditionsproperly.Importantaspectsofinformedconsent,suchastherighttowithdraw,
aremademorecomplicatedinsocialmediaresearch(BritishPsychologicalAssociation,
2013)forexample,doesdeletingapostoraccountequatewithawithdrawalfrom
research,andisaresearcherawarewhenthishappens?Whenworkingwithsocialmedia
data,therearesomeconditionsinwhichresearcherswillbemoreethicallyboundtoseek
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informedconsent,suchaswhenaccessingdatawhichsocialmediausersexpecttobe
private(seeabovesection).
2.3Anonymity
Anonymityisakeyconsiderationinresearchethics,particularlyinqualitativeresearch
practicesorwhendatasetsaresharedoutsideoftheoriginalresearchteam.Concernsover
anonymityandonlinedataarenotnewKleinberghighlightedthepotentialforanonymity
breacheswithsocialnetworkdatain2007.Withtraditionalformsofresearch,itisgenerally
straightforwardtoanonymisedatasothatresearchparticipantscannotbeidentified.When
workingwithsocialmediadata,however,anonymisingdataismorecomplex
anonymisationproceduresarestillevolvingforaggregatedorbigdata,anditisdifficultto
anonymiseindividualdataextracts(suchasTweets)whenthesearereproducedin
publicationsandduringpresentations(Narayanan&Shmatikov2008,2009).Thisisfurther
complicatedwhensomeplatformsinsistonunitsofdatabeingrepublishedonlyintheir
originalformandattributedtotheoriginalposter.Differentissuesarisefordifferenttypes
ofdatatootheinformationcontainedwithinatextbasedunitofdataisdifferenttowhat
canbegleanedfromimages,audioandvideoformatsocialmediadata.Giventhatsocial
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mediacompaniestendtostoredataandmeta
dataforlongperiods,andthatmuchofthis
dataissearchable,anonymisationinsecondary
useofdatainsomecasesbecomeschallenging.
Furtherproblemsarisewhendatasetsare
exportedtoexternalcodersandresearch
partners.Issuesofanonymisationbecome
morecriticalincaseswheredatasetsor
individualunitsofdataarepublishedfor
exampleonline,injournalpapersandat
academicconferences.Protectingtheidentity
ofunwittingparticipantsbecomesevenmorecrucialwhenthedataaccessedrefersto
sensitivesubjectmatter,particularlywhenexposingsuchdatainnewcontextsandtonew
audiencesmayplacethesocialmediausersatpotentialrisk.
2.4Riskofharm
Relatedtoconcernsoveridentitybreachesistheriskofharmthatresearcherspotentially
placeontheirresearchsubjects.TheAssociationofInternetResearchers(2012)suggestthat
aresearchersresponsibilitytowardshisorherparticipantsincreaseswiththeincreasedrisk
ofharmtothoseparticipants,orincreased
vulnerabilityofindividualsorgroupsonline.
Thisriskofharmismostlikelywhereasocial
mediausersprivacyandanonymityhave
beenbreached,andisalsogreaterwhen
dealingwithmoresensitivedatawhich
whenrevealedtonewaudiencesmight
exposeasocialmediausertotheriskof
embarrassment,reputationaldamage,or
prosecution(tonameafewexamples).This,
ofcourse,mustbebalancedwithadutyof
careonthepartoftheresearchertoreportconcernssuchasabusiveorthreatening
behaviouronlinetotheappropriatechannels.Itisnotalwayscleartotheresearcher
whetherornotthedatatheyhaveaccessed,collected,analysedorreusedcanberetraced
initsoriginalonlinecontext,orwhattherepercussionsofsuchretracingmightbe.Of
particularconcernistherepublishingofquotesthathavebeentakenfromsocialmedia
platformsandrepublishedverbatim,asthesecanleadus,viasearchengines,straightback
totheiroriginallocation,oftenthenexposingtheidentityandprofileofthesocialmedia
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usertheyoriginatefrom(BritishPsychologicalAssociation,2013).Theremaybeissuesin
verifyinginformationsuchaswhetheraparticipantisachild,orofsoundenoughmindto
understandtheeasilyaccessiblenatureoftheirdata.Thisbecomesofincreasedimportance
whendealingwithsensitiveorpotentiallyembarrassingdata.Therefore,wheredatadeals
withverysensitivetopics,itbecomesimportanttorevisittheotherconcerns,ensuringthat
confidentialityandanonymityhasbeenfullyprotected,andtoconsiderwhetherornotto
seekinformedconsent.Riskofharmmightnotbepresentinallinstancesinwhicha
researcherwishestocitesocialmediadata,forexamplewhensuchdataissharedbypublic
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bodiesororganisations,orwhenthesocialmediauserisclearlyaimingforbroadreadership
(e.g.byusinghashtagsinTwitter).
