Pics, Dicks, Tits, and Tats: negotiating ethics working with images of bodies in social media research

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (9) ◽  
pp. 2068-2086 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie Warfield ◽  
Jamie Hoholuk ◽  
Blythe Vincent ◽  
Aline Dias Camargo
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Research Ethics ◽  
Digital Images ◽  
Contextual Integrity ◽  
Institutional Ethics ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Media Research ◽  
Social Media Research ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Personal Research

With the rise of camera-enabled cellphones and social media platforms that focus on vernacular images (e.g. Instagram™and Snapchat™), researchers and intuitional ethics boards increasingly seek guidelines for research using digital images of bodies shared on social media. This article presents the findings of in-depth interviews with 16 researchers who have received institutional ethics approval to study images of bodies shared on social media platforms. The interviews explored the researchers’ (a) processes of selecting their methodologies, (b) experiences getting institutional ethics approval, and (c) personal research ethics that emerged through their research programs. The findings indicate that researchers and review boards generally lack resources. Researchers often adhered to contextual integrity, were protective while not patronizing, and adopted a feminist materialist ethics of care, which included consideration of the manifold human and nonhuman forces at play in the lifespan of images in digital research. Researchers also practiced strategies like ongoing consent, “ethics-on-the-go,” ethical visual fabrication, and conscious omission.

scholarly journals What’s in a (pseudo)name? Ethical conundrums for the principles of anonymisation in social media research

2020 ◽  
pp. 146879412092207
Author(s):  
Ysabel Gerrard
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Ethics Review ◽  
Institutional Ethics ◽  
Fan Communities ◽  
Ethical Approval ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Media Research ◽  
Social Media Research ◽  
Identifiable Data

Scholars from wide-ranging disciplines are turning to social media platforms as research sites, and as platforms expand their communicative possibilities, they create more spaces for users to enact a multitude of identities. Most platforms allow users to have ‘pseudonymous’ identities; that is, they can engage in practices intended to facilitate nonidentifiable content. But pseudonymity presents a series of unique challenges to the principles of anonymisation in qualitative research. This article explores the slippery nature of dealing with pseudonymous social media users’ personally identifiable data during research, framed around my responses to four questions I was asked when I applied for ethical approval to conduct research with pseudonymous fan communities on social media. The four questions concern: (Q1) changing notions of ‘public’ and ‘private’ forms of data; (Q2) identifying underage and therefore vulnerable participants online; (Q3) changes to the processes of obtaining informed consent from social media users; and (Q4) the risks social media research might bring to those conducting it. This article concludes by calling for qualitative researchers and Ethics Review Boards (ERBs) to engage with institutional ethics review across the duration of a project, or at the very least to advocate for ongoing consent as research progresses, especially for (but certainly not limited to) research involving pseudonymous social media users. The article aims to be useful to other researchers facing similar dilemmas. Indeed, given the popularity of pseudonymity on social media and the growing penetration of platforms across global demographics, a need for ethical discussions of this kind is surely set to increase.

scholarly journals Is It Time to Re-Evaluate the Ethics Governance of Social Media Research?

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 452-454 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Samuel ◽  
W. Ahmed ◽  
H. Kara ◽  
C. Jessop ◽  
S. Quinton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Research Ethics ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Ethics Committees ◽  
Research Ethics Committees ◽  
Media Ethics ◽  
Research Institution ◽  
Media Research ◽  
Social Media Research

This article reports on a U.K. workshop on social media research ethics held in May 2018. There were 10 expert speakers and an audience of researchers, research ethics committee members, and research institution representatives. Participants reviewed the current state of social media ethics, discussing well-rehearsed questions such as what needs consent in social media research, and how the public/private divide differs between virtual and real-life environments. The lack of answers to such questions was noted, along with the difficulties posed for ethical governance structures in general and the work of research ethics committees in particular. Discussions of these issues enabled the creation of two recommendations. The first is for research ethics committees and journal editors to add the category of ‘data subject research’ to the existing categories of ‘text research’ and ‘human subject research’. This would reflect the fact that social media research does not fall into either of the existing categories and so needs a category of its own. The second is that ethical issues should be considered at all stages of social media research, up to and including aftercare. This acknowledges that social media research throws up a large number of ethical issues throughout the process which, under current arrangements for ethical research governance, risks remaining unaddressed.

