Passive data collection on Reddit

A practical approach

Datos Bibliográficos

ID21787667
AutoresTiago Rocha Silva (0000-0003-3564-4423, Universidade do Porto, autor de correspondencia), Maria Da Conceição De Oliveira Carvalho Nogueira (0000-0002-9152-754X, Universidade do Porto), Liliana Rodrigues (0000-0001-6900-9634, Universidade do Porto)
Año2024
Volumen20
Número3
Páginas453-470
Fecha de publicación2024-07-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaResearch Ethics (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1747-0161 • E-ISSN: 2047-6094
EditorialSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/17470161231210542
OpenAlexW4389091888
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas8
Referencias citadas33

Since its onset, scholars have characterized social media as a valuable source for data collection since it presents several benefits (e.g. exploring research questions with hard-to-reach populations). Nonetheless, methods of online data collection are riddled with ethical and methodological challenges that researchers must consider if they want to adopt good practices when collecting and analyzing online data. Drawing from our primary research project, where we collected passive online data on Reddit, we explore and detail the steps that researchers must consider before collecting online data: (1) planning online data collection; (2) ethical considerations; and (3) data collection. We also discuss two atypical questions that researchers should also consider: (1) how to handle deleted user-generated content; and (2) how to quote user-generated content. Moving on from the dichotomous discussion between what is public and private data, we present recommendations for good practices when collecting and analyzing qualitative online data

Data collection · Data science · Engineering ethics · Ethical issues · Internet privacy · Qualitative property · Social media · Sociology · World Wide Web · Computer Science · Engineering · Focus Groups and Qualitative Methods · Media Studies and Communication · Social Media and Politics