3Frameworkforethicalresearchwithsocialmediadata
SocialMediaEthicsFramework:
Legal%etc.
Does%your%research%involve%social%
Exitframework
media%data?%
No
Yes
Have%you%consulted%the%terms%and%
conditions%of%the%specific%
platform?
No
SeeSection3.1
Yes
Have%you%consulted%the%relevant%
disciplinary,%funding,%legal%or%
institutional%guidelines?
SeeSection3.1
No
Yes
Privacy%and%risk
Can%the%social%media%user%
reasonably%expect%to%be%observed%
by%strangers?
SeeSection3.2
No
Yes
Are%the%research%participants%
SeeSection3.2
vulnerable?%(i.e.%children%or%
vulnerable%adults)
Yes
No
SeeSection3.2
Is%the%subject%matter%sensitive?
Yes
No
ReHuse%and%
publication
Will%the%social%media%user%by%
anonymised%in%published%outputs?
SeeSection3.3
No
Yes
Can%you%publish%or%share%the%
dataset?
SeeSection3.3
No
Yes
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TheframeworkpresentedhereistheresultofaworkshopheldinFebruary2016withkey
scholarsworkinginthefieldofsocialmediadata.Keyissueswereraisedanddiscussed,and
theethicsframeworkwascoproducedbetweenparticipants.Theframeworkhasbeen
furtherinformedbyownextensiveresearchtounderstandtheissuesanddilemmasfacing
researchersworkingwithsocialmediadatatoday.Wehavealsoobtainedextensive
feedbackontheframeworkthroughdelegatesatrelevantconferencesandworkshopsand
throughmembersofthe#NSMNSS(NewSocialMedia,NewSocialScience)network.
Theframeworkrepresentsguidelinesasopposedtorules,recognisingthatprinciplesneed
toremainflexibleinordertorespondtothevariedcontextsinwhichsocialmediadatais
found(i.e.platformused,thetargetpopulation,thetopicoffocus,themethodology
employedandthetypeofdatacollectedtext,images,videoetc.).Itisdesignedinsucha
waythataresearchermayuseittoguideandsupporttheirowndecisions,ratherthan
providingdefinitiveanswersoraonesizefitsallapproach(AssociationofInternet
Researchers,2012).Thisultimatelydoesleavetheresponsibilitywiththeresearcher,along
withhisorhercorrespondingethicscommittee.Weproposethatresearchersmake
referencetothisdocumentwhensubmittingapplicationsforethicalapprovalfornew
projectsinthisdomain.Forfurthersupportwithsocialmediaresearchethics,wesuggest
researchersconsulttheNewSocialMedia,NewSocialScience?(NSMNSS)onlinenetwork,
asaplacetoposequestionstoacommunityofsocialmediaresearchers2 .
3.1Terms,conditionsandlegalities
Beforeconsideringotheraspectsoftheethicsofyoursocialmediaproject,itisimportantto
consultwithallotherrelevantterms,conditionsandguidelines.Firstly,youshouldcarefully
readthroughalloftherelevanttermsandconditionsoftheplatform(s)thatyouwillbe
usingtoobtainyourdata.Thesetermsandconditionswillincludethoseaimedatusers,and
mightalsoincludethoseaimedatthirdpartieswishingtoaccessdatafromtheplatform.
