scholarly journals Reflections on internet research ethics from language-focused research on web-based mourning: revisiting the private/public distinction as a language ideology of differentiation

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 229-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Korina Giaxoglou
Keyword(s):  
Research Ethics ◽  
Language Ideology ◽  
Ethical Decision Making ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Internet Research ◽  
Critical Study ◽  
Research Practice ◽  
Web Based ◽  
James Wright ◽  
Key Aspects

AbstractThe present article addresses ethical issues and tensions that have arisen in the context of language-focused research on web-based mourning. It renders explicit the process of ethical decision-making in research practice, illustrating key aspects of a process approach to research ethics, which calls for reflection on ethical issues as an integral and dynamic part of the project (Markham and Buchanan 2015. Ethical considerations in digital research contexts. In James Wright (ed.) Encyclopedia for Social & Behavioral Sciences. Elsevier Press. 606–613; Page et al. 2014. Researching Language and Social Media: A student guide. Oxon: Routledge). In addition, the article draws attention to some vexing ethical tensions raised in research practice and, in particular, to the uses of the terms private and public in research ethics frameworks and in discipline-specific discussions. Based on Gal’s (2005. Language ideologies compared: metaphors of public/private. Journal of Linguistic Anthropology 15 (1): 23–38) semiotic investigation of the private/public opposition, it is shown how the two categories are used as a language ideology of differentiation that discursively contrasts spaces and forms of emotional communication. It is argued that such metaphorical uses of the terms limit their currency in internet research on language, mourning, and death online, which tends to feature the construction and staging of a public self in semi-public contexts. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of the issues raised in language-focused research on web-based mourning for research ethics as method (Markham 2004. Method as ethic, ethic as method. Journal of Information Ethics 15 (2): 37–55) and calls for the critical study of the key concepts that underlie research ethics stances as a key step in rethinking – or ‘undoing’ – ethics (Whiteman 2012. Undoing Ethics: Rethinking Practice in Online Research. London: Springer).

Reflexivity in Research Practice: Informed Consent with Children at School and at Home

2008 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 17-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hayley Davies
Keyword(s):  
Informed Consent ◽  
Research Ethics ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Research Practice ◽  
Ethical Practices ◽  
Research Participants ◽  
Ethical Approach ◽  
Ethics Guidelines ◽  
Research Ethics Guidelines

Informed consent is a key consideration in ethical research, particularly research conducted with children. Devising an approach to and obtaining informed consent is a complex task involving multiple considerations. The examples used in this paper are derived from a study investigating how children constitute family members and close relationships. The paper is divided into two sections. The first section suggests that researchers should take a reflexive approach to their professional research practice and addresses how a researcher's professional location determines their particular ethical approach. Consideration is given to how the researcher's particular ethical approach can be achieved in consultation with academic thought and research ethics guidelines, which often offer contradictory advice on important ethical issues. The second section of the paper addresses how researchers negotiate their approach to informed consent in particular research contexts which offer challenges to the researcher's thinking about research participants or chosen procedures for obtaining and maintaining that informed consent is upheld. The paper concludes by arguing that the researcher can incorporate academic thought and aspects of the research ethics guidelines in an approach to informed consent that simultaneously values the research participants and the ethical practices operating in the research setting. Such an approach involves careful negotiation and consideration of the interests of all stakeholders in the research process.

scholarly journals RESEARCH ETHICS PRACTICES IN A CHANGING SOCIAL MEDIA LANDSCAPE

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharina E. Kinder-Kurlanda ◽  
Katrin Weller
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Research Ethics ◽  
Ethical Decision Making ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Internet Research ◽  
Research Practices ◽  
The Social ◽  
Media Research ◽  
Internet Research Ethics

In our work we study practical approaches to internet research ethics with a logitudinal perspective. We have interviewed more than 40 social media researchers in 2013-2014 using a semi-structured qualitative interview approach. From these interviews we gained insights into the challenges of everyday research practices at the various stages of the research process, as well as into motivations for specific approaches and critical reflections on research design and decision making, particularly concerning research ethics. At the end of 2019 we started re-interviewing the participants in our study and will continue to do so over the next months. In addition to questions about the details of everyday data work and the rationales behind (ethical) decision making, we are asking participants what has changed in the way they conduct research with social media. Based on our interviews as well as the ongoing discussions of Internet Research Ethics in the community, this paper focuses on the ethical dimensions of social media research practices and how they have evolved over the past years. Between our two interview periods, the social media landscape has witnessed several changes, including incidents like the "Cambridge Analytica scandal", which have also created ethical discussions in the broader public. By asking researchers about their everyday work, our research contributes to a look behind the scenes of "life as an internet researcher", as phrased in the list of topics in the call for papers.