scholarly journals How changing API terms changed Instagram's domain? A bibliometric analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Hartman ◽  
Tereza Simova
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Body Image Dissatisfaction ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Application Programming ◽  
Key Topics ◽  
Media Research ◽  
Social Media Research

In 2018 Facebook blocked a public Application Programming Interfaces (API) that could be used to download data from Facebook and Instagram. Much uncertainty still exists about the effect on social media research due to changes in Instagram API conditions. The presented paper provides an overview of the Instagram domain in terms of a research area. The main focus of this research is on the comparison of the key topics before and after the change of the Instagram API terms (comparing Instagram's research domain before and after 2018). A partial goal was to find out how the change in the conditions of the Instagram API has changed the number of social media research itself. We used a bibliometric approach to map the domain of Instagram. The paper has identified key topics in the domain of Instagram. Between the years 2010 and 2018 the key topics were gender, behavior on social media, dissemination of information, and platform selection. After the change of Instagram API conditions, after 2018, the key topics were gratifications, body image, dissatisfaction, and basic Instagram topics. The paper has found that generally, there was no change in research topics, nor the number of papers published after the Instagram API condition. Further study should focus on establish the relationships between Instagram use and psychological well-being; investigate the motives for Instagram use a study the effect of Instagram API on research with the use of different methods; gaining a better understanding of social media consumer activity; establish whatever our key topics are relevant to other social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter or Tiktok); study Instagram domain on different citation databases (e.g., in Scopus). This paper has also raised important questions about whether the Instagram API should be or should not be open for research purposes.

scholarly journals Social Media Research Network: Social Media Toolkit

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akash Shroff ◽  
Chantelle A Roulston ◽  
Marian Ruiz ◽  
Sharon Chen
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Research Network ◽  
Research Groups ◽  
The Social ◽  
Large Audience ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Media Research ◽  
Social Media Research ◽  
Social Media Presence

The Social Media Research Network was co-founded by Chantelle Roulston and Akash Shroff in August 2021 with the support of Dr. Jessica Schleider and the Lab for Scalable Mental Health (LSMH). Since 2018, LSMH has been recruiting adolescents and parents using social media—primarily Facebook and Instagram. As of September 2021, our social media presence has reached 1.4 million people across the world. More than 35,000 individuals have interacted with our posts and messages and more than 6,000 youth, young adults, and parents have completed our single-session interventions. We wanted to share our current success and improve our processes by forming a collaboration of psychology/adolescent development research labs.The SMRN Social Media Toolkit is designed to consolidate social media experiences and suggestions from various labs into a useful document for others to use. This is by no means an exhaustive list of social media platforms and suggestions. We have limited the toolkit to include the use of Facebook and Instagram, owned and trademarked by Meta Platforms, Inc.. Instagram and Facebook encompass a very large audience (diverse in age, location, and race/ethnicity). The platforms have a lot of overlap and have been successful in research efforts for the authors. This toolkit outlines broad concepts of branding, post design, and post management. It also provides details, suggestions, and tips on how to create an account, gain a following, increase engagement, and more on both Facebook and Instagram. . Lastly, it details the process of using paid Facebook and Instagram advertisements for research purposes (i.e., recruiting participants).The ultimate goal of SMRN is to increase collaboration across research groups so that we can leverage the entire network’s social media presence to improve recruitment, science communication, and outreach efforts for all research groups involved. We hope this document will serve as a preliminary guide for the research groups within the network.