Evenifyouhavereadthetermsandconditionsofaspecificplatformatsomepoint,itis
worthbearinginmindthatthetermsandconditionsofsocialmediaplatformschange
regularlyinaccordancewithchangesmadetotheplatform,orchangesinhowtheplatform
ownerswishtomakeprofitfromtheplatform.Readingthesedocumentsmayseemtedious
indeed,manyplatformusersdonotreadthem,andinadvertentlyagreetothingstheydo
notrealisetheyhaveagreedto(suchasuseoftheirdatabythirdparties!).Butbeing
familiarwiththemostcurrenttermsandconditionswillprotectyoufrompotentiallegal
actionshouldyouviolatethem.
Youmustalsoensurethatyouarecompliantwithalltermsandconditionsrelevanttoyour
universityorresearchorganisation(forexampleonyouruniversitywebpageorguidance
providedtoyoubyyourethicscommittee)externalfundingbodiesthatarefundingyour
research(eitherinyourdocumentationfromthefundingbody,orontheirwebsite),and
anydisciplinaryguidanceprovidedeitherthroughyourownuniversityorthroughmajor
disciplinarybodiessuchastheBritishPsychologicalAssociation,theBritishSociological
2 http://nsmnss.blogspot.co.uk
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AssociationortheAcademyofSocialSciences.Manysuchassociationsprovideethics
guidanceontheirwebsites.
3.2Privacyandrisk
Thenexttaskinworkingthroughtheframeworkistodeterminewhetherthedatayouwish
toaccessisreallypublic,andifitisnottodecidehoworindeediftoproceed.The
questionastowhethertoconsidersocialmediadataasprivateorpubliccomesdown,to
someextent,towhetherornotthesocialmediausercanreasonablyexpecttobeobserved
bystrangers(BritishPsychologicalSociety,2013Fuchs,forthcoming).Thingstoconsider
hereare:isthedatayouwishtoaccessonanopenforumorplatform(suchasonTwitter),
orisitlocatedwithinaclosedorprivategroup(e.g.withinFacebook)oracloseddiscussion
forum?Isthegrouporforumpasswordprotected?Wouldplatformusersexpectother
visitorstohavesimilarinterestsorissuestothemselves?Doesthegrouphaveagatekeeper
(oradmin)thatyoucouldturntoforapprovalandadvice?Howhaveuserssetuptheir
securitysettings?DataaccessedfromopenandpubliconlinelocationssuchasTwitter
presentlessethicalissuesthandatawhicharefoundinclosedorprivateonlinespaces.
Similarly,datapostedbypublicfiguressuchaspoliticians,musiciansandsportspeopleon
theirpublicsocialmediapagesislesslikelytobeproblematicbecausethisdataisintended
toreachaswideanaudienceaspossible.Ifthedatayouwishtoaccessisheldwithina
groupforwhichyouwouldneedtogainmembershipapproval,orifthegroupispassword
protected,therearemoreethicalissuestotakeintoconsideration.
CaseStudy1:
Context:Theresearcherwishestostudysupportmechanismsbetweenmembersofa
discussionforumwhichdealswithmentalhealthissuessuchasdepressionandfeelingsof
suicide.Theforumisaclosedforumwhichispasswordprotectedandregistrationmustbe
approvedbyagatekeeper(asiteadmin).
Concerns:Theresearcherisawarethatthisdataisprivatethereisahighexpectationof
privacyonbehalfoftheuserswhofeelitisasafespacewheretheywillonlybeconversing
withotherpeopleinthesamesituation.Thisraisesquestionsabouttheethicsofaccessingthe
data,andhowtoreportthefindingsofthedataifitisaccessed.
