Rights statement: The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, Sociological Research Online, 25 (3), 2020, © SAGE Publications Ltd, 2020 by SAGE Publications Ltd at the Sociological Research Online page: https://journals.sagepub.com/home/sro http://journals.sagepub.com/
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Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Ethical dilemmas using social media in qualitative social research
T2 - A case study of online participant observation
AU - Hennell, Kath
AU - Piacentini, Maria
AU - Limmer, Mark
N1 - The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, Sociological Research Online, 25 (3), 2020, © SAGE Publications Ltd, 2020 by SAGE Publications Ltd at the Sociological Research Online page: https://journals.sagepub.com/home/sro http://journals.sagepub.com/
PY - 2020/9/1
Y1 - 2020/9/1
N2 - Social media platforms that enable users to create and share online content with others are increasingly used in social research. This paper explores the complex ethical issues associated with using social media for data collection, drawing on a study of the alcohol consumption practices of young people. It aims to contribute to debates about the practical and ethical challenges facing researchers using social media as a data collection tool, and to demonstrate how a reflexive approach to the research and the context in which the research takes place is critically important for supporting and enabling an ethical approach. The article concludes by recommending that researchers who face ethical dilemmas associated with the use of social media maintain an on-going dialogue with their relevant ethics committees and other researchers to identify potential solutions and to share their findings.
AB - Social media platforms that enable users to create and share online content with others are increasingly used in social research. This paper explores the complex ethical issues associated with using social media for data collection, drawing on a study of the alcohol consumption practices of young people. It aims to contribute to debates about the practical and ethical challenges facing researchers using social media as a data collection tool, and to demonstrate how a reflexive approach to the research and the context in which the research takes place is critically important for supporting and enabling an ethical approach. The article concludes by recommending that researchers who face ethical dilemmas associated with the use of social media maintain an on-going dialogue with their relevant ethics committees and other researchers to identify potential solutions and to share their findings.
U2 - 10.1177/1360780419888933
DO - 10.1177/1360780419888933
M3 - Journal article
VL - 25
SP - 473
EP - 489
JO - Sociological Research Online
JF - Sociological Research Online
SN - 1360-7804
IS - 3
ER -