Abstract
Online social environments offer a rich source of data that researchers can harvest to gain insight into a wide range of social issues. This type of research is sometimes considered as observation of public behaviour, and therefore exempt from ethical review. This type of research, however, raises ethical issues with respect to the public/private nature of online spaces, consent, and anonymity in the online environment. This project examines research ethics guidelines for recommendations regarding the use of harvested online data, identifying best practices for researchers who engage in this type of research.
Sadaf Zia
Faculty of Information and Media Studies, Western University
Sadaf Zia is a recent graduate of the Master of Library and Information Science program at Western University. She holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto, where she double majored in Political Science and Philosophy. She is currently working as a branch supervisor for the Mississauga Library System.
Celina De Lancey
Faculty of Information & Media Studies, Western University
Celina de Lancey is a recent graduate of the Master of Library and Information Science program at Western University.
Jacquelyn Burkell
Faculty of Information & Media Studies, Western University
Jacquie Burkell is (Acting) Associate Vice-President (Research) and is an associate professor in the Faculty of Information & Media Studies. She holds a PhD in Psychology (Cognitive Science) from Western and Jacquelyn served as the faculty’s Assistant Dean of Research for seven years and chaired the Associate Deans (Research) group from 2016-2018. Throughout her career, Jacquelyn has served on a wide variety of academic committees, including the 2016 URB Task Force Steering Committee – Support for Research in Social Sciences, Arts, and Humanities at Western. A highly collaborative scholar, Jacquelyn is a co-investigator on two SSHRC partnership grants – one examining artificial intelligence in the context of justice, the other focused on youth equality and privacy online. More broadly, her research focuses on the social impact of technology and examines how technological mediation changes social interaction and information behaviour.