Solution:Theresearcherneedstotreatthisdataasprivateandsensitive.Inordertoaccessthe
data,theresearchershouldconsiderseekingconsentfromthegatekeeperofthecommunity
(siteadmin),whomightseektheapprovalofthegroupmorewidelybeforedeciding.Once
consenthasbeengrantedtheresearchermightwishtomakethemselvesknowntothe
community,andgiveparticipantstherighttooptout(sothattheirdataisnotrepublishedor
analysed).Thegatekeepermightgranttheresearcheraccesstoacertainareaofthesite,and
retainasafespacetoaccommodatecommunitymemberswhoarenotcomfortablewiththe
researcherspresence.Iftheresearcherwishestorepublishcertainunitsofdatainorderto
illustratetheirresearchfindings,itisethicaltoseekinformedconsentfromeachforumuser
whosedatawillberepublished.Communitymembersshouldbefullyanonymisedinany
researchoutputs.
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Yourfirstportofcallshouldbetomakecontactwiththesiteorgroupadmin.Theywillhave
anunderstandingofthesocialdynamicsofthegroupandwilldecidehowtoproceed.They
maywishyoutoseekconsentfromindividualgroupmembersforyoutoaccesstheirdata,
oroffergroupmemberstheoptiontooptoutoftheresearch(thereforeyoucoulduse
peoplesdataunlesstheyspecifyotherwise).Willyoubeaskingquestionsofsocialmedia
usersinordertoproducenewdataonagivensubject?Ifso,itisvitalthatyouare
transparentaboutyourownidentity(aresearcherinauniversity)andthatresponseswillbe
usedasdatainyourresearch.
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The'blurringofboundaries'betweenresearcher&participantisafurtherconsideration
yourownsocialmediaactivity(orthatofpeopleyouknow)maybepartofthedatasetyou
areresearching,whichispotentiallyproblematic.Inthiscasecareneedstobegiventohow
suchresearchmethodologiesandfindingsarereported.Also,theresearcherthemselves
mightbecomesearchablebyparticipants,meaningthatyoushouldpayattentiontoyour
ownonlineidentityandprivacy.
Anotherconsiderationhereiswhetherornotyoumightbedealingwithyoungor
vulnerableparticipants.Youmustensurethatyouhavetakenallpossibleprecautionsto
ruleouttheuseofdatabyvulnerableadults(i.e.thosewithadditionaleducationalneeds)
orchildren(orinthecaseofchildren,seekingparentalconsent).Socialmediacanoften
makeitdifficulttoidentifysuchindividuals,notleastbecausepeopleoftenshieldtheirtrue
identitiesonsocialmediaplatformsanddiscussionforums.Importantly,ifdataissuspected
tooriginatefromyoungorvulnerableindividuals,informedconsentcannotreliablybegiven
sothisdatashouldbeeliminatedfromtheresearch.