scholarly journals “Roll with us”: Instagram Images of Backwoods Cigarillo Blunts (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Kim ◽  
Alia Mourali ◽  
Jon-Patrick Allem ◽  
Jennifer B Unger ◽  
Tess Boley Cruz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Flavor Preference ◽  
Inclusion Criteria ◽  
Product Features ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Monitoring And Surveillance ◽  
Media Research ◽  
Social Media Research ◽  
User Friendly ◽  
Coded Images

BACKGROUND Instagram, one of the most popular social media platforms among youth, offers a unique opportunity to examine blunts—partially or fully hollowed out large cigars, little cigars, and cigarillos that are filled with marijuana. Cigarillo brands like Backwoods (Imperial Tobacco Group Brands LLC) have product features that facilitate blunt-making, including a variety of brand-specific flavors that enhance the smoking experience (e.g., honey, dark stout). Backwoods has a growing online presence with a user-friendly website and an active Instagram account with over 30,000 followers. OBJECTIVE The present study examined the extent to which Backwoods cigarillo-related posts to Instagram showed blunt-making. Instagram offers a unique opportunity to examine blunt-making as Instagram accounts will contain images reflective of organic behavior occurring without the prime of a researcher. METHODS Inclusion criteria for this study included an Instagram post with the hashtag “#backwoods”. Rules were established to content analyze posts. Categories included Type of post (i.e., photo or video or both); Blunt-related hashtags (i.e., the corresponding caption to the post contained hashtag(s) like #blunts, #cannabis, #weed that were identified in previous social media research); Rolling blunts (i.e., the post contained an image of an individual(s) rolling a Backwoods cigarillo visibly containing marijuana); Smoking blunts (i.e., the post contained an image of an individual(s) blowing smoke or holding a lit blunt. We coded images for Flavor reference, where a code of 1 showed a Backwoods cigarillo pack with a brand-specific flavor (e.g., honey, dark stout, Russian crème) visible in the blunt-related image and a code of 0 indicated that it was not visible anywhere in the image. RESULTS Among all posts (n = 1,206), 871 (72.2%) were Blunt-related hashtags. A total of 125 (10.4%) images were coded Smoking blunts and 25 (2.1%) were coded Rolling blunts (i.e., Backwoods cigarillo explicitly used to roll blunts. Among blunt images, 434/843 (51.5%) were coded Flavor (i.e., a Backwoods pack with a brand-specific flavor was visible). CONCLUSIONS Most Backwoods cigarillo-related Instagram images were blunt-related and these blunt-related images showed Backwoods packages indicating flavor preference. Continued monitoring and surveillance of blunt-related posts on Instagram is needed to inform policies and interventions that reduce the risk that youth may experiment with blunts. Specific policies could include restrictions on product features (e.g., flavors, perforated lines, attractive resealable foil pouches, sold as singles) that facilitate blunt-making. CLINICALTRIAL N/A

Evaluating Social Media

2018 ◽  
pp. 293-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shahizan Hassan ◽  
Norshuhada Shiratuddin ◽  
Nor Laily Hashim ◽  
Feng Li
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Model Development ◽  
Assessment Model ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Media Influence ◽  
Widespread Adoption ◽  
Activity Generation ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Media Research ◽  
Social Media Research

Despite the widespread adoption and popularity of social media, research on measuring the quantifiable impact of popular social media platforms remains scarce. To this end, this study attempts to investigate how the influence of social media can be assessed in quantitative terms. The main objective is to develop a new assessment model able to integrate a broad range of criteria such as likes, subscribers, comments, posts, shares, and links. The authors extend previous assessment models focused on individual platforms such as blogs and propose a Social Media Influence Assessment model (SMIA). The process of model development—criteria, dimensions, and formula—and its validation are discussed. The results indicate that social media's influence can be measured in a structured, quantifiable manner by utilising a set of nine criteria grouped into three dimensions: recognition, activity generation, and credibility.

scholarly journals Organizational Communication and Invisibility Strategies and Reducing/Targeting Social Media Visibility