scholarly journals Navigating the ethical maze through design action research

2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 456-482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carole Tansley ◽  
Susan Kirk ◽  
Colin Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Leadership Development ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Ethical Decision Making ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Information Technology Professionals ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Frame Set

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to identify how ethical stances can be used to develop a frame set in the design of a web-based decision support system (DSS) for ethical decision-making and to test both the efficacy of these frames and the potential of such a tool for individuals and groups in both leadership development situations and organisational practice. Unethical behaviour by executives is a frequently cited reason for erosion of trust with other stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach – Utilising action research, by choosing ethics frames such as heuristics, a web-based ethics DSS designed to enable users to explore ethical issues from multiple perspectives was constructed and this was beta-tested with a major UK bank and a global oil company. Findings – In orchestrating constant revisions of the ethics frames in the tool, learning from each research cycle was identified, a new form of action research, a design action research, which emphasises the importance of collaboration in the design of such decision-making tools, was offered and the tool for management development and other applications was successfully beta-tested. Originality/value – It was demonstrated to management developers how web-based systems might be designed by non-information technology professionals; the framing literature was added by demonstrating the value of engaging in dialogue about ethical issues of concern to managers and their organisations and thus improving decision-making; and additions were made to the literature on ethics and Information systems (IS) and contribution toward action research in the fields of IS and ethics was done.

scholarly journals Internet research ethics

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles M. Ess
Keyword(s):  
Research Ethics ◽  
Ethical Decision Making ◽  
Ethical Problem ◽  
Internet Research ◽  
Human Machine Interaction ◽  
The Face ◽  
History Of ◽  
The One ◽  
Machine Interaction ◽  
Internet Research Ethics

This article discusses Internet research ethics, which promises to become an ever-more robust and significant field within information ethics, on the one hand, and research ethics more broadly, on the other. As new venues emerge for human–human and human–machine interaction, it seems certain that new ethical conundrums will emerge. But the overall history of Internet research ethics includes at least some convergence on key values and rights, while at the same time preserving important local differences with regard to approaches to ethical decision making and implementation of basic rights and principles – even across East–West divides. This trajectory suggests not the certainty of finding resolutions to every ethical problem that comes along, but rather the sense of finding such resolutions in the face of new difficulties, with sufficient frequency and success to encourage further efforts to do so.

scholarly journals Internet research ethics and the policy gap for ethical practice in online research settings

2014 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-37
Author(s):  
Jacqueline G Warrell ◽  
Michele Jacobsen
Keyword(s):  
Research Ethics ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Research Community ◽  
Internet Research ◽  
Online Research ◽  
Current Policy ◽  
Ethical Practice ◽  
Temporal Aspects ◽  
Ethics Policy ◽  
Internet Research Ethics

A growing number of education and social science researchers design and conduct online research. In this review, the Internet Research Ethics (IRE) policy gap in Canada is identified along with the range of stakeholders and groups that either have a role or have attempted to play a role in forming better ethics policy. Ethical issues that current policy and guidelines fail to address are interrogated and discussed. Complexities around applying the human subject model to internet research are explored, such as issues of privacy, anonymity, and informed consent. The authors call for immediate action on the Canadian ethics policy gap and urge the research community to consider the situational, contextual, and temporal aspects of IRE in the development of flexible and responsive policies that address the complexity and diversity of internet research spaces.  

scholarly journals Why research ethics should add retrospective review

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Angus Dawson ◽  
Sapfo Lignou ◽  
Chesmal Siriwardhana ◽  
Dónal P. O’Mathúna
Keyword(s):  
Research Ethics ◽  
Retrospective Review ◽  
Ethical Decision ◽  
Ethical Decision Making ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Ethics Committees ◽  
Current Approach ◽  
Ethical Sensitivity ◽  
Ethical Approval