Afinalconsiderationiswhetherthedataispotentiallysensitive.Isthedataaboutfairly
mundanedailyactivitiesoropinion,oristherethepotentialtocauseharmtosocialmedia
usersshouldtheirdatabeexposedtonewaudiences?Lesssensitivedatamightinclude
postingsabout,forexample:theweather,recipesorconsumerpreferences.Moresensitive
dataincludespostingsabout,forexample:criminalactivitysuchasdrivingoffencesorthe
useofillegaldrugsfinancialproblemsmentalhealthissuesandfeelingsofsuicide
extramaritalsexualactivitycontroversialpoliticalopinionsandactivism.Itisyour
responsibilitytodecidewhetherthecontentissensitiveandifsotodetermineanethical
wayofworkingwiththedata3 .Ifthereisriskofharmtoindividualswhosedatayouare
using,youmusteithera)paraphrasealldatawhichisrepublishedinresearchoutputs,
havingtakenstepstoensurethattheparaphraseddatadoesnotleadinterestedpartiesto
theindividualsonlineprofileb)seekinformedconsentfromeachperson,shouldyouwish
to(orneedto)usetheirdatainitsoriginalforminresearchoutputsorc)considerusinga
moretraditionalresearchapproachwhereconsentandconfidentialitycanbemoresafely
ensured.Itisalsoimportanttotakethesethingsintoconsiderationintermsofwhetheryou
cansharedatasets(coveredinmoredetailinSection3.3).Theremightbecaseswhereitis
notstraightforwardtoseekconsent.Conductingcriticaldiscourseanalysisofharmfulor
ideologicalsocialmediacontent(suchasfoundinNeoNazionlinegroups)isonesuch
3 ItmaybeusefultorefertotheEUDataProtectionReform,whichlegallysetsoutwhatcanbeconsidered
sensitivedata:http://europa.eu/rapid/pressrelease_MEMO156385_en.htm
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example(foronething,itmightbedangerousforaresearchertogetintouchwiththese
socialmediausers).Wecouldargueforsuchmaterialasbeingexemptfromtheseekingof
informedconsent,inordertobothprotectthesafetyoftheresearcher,andtoensurethat
socialmediaresearchethicsdoesnotresultinanindirectcensorshipofcriticalresearch.
Herethoughwewouldadviseparaphrasingquotes,notleasttoprotecttheresearcherfrom
beingtargeted,andtoensureanethicalapproach.
CaseStudy2:
Context:Aresearcherwishestostudypro legalisationnarrativesonmarijuanause.Thedata
willbecollectedfromTwitter,soitisopenpublicdata.Theresearcherwillgatherdataoverthe
last7dayspostedwiththehashtags#cannabis,#legalizeand#ismokeit.
Concerns:Firstly,thesubjectmatterissensitivebecauseitreferstoanactivitythatisstillillegal
intheUK.Secondly,theremaybeusersundertheageof18contributingtothedebate.
Therefore,theresearchermustworkouthowtohandlethedataintermsofprotecting
anonymity.
Solution:theresearcherdecidesthatthedataispublic,becauseitispostedonTwitter,a
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platformonwhichthedefaultsettingforpostsispublicmostprofilesaresettopublicandcan
beviewedandfollowedbyanyone.Furthermoretheuseofhashtagsimpliesthatplatformusers
arekeentocontributetoacommunityordebateandthereforeexpectanevengreaternumber
ofpeopletoseetheirdata.Thesubjectmatterissensitivethough,andtherecouldbechildren
contributingdata,sothereisconsiderableriskofharm.Theresearcherdecidesitisoktoaccess
thedataandpresentresultsfromaggregatedata,butitisnotoktopublishadataset
(prohibitedbyTwitteranyhow)orrepublishdirectquoteswhichwillleadinterestedpartiesto
theusersprofile,hencecompromisinganonymity.Theresearcherwillthereforepresent
paraphrasedquotes(removingIDhandles)toreflectthethemesthatemerge,andprovide
detailsonhowinterestedpartiesmightrecreatethedatasearchforthemselves.Somedirect
quotesmaybeusedwithinformedconsentfromtheplatformuser,buttheresearcherknowshe
musttakestepstoensurethattheuserisovertheageof18.
3.3Reuseandrepublication
Therearedifferenttypesofreuseorrepublicationtobetakenintoconsiderationwhen
youareworkingwithsocialmediadata.Youmaywishtopublishyourresearchresultsina
numberofdifferentformats,forexample:onlineblogpostsjournalpapersconference
presentations(includingthesubmissionofpaperstoconferenceproceedings)book
chaptersarticlesonlinesuchasinTheConversation.Whenreportingyourfindings,doyou
wanttouseunitsofdata(suchasindividualtweetsorFacebookpostings,orInstagram
imageswithcorrespondingtext)toillustratethethemesthathaveariseninthedata?Ifso,
youneedtorefertoSections3.1and3.2indecidingwhetheritisethicallysoundtodoso.
