ethics and social media research: examining private lives on a public stage
TRANSCRIPT
ETHICS AND SOCIAL MEDIA RESEARCH:
EXAMINING PRIVATE LIVES ON A PUBLIC STAGE
Dr. Vanessa P. Dennen
Professor Instructional Systems & Learning Technologies
Editor The Internet and Higher Education
Presentation at Social Media and Research Symposium, FSU Strozier Library, 3/3/17
MY BACKGROUND
➤ I have studied …
➤ Faculty and teachers who blog
➤ Conference attendees who tweet
➤ College students who use social media in class
➤ Teenagers who use social media in general
➤ I have used …
DREAMING ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA RESEARCH
I won’t have to
talk to anyone!
So much free data!
It’s risk-free
research!
No IRB hassles!
FSU IRB Decision Tree #1
FSU IRB Decision Tree #1
FSU IRB Decision Tree #1
FSU IRB Decision Tree #1
FSU IRB Decision Tree #1
WHAT IS A REASONABLE EXPECTATION OF PRIVACY?
FSU IRB Decision Tree #1
A PERSONAL QUESTION FOR RESEARCHERS TO ANSWER
What is your biggest concern: Getting IRB approval?
Or causing no harm to your participants?
FOUR CRITICAL ISSUES RELATED TO SOCIAL MEDIA RESEARCH ETHICS
➤ Privacy
➤ Audience
➤ Intent
➤ Risk Data Life
Researcher Participant
Sometimes you have to shift your lens …
PRIVACY
WHAT IS PRIVATE?
➤ A face-to-face conversation?
➤ A phone conversation?
➤ Either of those conversations if they take place on an airplane?
➤ A snap?
➤ A Facebook status?
➤ A tweet?
➤ A like?
➤ A networked connection?
PRIVACY AS A CONTINUUM
Elm, M. S. (2009). How do various notions of privacy influence decisions in qualitative internet research. In A. M. Markheim & N. K. Baym (Eds.), Internet inquiry: Conversations about method. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Public PrivateSemi- Public
Semi- Private
PRIVACY, PUBLIC FIGURES, AND CONSENT
AUDIENCE
➤ For whom do we write online?
➤ With whom are we communicating?
➤ Who do we think might be reading?
➤ Who do we think won’t be reading?
AUDIENCE AND PRIVACY
➤ A blog post written by a consenting participant:
This will be my last post as [Pseudonym]. Last night, I learned from a family member that someone sent posts from my blog to my family of origin. These were posts where I vented and worked out some emotions that I do not share with family members, mainly because I don’t want our relationship to consist of me screaming at them and them screaming at me. As many of you know, I have been blogging anonymously on a variety of platforms for 5.5 years. My blog has been a diary for me, a place where I vent, blow off steam, and express things I can’t and don’t say to anyone.I never, ever wanted any family member to read my blog, anymore than I would have wanted them to read my teenage diary. It was a place for me to work through my own issues and feelings so that I wouldn’t say hurtful things to anyone later. I blogged under a pseudonym not only to protect my own privacy, but also that of my university, my friends and colleagues, and my family members. Pseudonymous blogging, especially by those of us who are academics, entails a certain type of trust that members of the community will not out each other. I am extremely hurt that someone betrayed me in such a fashion.
INTENT
PRIVACY, AUDIENCE, INTENT … AND RISK
➤ Why do people use social media?
➤ To what degree do they feel they are risking their privacy?
➤ Are researchers part of their intended audience?
➤ Would they feel at risk if theyhad a larger audience?
➤ Would they change their habitsif they knew they had a larger or different audience?
Privacy( Risk(
A-en0on(
Knowledge(
interac0on(
WHERE DO RISKS LIE?
➤ Shifting forums (Personal account -> Journal)
➤ Search engines
➤ Delivering new audiences
➤ Researcher interpretations
➤ Loss of safe spacesPrivacy( Risk(
Discomfort(
Ridicule(
Personal(Loss(
MITIGATING RISK AND HARM
➤ Openly discuss risks with participants
➤ Check quotes before publishing
➤ Report aggregate findings
➤ Use comprehensive pseudonyms
➤ Create “fabricated” examples
➤ see Annette Markham’s work: Markham, A. (2012). Fabrication as ethical practice. Information, Communication & Society, 15(3), 334-353. doi:10.1080/1369118x.2011.641993
THE CASE OF THE TROUBLESOME TWEETS
Context: Consenting research participant (teacher education student) tweeting under real name
Jane Doe: F*** yeah! It’s my 19th birthday!!! Jane Doe: Check me out, bitches! I’m 19 today! Worship me!
Jane Doe: (twitpic with friends, beers in hand) Jane Doe: Head hurts. F***in awesome birthday party.
Dilemma: Do you intervene?
SOME CLOSING THOUGHTS
➤ The researcher’s responsibility when working with social media data:
➤ To participants: To seek consent whenever possible, to respect and act on their privacy desires, to educate them about online privacy as needed
➤ To the IRB: To help educate members as needed and shape policy in this area
➤ To the research community: To uphold the highest ethical standards in their work
QUESTIONS / DISCUSSIONContact: [email protected] or @vdennen
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