Practical ethics in social media research: The greatest good for the greatest number?

Tara Beard-Knowland, Steven Ginnis

With people laying out their everyday light-hearted views – and deepest darkest secrets – for all to see, the amount of data readily available to anyone inclined to look is staggering, which raises important questions around the principles and legitimacy of analysing individuals’ data.
  • Tara Beard-Knowland and Steven Ginnis examine what can – and should – be done to ensure social media data research is as conscientious as it is revealing.
  • If the topic of conversation is likely to be sensitive (e.g. health or politics) consider what additional steps could be taken to anonymise or protect individuals’ data.
  • Bear in mind that what a person posts does not define who they are – when categorising a post, you are not categorising a person.
  • Be careful with the raw data, even if user names and other personally identifiable ...

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