The Ethics Ecosystem

Personal Ethics, Network Governance and Regulating Actors Governing the Use of Social Media Research Data

Bibliographic Data

ID10284604
AuthorsGabrielle Samuel (0000-0001-8111-2730, King's College London, corresponding author), G Derrick (0000-0001-5386-8653, Lancaster University), Gemma E Derrick, Thed N van Leeuwen (0000-0001-7238-6289, Leiden University), Thed van Leeuwen
Year2019
Volume57
Issue3
Pages317-343
Publication date2019-02-07
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueMinerva (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0026-4695 • E-ISSN: 1573-1871
PublisherSpringer Science+Business Media (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1007/s11024-019-09368-3
PMID31501635
OpenAlexW2913900793
LanguageEN
Citations received15
References cited53

This paper examines the consequences of a culture of "personal ethics" when using new methodologies, such as the use of social media (SM) sites as a source of data for research. Using SM research as an example, this paper explores the practices of a number of actors and researchers within the "Ethics Ecosystem" which as a network governs ethically responsible research behaviour. In the case of SM research, the ethical use of this data is currently in dispute, as even though it is seemingly publically available, concerns relating to privacy, vulnerability, potential harm and consent blur the lines of responsible ethical research behaviour. The findings point to the dominance of a personal, bottom-up, researcher-led, 'ethical barometer' for making decisions regarding the permissibility of using SM data. We show that the use of different barometers by different researchers can lead to wide disparities in ethical practice - disparities which are compounded by the lack of firm guidelines for responsible practice of SM research. This has widespread consequences on the development of shared norms and understandings at all levels, and by all actors within the Ethics Ecosystem, and risks inconsistencies in their approaches to ethical decision-making. This paper argues that this governance of ethical behaviour by individual researchers perpetuates a negative cycle of academic practice that is dependent on subjective judgements by researchers themselves, rather than governed by more formalised academic institutions such as the research ethics committee and funding council guidelines

Applied ethics · Business · Corporate governance · Engineering ethics · Environmental ethics · Higher education · Information ethics · Political science · Public relations · Research ethics · Sociology · Engineering · Focus Groups and Qualitative Methods · Law · Privacy, Security, and Data Protection · Social Media in Health Education

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