Presentation at FSU Library Symposium on Social Media and Research (March 3, 2017)

1. 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

2. 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 …

3. 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!

4. FSU IRB Decision Tree #1

5. FSU IRB Decision Tree #1

6. FSU IRB Decision Tree #1

7. FSU IRB Decision Tree #1

8. FSU IRB Decision Tree #1

9. WHAT IS A REASONABLE
EXPECTATION OF PRIVACY?
FSU IRB Decision Tree #1

10. A PERSONAL QUESTION FOR
RESEARCHERS TO ANSWER
What is your biggest concern:
Getting IRB approval?
Or causing no harm to your participants?

11. FOUR CRITICAL ISSUES RELATED TO SOCIAL MEDIA RESEARCH ETHICS
➤ Privacy
➤ Audience
➤ Intent
➤ Risk Data Life
Researcher Participant
Sometimes you have to shift your lens …

12. PRIVACY

13. 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?

14. 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 Private
Semi-
Public
Semi-
Private

15. PRIVACY, PUBLIC FIGURES, AND CONSENT

16. 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?

17. 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.

18. INTENT

19. 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 they
had a larger audience?
➤ Would they change their habits
if they knew they had a larger
or different audience?
Privacy( Risk(
A-en0on(
Knowledge(
interac0on(

20. WHERE DO RISKS LIE?
➤ Shifting forums (Personal account -> Journal)
➤ Search engines
➤ Delivering new audiences
➤ Researcher interpretations
➤ Loss of safe spaces
Privacy( Risk(
Discomfort(
Ridicule(
Personal(Loss(

21. 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

22. 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?

23. 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

24. QUESTIONS / DISCUSSION
Contact: vdennen@fsu.edu or @vdennen
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