Youmayfeelthatyouneedtoeitherparaphrasethedataorseekinformedconsentfrom
individualplatformusersbeforeyoucandothis.Youshouldalsogiveconsiderationtothe
formatofthedatayouareworkingwithifthedataisinphotographic,audioorvideo
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formats,aretherecopyrightissuestobeconsideredwhenrepublishing?Cansuchdata
compromisetheanonymityofindividualsorgroups?
Sharingdatasetsisanotherconsiderationandsomethingthatisincreasinglyexpected,for
examplebyexternalfundingbodieswishingtoencourageatransparentandreplicable
researchprocess.Youshouldconsiderwhetheritisethicallysoundtoshareyourdataset,
aswellascheckingtheplatformtermsandconditionstodeterminewhethertheyallowor
prohibitit.Ifitcontainsdatathatcouldcauseharmifrepublished,theneitherthesensitive
datashouldberemovedorparaphrased,orthedatasetshouldnotbesharedatall.Incases
ofaggregatedatawheretheindividualunits(orpostings)arenolongerdiscernible,itis
generallysafetosharethedataset.Ifthedatasetdoesnotcontainsensitivedata,orifitis
notpossibletoidentifyindividualsbasedonthedataset,itisalsosafetoshare.Ifyouare
nothappyaboutsharingthedatayouwillneedtoexplainthereasonswhywhenaskedto
uploadorotherwisesharethedataset.
Specialconsiderationneedstobegiventoanonymisationofsocialmediausers.Inalmostall
casesitisimportanttoensurethatusersareanonymisedinresearchoutputs.Thereare
someexceptionstotherule,forexamplepublicfiguresandorganisationsseekingtoshare
theirdataaswidelyaspossible.Arguably,datathatisnotinanywaysensitive(suchas
postingsabouttheweatherorconsumerpreferences)areunlikelytocauseharmto
individuals,thereforeyoucanarguethatitisunnecessarytoanonymisecontentofthis
nature.
CaseStudy3:
Context:AresearcherwishestostudypublicinteractionsonadatingplatformsuchasTinder.
Althoughthepostsunderscrutinyarepublic,ratherthanthroughprivatemessaging,sheneeds
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tosignuptoTindertoviewthem.Bysigningup,shehastofillinaregistrationformincluding
questionssuchasIamawomanlookingforaman/womanetc.Itisthereforereasonableto
thinkthatusersoftheplatformexpectthatotherpeopleviewingtheirprofilemightbedoing
soforsimilar(dating)reasons.Theresearcherisalsoawarethattheremaybepeopleunder
theageof18usingtheplatform.Theusersoftheplatformareawarethatthereisaverylarge
numberofpeopleusingtheplatformandpotentiallyabletoaccesstheirprofile.
Concerns:Firstly,cantheresearcherethicallyaccessandre publishthisdata,giventhatthe
usersoftheplatformhaveareasonableexpectationthatpeopleseeingtheirdataarelike
minded(i.e.usingtheplatformforsimilarreasons)?Secondly,isthereachancethatvulnerable
people(suchaschildren)couldbeusingtheplatform?Thirdly,isthedatalikelytobesensitive?
Solution:theresearcherdecidesthat,althoughtheplatformusersmayexpectothersviewing
theirprofiletobelike minded,theywillbeexpectingstrangerstoviewtheirprofilesothe
dataisnotprivate.Thereishoweverachancethatchildrencouldbeusingtheplatform,and
thedataispotentiallysensitive(e.g.underagechildrenengaginginsexualtalkoractivity,
peoplelookingtoengageinextra maritalrelationshipsetc.).Theresearcherthereforecan
accessandanalysethedata,butneedstobecarefulwithre publishing.Shedoesnotpublish
thedataset,andwhenwritingupherresultssheonlyusesquotesthatareparaphrased(and
sheissurecannotbeusedtoidentifytheplatformuser).Consenttousedataisproblematic
herebecausetheplatformispopularwiththoseundertheageof18,whomaybedishonest
abouttheirageoruseamisleadingphotograph.
