Public domain or private data? Developing an ethical approach to social media research in an inter-disciplinary project

Abstract

This paper discusses the ethical issues faced in undertaking research about the role of learning in the subjective experience of chronic illness, where data were taken from social media. Drawing on psychology and education, this paper discusses the ways in which authors from these disciplines are laying the groundwork for legitimate online research by actively debating the public versus private nature of online spaces. The paper explains how this debate informed the development of an ethical approach to research. Relevant ethical guidelines and previous research are used to support the argument that individuals' informed consent is not necessary in online contexts where data exist within the public domain, and where risk of harm to users is low. This paper provides an insight into one educational researcher's journey through the process of doing ethical social media research, and suggests ways forward for others embarking upon that same journey.

Lay perspectives on social distancing and other official recommendations and regulations in the time of COVID-19: a qualitative study of social media posts

“…As mentioned before, we followed different steps to further ensure the anonymity of the data presentation. Taking into account guidelines and recommendations for secondary data analysis, no further ethical endorsement was required for this analysis [29,30].…”

Game of Translations: Virtual Community doing English Translations of Chinese Online Fiction

“…According to Stevens, O'Donnell and Williams (2015), previous authors have concluded that where data can be accessed without site membership, such data can be considered as public domain (Attard & Coulson, 2012;Haigh & Jones, 2005;Sudweeks & Rafaeli, 1996;Whitehead, 2010 …”

Patients’ learning in cyberspace: a thematic analysis of patient-patient discussions in a chronic illness Facebook page.

“…The study was approved by the University of the West of Scotland Ethics Committee and adhered to the British Psychological Society's guidelines for internet-mediated research (British Psychological Society, 2007;British Psychological Society, 2013). Those interested in the detailed ethical considerations of the current study are referred to our paper outlining our approach to developing an ethically robust online study (Stevens, O'Donnell & Williams, 2015).…”