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Diego Wander Santos Da Silva ◽  
Rudimar Baldissera
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Organizational Communication ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Symbolic Interactionism ◽  
Digital Communication ◽  
Empirical Level ◽  
The Face ◽  
Media Research ◽  
Social Media Research ◽  
Depth Interviews

This article begins with discussions about organizational communication, especially in the context of social media. Research in this field tends to emphasize “visibility” as the only desire of organizations in online environments. However, “strategies of invisibility” are also paths adopted by organizations in situations of risk or in the face of the apparent advance of guidelines that contradict the way they expect to be recognized. Our aim is to understand the strategies of organizations in situations requiring invisibility and reducing/targeting visibility on social media. The discussions refer to symbolic interactionism, which is the epistemic foundation of this research. On an empirical level, we conducted in-depth interviews with 17 professionals working in digital communication agencies. The results form a map of strategies for invisibility and reducing/targeting visibility, which indicates the professionalization and several consequences of these processes and resources. Our understanding is that such strategies need discussion in the light of notions of public interest, conformity, and ethics, as the prospect of concealment may represent the non-visibility of issues relevant to society that are losing emphasis, given the refinement of these processes and resources.

scholarly journals At close quarters: Combatting Facebook design, features and temporalities in social research

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 205395171880231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justine Gangneux ◽  
Stevie Docherty
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Empirical Data ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
The Other ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Media Research ◽  
Social Media Research

As researchers we often find ourselves grappling with social media platforms and data ‘at close quarters’. Although social media platforms were created for purposes other than academic research – which are apparent in their architecture and temporalities – they offer opportunities for researchers to repurpose them for the collection, generation and analysis of rich datasets. At the same time, this repurposing raises an evolving range of practical and methodological challenges at the small and large scale. We draw on our experiences and empirical data from two research projects, one using Facebook Community Pages and the other repurposing Facebook Activity Logs. This article reflects critically on the specific challenges we faced using these platform features, on their common roots, and the tactics we adopted in response. De Certeau’s distinction between strategy and tactics provides a useful framework for exploring these struggles as located in the practice of doing social research – which often ends up being tactical. This article argues that we have to collectively discuss, demystify and devise tactics to mitigate the strategies and temporalities deeply embedded in platforms, corresponding as far as possible to the temporalities and the aims of our research. Although combat at close quarters is inevitable in social media research, dialogue between researchers is more than ever needed to tip the scales in our favour.

Trying to understand social media users and usage

2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 256-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrin Weller
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Media Usage ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Approaches To Study ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Research ◽  
Social Media Research

Purpose – The purpose of this paper from the series “Monitoring the Media: Spotlight on Social Media Research” is to look into different approaches to study uses of social media platforms – from user statistics to motivations for using specific features within a platform. Design/methodology/approach – Based on a literature review some general findings on social media usage are summarized alongside with examples of user activities that are rarely studied. Findings – The paper concludes that social media research has neglected to question the use of more recent features in social media platforms, such as Twitter favorites or Facebook hashtags, as well as the more “destructive” activities in social networking such as unfollowing. Originality/value – The paper draws attention to some features of popular social media platforms which are currently understudied. It raises awareness for these specific gaps in social media research and could inspire future studies to close the gap.

scholarly journals Queer considerations: Exploring the use of social media for research recruitment within LGBTQ communities

2021 ◽  
pp. 174701612110030
Author(s):  
Catherine Littler ◽  
Phillip Joy
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Hate Speech ◽  
Ethical Considerations ◽  
Ethical Research ◽  
Research Recruitment ◽  
Diverse Communities ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Media Research ◽  
Social Media Research ◽  
Use Of Social Media

The use of social media platforms (such as Facebook) for research recruitment has continued to increase, especially during the global COVID-19 pandemic. Social media enables researchers to reach diverse communities that often do not have their voices heard in research. Social media research recruitment, however, can pose risks to both potential participants and the researchers. This topic paper presents ethical considerations related to social media recruitment, and offers an example of harassment and hate speech risks when social media is used for research recruitment. We explore the implications of hate speech risks for ethical research.

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