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CaseStudy5:
Context:Aresearcherwishestoexplorethedominantthemesinthesocialmediapostingsby
Olympicathletesontheirsocialmediaprofiles.Theprofilesarepublicandtypicallyhave
hundredsofthousandsoffollowers.TheplatformsunderscrutinyincludeTwitterand
Facebook.
Concerns:Cantheresearcherconsiderthesepostingstobepublic,andisitethicaltopublish
theirdataverbatim?
Solution:Itisreasonablefortheresearchertoconsiderthisdataaspublic,becausethe
sportspersonispostingonapublicprofilewiththeaimofraisingtheirprofilemoregenerally
andwiththeintentionofreachingasmanypeopleaspossible.Inthiscaseitisalsoreasonable
fortheresearchertorepublishtheirdatathesportspersonhasahighexpectationthat(large
numbersof)strangerswillbeviewingtheirdataandindeedthisisoftendesired.Sothedatais
unlikelytobesensitive.Alsogiventhesizeoftheirexistingaudience,theresearcherisunlikely
toposepotentialharmtothesportspersonoverandaboveanypotentialrisktheyplaceon
themselves.Thequotescanberepublishedintheiroriginalwording.
CaseStudy4:
Context:Aresearcherisstudyingviewpointsonapublichealthcampaign.TheTwitterdatais
accessedviaapaid forsearchservice.HundredsofthousandsofTweetsarecollected,anda
computer programmedanalysismethodcalledsentimentanalysisisusedtopresentthe
resultsofthedata.ThismeansthatthedataisaggregatedandnoindividualTweetsare
republishedorevenmaintainedinthedataset.Insteadthedatasetiscomposedofchunksof
datawhichnolongerresembleindividualTweets.
Concerns:Canthedatabecollectedandanalysedinthisway?Howisprivacyandanonymity
protectedforeachTwitteruser?
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Solution:Thedataispostedonapublicsite(Twitter)andalthoughitcouldbesensitiveinsome
cases,anonymityandprivacyismaintainedbecausethedataisaggregatedandindividual
Tweetsarenotrepublishedorpresentedinthedataset.Twitterhandles(profilenames)should
beremovedfromthedataset(butcheckthecurrentAPIT&CofTwittertoensurethatitisokto
shareadatasetofaggregateddata,withTwitterhandlesremovedT&Cschangeregularly).
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CaseStudy6:
Context:Aresearcherconductsacriticaldiscourseanalysisofadatasetoftweetsusingthe
#DonaldTrump
#TrumpTrain
#VoteTrump2016
#AlwaysTrump
#MakeAmericaGreatAgainor#Trum2016.TheseareanalysedinordertofindouthowTrump
supportersarguefortheircandidateonTwitter.
Concerns:Canweconsiderthisdatapublic?Arethereanyissuesofsensitivityorriskofharm?
Doweneedtoseekinformedconsentbeforequotingthesetweetsdirectly?
Solution:Trumpsupportersusethesehashtagsinordertoreachabroadpublicandconvince
hashtags
otherpeopletovoteforTrump.Itisthereforereasonabletoassumethatsuchtweetshave
publiccharacter:theauthorsexpectandwanttobeobservedbystrangersinordertomakea
politicalpointthattheywantotherstoread.Theresearchercanthereforedirectlyquotesuch
tweetswithouthavingtoobtaininformedconsent.Itis,however,goodpracticetodeletethe
userIDsofeverydayusers,whoarenotthemselvespublicfigures.