Abstract Research ethics is an integral part of research, especially that involving human subjects. However, concerns have been expressed that research ethics has come to be seen as a procedural concern focused on a few well-established ethical issues that researchers need to address to obtain ethical approval to begin their research. While such prospective review of research is important, we argue that it is not sufficient to address all aspects of research ethics. We propose retrospective review as an important complement to prospective review. We offer two arguments to support our claim that prospective review is insufficient. First, as currently practiced, research ethics has become for some a ‘tick box’ exercise to get over the ‘hurdle’ of ethics approval. This fails to capture much of what is important in ethics and does not promote careful reflection on the ethical issues involved. Second, the current approach tends to be rules-based and we argue that research ethics should go beyond this to develop people’s capacity to be sensitive to the relevant moral features of their research, their ethical decision-making skills and their integrity. Retrospective review of a project’s ethical issues, and how they were addressed, could help to achieve those aims better. We believe that a broad range of stakeholders should be involved in such retrospective review, including representatives of ethics committees, participating communities and those involved in the research. All stakeholders could then learn from others’ perspectives and experiences. An open and transparent assessment of research could help to promote trust and understanding between stakeholders, as well as identifying areas of agreement and disagreement and how these can be built upon or addressed. Retrospective review also has the potential to promote critical reflection on ethics and help to develop ethical sensitivity and integrity within the research team. Demonstrating this would take empirical evidence and we suggest that any such initiatives should be accompanied by research into their effectiveness. Our article concludes with a discussion of some possible objections to our proposal, and an invitation to further debate and discussion.

scholarly journals E-Ethics and Higher Education: Do Higher Education Challenges Make a Case for a Framework for Digital Research Ethics?

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Isla-Kate Morris
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Research Ethics ◽  
Internet Research ◽  
Ethical Review ◽  
Online Research ◽  
Research Practice ◽  
Ethical Guidance ◽  
Catch Up ◽  
Education Needs ◽  
Online Methods

Ethical guidance and understanding of research methods in Higher Education needs to catch up with the emerging landscape of internet research (BSA 2002, BPS 2013, Bassett, E and O’Riordan K 2002). The internet has become embedded and has had an impact on research in all domains. However, research practices that deploy online methods are not supported by sufficient ethical guidance (Shapiro, R. B. & Ossorio, P. N. 2013). This paper will aim to contextualise Internet Mediated Research (IMR) methods, consider how Higher Education Institutions are currently providing ethical review and guidance for projects using IMR methods, and explore the gap between the demands of research practice and HE ethical guidance. My paper will demonstrate work in progress to construct an argument for a reframing of research ethics for online research and provide discussion points of what this reframing may be.

scholarly journals Ethical, Practical, and Methodological Considerations for Unobtrusive Qualitative Research About Personal Narratives Shared on the Internet

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 160940691878820 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meridith C. Burles ◽  
Jill M. G. Bally
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Ethical Decision Making ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Personal Narratives ◽  
Internet Research ◽  
Institutional Review Boards ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Online Content ◽  
Ethical Challenges ◽  
Methodological Considerations

As Internet research grows in popularity, attention to the ethics of studying online content is crucial to ensuring ethical diligence and appropriateness. Over recent years, ethical guidelines and recommendations have emerged to advise researchers and institutional review boards on best practices. However, these guidelines are sometimes irrelevant, overly rigid, or lack recognition of the contingent nature of ethical decision-making in qualitative research. Furthermore, varied ethical stances and practices are evident in existing literature. This article explores key ethical issues for qualitative research involving online content, with a focus on the unobtrusive study of personal narratives shared via the Internet. Principles of informed consent and confidentiality are examined in depth alongside practical and methodological considerations for unobtrusive qualitative research. This critical exploration contributes to ongoing discussion of ethical conduct of Internet research and promotes ethically aware yet flexible approaches to online qualitative research and creative methodological efforts to overcoming ethical challenges.

Internet Researches as Means of Obtaining New Knowledge (Studying of Foreign Experience)

2010 ◽  
pp. 93-98
Author(s):  
Galina V. Varganova
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Internet Research ◽  
Foreign Experience ◽  
New Knowledge

The article deals with the librarianship internet research works in the context of their advantages, limitations and related ethical issues.

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