ERIC Number: EJ1212923
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-May
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2042-7530
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Available Date: N/A
Ethical Problems in Virtual Research: Enmeshing the Blurriness with Twitter Data
E-Learning and Digital Media, v16 n3 p196-207 May 2019
When conceptualising knowledge gained from tapping into an internet data pool, one may question many things which can include the role of the researcher and the researched, privacy and ethics, intention, authenticity and the vastness of scope. The researcher, regardless of research intention including moral or ethical positions, must acknowledge that there are billions of nuances affecting online user participation. Ethical boundaries surrounding available data deemed 'public' in a program like Twitter, for example, are not easily wrapped in a terms of service agreement. Ethical problems in virtual research are expansive, and it is necessary to frame how and why researchers should address them. In the following paper, I outline some significant ethical issues in virtual research and address perceived pluralities as enmeshment. Drawing on Barad's (2007, 2010, 2014) theoretical model of diffraction, I poke holes through ethical blurriness and think through ethical possibilities for researchers, including online presence, data collection practices and participant agency.
Descriptors: Ethics, Research Problems, Social Media, Researchers, Data Collection, Art Teachers, Access to Information, Privacy, Information Security, Technology Uses in Education, Doctoral Students, Informed Consent, Psychological Patterns
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
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Author Affiliations: N/A