4.Concludingcomments
AsarguedbytheAssociationofInternetResearchers(2012),nosetofInternetresearch
guidelinescanbestatic,becausetechnologiesandthewaythattechnologiesareusedare
constantlychanging.Consequently,conversationsonethicalstandardsinsocialmedia
researchneedtobedynamictoo.Therefore,thissetofguidelinesshouldbeconsidered
flexiblewehopetoseenewframeworksemergeaschangestothenatureandusesof
socialmediamakethisnecessary.Ultimately,theresponsibilitylieswiththeresearcherand
hisorhercorrespondingethicscommitteetoensureanethicalapproachistakentothe
collection,analysisandreuseofdatacollectedfromsocialmediaplatforms.This
framework,oranyframeworkthatsupersedesit,cannotbeprescriptive.Eachsocialmedia
researchcontextisunique,havingauniquesetofcharacteristicsandethicalchallenges.We
hopethatthisframeworkwillprovideresearcherswiththedecisionmakingtoolsthey
requiretotakethemostsensibleandethicalapproachtotheirsocialmediaresearch.
5.Furtherreadingandresources
AssociationofInternetResearch(2012).EthicalDecisionMakingandInternetResearch.
Availableat:http://aoir.org/reports/ethics2.pdf
Boyd,D.&Crawford,K(2012).Criticalquestionsforbigdata.Information,Communication
andSociety.15(5).662679.
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BritishPsychologicalAssociation(2013).EthicsGuidelinesforInternetMediatedResearch.
Reportavailableat:http://www.bps.org.uk/system/files/Public%20files/inf206guidelines
forinternetmediatedresearch.pdf
CASRO
(2011)
Social
Media
Research
Guidelines.
Available
at:
http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.casro.org/resource/resmgr/docs/social_media_research_gu
idel.pdf
CollaborativeOnlineSocialMediaObservatory(COSMOS)EthicsResourceGuide.Available
at:https://www.cs.cf.ac.uk/cosmos/ethicsresourceguide/
ESOMAR(2011)EsomarGuidelineonSocialMediaResearch.Availableat:
https://www.esomar.org/uploads/public/knowledgeandstandards/codesand
guidelines/ESOMARGuidelineonSocialMediaResearch.pdf
Evans,H.,Ginnis,S.&Bartlett,J.(2015)#SocialEthics:aguidetoembeddingethicsinsocial
media
research.
Report
available
at:
https://www.ipsos
mori.com/Assets/Docs/Publications/imdemossocialethicsinsocialmediaresearch
summary.pdf
Fossheim,H.&Ingierd,H.(2015).InternetResearchEthics.Availableat:
https://press.nordicopenaccess.no/index.php/noasp/catalog/view/3/1/91
Fuchs,C.(2014)SocialMedia:ACriticalIntroduction.London:Sage.
Jones,C.(2011)Ethicalissuesinonlineresearch.BritishEducationalResearchAssociation
onlineresource.Availableat:https://www.bera.ac.uk/wp
content/uploads/2014/03/Ethicalissuesinonlineresearch.pdf?noredirect=1
Kleinberg,J.M.(2007)Challengesinminingsocialnetworkdata:processes,privacyand
paradoxes.Proceedingsofthe13thACMSIGKDDinternationalconferenceonKnowledge
discoveryanddatamining,NewYork,2007.
Narayanan,A.,&Shmatikov,V.(2009)Deanonymizingsocialnetworks,IEEESymposium
onSecurity&Privacy,Oakland,CA.Availableat:
http://www.cs.utexas.edu/~shmat/shmat_oak09.pdf
Narayanan,A.,&Shmatikov,V.(2008)Robustdeanonymizationoflargesparsedatasets
(HowtobreakanonymityoftheNetflixprizedataset.),IEEESymposiumonSecurity&
Privacy,Oakland,CA.Availableat:http://arxiv.org/pdf/cs/0610105v2.pdf
Natcen(2014)ResearchusingSocialMedia:UsersViews.Availableat:
http://www.natcen.ac.uk/media/282288/p0639researchusingsocialmediareportfinal
190214.pdf
Salmons,J.(2014)NewSocialMedia,NewSocialScienceAndNewEthicalIssues!Report
availableat:https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1gmLw9jo6fLTQ5X0oyeE1aRjQ/edit
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