Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dk4vv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T05:25:28.875Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 2 - Doing Digital Qualitative Research

Key Ethical Considerations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 November 2024

By
Rebecca Wise ,
Jeff Gavin  and
Karen Rodham
Edited by
Paul M.W. Hackett ,
Christopher M. Hayre ,
Dave Muller ,
Marcia Scherer  and
Ava Gordley-Smith
Paul M.W. Hackett
Affiliation:
Emerson College, Boston
Christopher M. Hayre
Affiliation:
The University of Canberra
Dave Muller
Affiliation:
Suffolk University, Massachusetts
Marcia Scherer
Affiliation:
University of Rochester Medical Center, New York
Ava Gordley-Smith
Affiliation:
University of Suffolk
Get access

Summary

In this chapter we focus on ethical challenges for researchers who are engaged in qualitative digital research. We argue that the digital world has opened up huge opportunities for qualitative researchers, but it has also brought complex and multi-layered ethical challenges for qualitative researchers to navigate. Although we consider that there can no longer be a clear-cut rule book of “If–Then” ethical actions, we do offer examples drawn from researchers working in a range of disciplines and share how they have identified, navigated, and addressed the ethical issues raised when working digitally.

Keywords

digital competencedigital etiquettedigital researchethical challengesinternet-mediated researchqualitative
Type
Chapter
Information
The Future of Qualitative Research in Healthcare
The Role and Management of Digital Methods
 , pp. 5 - 20
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

British Psychological Society (2021a) Ethics Guidelines for Internet-Mediated Research. www.bps.org.uk/news-and-policy/ethics-guidelines-internet-mediated-research.Google Scholar
British Psychological Society (2021b) Code of Human Research Ethics. www.bps.org.uk/sites/www.bps.org.uk/files/Policy/Policy%20-%20Files/BPS%20Code%20of%20Human%20Research%20Ethics.pdf.Google Scholar
British Sociological Association (2017) Guidelines on Ethical Research. www.britsoc.co.uk/ethics.Google Scholar
Cambridge, J., Witton, J., and Elbourne, D. R. (2014) Systematic Review of the Hawthorne Effect: New Concepts are Needed to Study Research Participation Effects. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 67, 267–77.Google Scholar
Cody, E. M., Reagan, A. J., Mitchell, L., Dodds, P. S., and Danforth, C. M. (2015) Climate Change Sentiment on Twitter: An Unsolicited Public Opinion Poll. PloS One, 10(8), e0136092.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Department of Health, Education and Welfare (1979) The Belmont Report: Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects of Research.Google Scholar
Economic and Social Research Council (n.d.) Internet-Mediated Research. www.ukri.org/councils/esrc/guidance-for-applicants/research-ethics-guidance/internet-mediated-research/.Google Scholar
Farooq, M. B. and De Villiers, C. D. (2017) Telephonic Qualitative Research Interviews: When to Consider Them and How to Do Them. Meditari Accountancy Research, 25(2), 291–316.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gavin, J. and Rodham, K. (2017) Ethical Research in the Digital Age. Psychology Review, 23(1), 2–5.Google Scholar
Gavin, J. and Rodham, K. (2020) Ethics of Online Research with Human Participants. In Hayre, C. and Hackett, P. (Eds.), Handbook in Ethnographic Research in Health and Well-Being. London: Routledge, pp. 23–32.Google Scholar
Goodyear, V. and Bundon, A. (2021) Contemporary Digital Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health: Introduction. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 13(1), 1–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gray, L. M., Wong-Wylie, G., Rempel, G. R., and Cook, K. (2020) Expanding Qualitative Research Interviewing Strategies: Zoom Video Communications. The Qualitative Report, 25(5), 1292–301.Google Scholar
Hou, Z., Tong, Y., Du, F., et al. (2021) Assessing COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy, Confidence, and Public Engagement: A Global Social Listening Study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 23(6), e27632.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Howlett, M. (2021) Looking at the ‘Field’ through a Zoom Lens: Methodological Reflections on Conducting Online Research During a Global Pandemic. Qualitative Research, 22(3), 387–402. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468794120985691.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Irvine, A. (2011) Duration, Dominance and Depth in Telephone and Face-to-Face Interviews: A Comparative Exploration. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 10(3), 202–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keim-Malpass, J., Albrecht, T. A., Steeves, R. H., and Danhauer, S. C. (2013) Young Women’s Experiences with Complementary Therapies during Cancer Described through Illness Blogs. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 35(10), 1309–324.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kosinski, M., Matz, S. C., Gosling, S. D., Popov, V., and Stillwell, D. (2015) Facebook as a Research Tool for the Social Sciences: Opportunities, Challenges, Ethical Considerations, and Practical Guidelines. American Psychologist, 70(6), 543–56.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lachmar, E. M., Wittenborn, A. K., Bogen, K. W., and McCauley, H. L. (2017) #MyDepressionLooksLike: Examining Public Discourse about Depression on Twitter. JMIR Mental Health, 4(4), e43.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lange, P. G. (2008) Publicly Private and Privately Public: Social Networking on YouTube. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), 361–80.Google Scholar
Lobe, B., Morgan, D., and Hoffman, K. A. (2021) Qualitative Data Collection in an Era of Social Distancing. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 19, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406920937875.Google Scholar
McHugh, M. C., Saperstein, S. L., and Gold, R. S. (2019) OMG U# Cyberbully! An Exploration of Public Discourse about Cyberbullying on Twitter. Health Education and Behavior, 46(1), 97–105.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Murphy, K. (2020) Why Zoom is Terrible. New York Times.Google Scholar
Nandi, A. and Platt, L. (2017) Are There Differences in Responses to Social Identity Questions in Face-to-Face versus Telephone Interviews? Results of an Experiment on a Longitudinal Survey. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 20(2), 151–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nind, M., Meckin, R., and Coverdale, A. (2020) Changing Research Practices: Undertaking Social Research in the Context of Covid-19. Southampton: National Centre for Research Methods.Google Scholar
Novick, G. (2008) Is there a Bias against Telephone Interviews in Qualitative Research? Research in Nursing and Health, 31, 391–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rahman, S. A., Tuckerman, L., Vorley, T., and Gherhes, C. (2021) Resilient Research in the Field: Insights and Lessons from Adapting Qualitative Research Projects during the Covid-19 Pandemic. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 20, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069211016106.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roberts, L. (2015) Ethical Issues in Conducting Qualitative Research in Online Communities. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 12(3), 314–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seely, H. (2003) Pieces of Intelligence: The Existential Poetry of Donald H. Rumsfeld. Slate. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2003/04/the-poetry-of-donald-rumsfeld.html.Google Scholar
Sturges, J. E. and Hanrahan, K. J. (2004) Comparing Telephone and Face-to-Face Qualitative Interviewing: A Research Note. Qualitative Research, 4(1), 107–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Talbot, C., Gavin, J., van Steen, T., and Morey, Y. (2017) A Content Analysis of Thinspiration, Fitspiration and Bonespiration on Social Media. Journal of Eating Disorders, 5, 40. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-017-0170-2.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tankovzka, H. (2021) US Social Media User Account Privacy 2018. Statista.Google Scholar
UK Data Service (n.d.) Research Data Management.Google Scholar
Williams, N. (2019) This Is Happiness. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×