Private Conversations and Public Audiences

Exploring the Ethical Implications of Using Mobile Telephones to Research Young People’s Lives

Bibliographic Data

ID12476550
AuthorsDenise Hinton (0000-0002-0024-2021, University of Manchester, corresponding author)
Year2013
Volume21
Issue3
Pages237-251
Publication date2013-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueYoung (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1103-3088 • E-ISSN: 1741-3222
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1103308813488813
OpenAlexW2132066668
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited28

Recent developments in mobile and information technology provide new ways of conducting research with young people. The ubiquitous use of mobile telephones by young people, for example, allows researchers to interact with participants who are neither physically present nor spatially fixed, so that data can be captured as young people go about their daily lives. Using mobile phones to interview young people, however, presents a number of ethical challenges which may not be addressed by standard ethical frameworks. Drawing on a study of 42 university students aged 20–25 years old in Wales (the United Kingdom [UK]), this article examines the practical and ethical issues associated with conducting in-depth interviews via mobile telephones, and highlights the challenge of maintaining participant confidentiality when young people choose to conduct their mobile telephone conversations in public places. This article contends that research guidelines need to be more responsive to young people’s use of technology and their shifting interpretations of public/private boundaries to encourage good research practice that safeguards young people’s personal data

Confidentiality · Internet privacy · Mobile device · Mobile technology · Political science · Public relations · Sociology · World Wide Web · Computer Science · Focus Groups and Qualitative Methods · Impact of Technology on Adolescents · Law · Social Media and Politics

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