Research Ethics of Twitter for MOOCs

Abstract

This study examined the ethical considerations researchers have made when investigating MOOC learners' and teachers' Twitter activity. In so doing, it sought to addresses the lack of an evidencebased understanding of the ethical implications of research into Twitter as a site of teaching and learning. Through an analysis of 31 studies, we present a mapping of the ethical practices of researchers in this area. We identified potential ethical issues and concerns that have arisen. Our main contribution is to seek to challenge researchers to engage critically with ethical issues and, hence, develop their own understanding of ethically appropriate approaches. To this end, we also reflected and reported on our own evolving practice.

A Systematic Review of Higher Education Academics’ Use of Microblogging for Professional Development: Case of Twitter

“…This study found that approximately 80% of the papers reviewed did not address issues related to ethics and data collection. This finding is consistent with those reported by Costello, Donlon and Brown (2019). The requirements of ethical approval for the use of Twitter data for research remains inconsistent among researchers.…”

“…However, Twitter users may not be aware of the way researchers can use their data and express the concern that researchers should not use their data without informed consent (Fiesler & Proferes, 2018). In many instances, researchers themselves do not pay attention to the requirement of ethics or treat data from Twitter as part of the public domain (Costello, Donlon & Brown, 2019). This apparent indifference creates a dilemma for researchers, ethics boards and IRBs, and users.…”

“…What factors might possibly explain the inconsistent approach taken by a majority of researchers not to address ethics when using Twitter data? The literature suggests that this inconsistency could possibly be due to misconceptions about the use of social media data (Costello, Donlon & Brown, 2019) and the practical challenges associated with seeking informed consent from a large user base (Ahmed, Bath & Demartini, 2017). Further, Hogue and Ennis-O'Connor (2017) draw attention to several dilemmas and challenges that could make it difficult for researchers to attend to ethical issues.…”

Massive Omission of Consent (MOOC): Ethical Research in Educational Big Data Studies

“…The maxim, "if you are not paying you are the product," may be relevant (Hirsch, 2013). Ethical norms for students taking multi-year programs and paying large fees may seem less relevant with more casual learners in MOOCs (Costello et al, 2019). Studies of attitudes to consent, and the benefits they feel may accrue from allowing their data to be used, indicate that students have concerns about privacy and surveillance but in large part they place trust in their university to use their data ethically and appropriately (Slade et al, 2019;Tsai et al, 2021).…”