It is good to know that guidance on how we should act ethically when researching is constantly under review, given the changes in society and the new challenges this places on researchers. Challenges such as an increasing diversity of online sites which are spaces social science researchers want to enter or observe to answer questions of interest, such as: how do people behave when they interact yet don’t meet face-to-face? what use is social media to those who interact on it? how do online identities develop and how do they relate to people’s offline lives? what threats do interacting online pose to people? There are questions raised by our increasingly digitalised worlds as to who owns our data, who gives permission for this data to be shared and whether we are aware of what data is ‘out there’ in the public domain. This data, often available at scale – the so-called ‘big data ‘ both offers opportunities for researchers and challenges for them to ensure they are treating the authors of the data ethically. One of the dilemmas this opens up is whether to anonymise data (which authors have already chosen to make public) or whether to credit them with their name (to respect their intellectual property rights)?

The British Educational Research Association (BERA) ethical guidelines for educational research from 2011 are currently under review. This is being carried out through a consultation of those with expertise borne from their experience of enquiry into ethical issues and application of ethical frameworks, followed by survey of all BERA members. This is designed to check the current guidance as being ‘fit for purpose’ for the modern world and its challenges. A launch of the amended ethical guidance is scheduled for the annual conference in September 2017, this year in the University of Sussex, Brighton.

More broadly, the UK Information Commission are also reviewing their strategies for international data regulation and policies for data regulation in the UK, including the appropriateness and relevance of acts such as Data Protection and Freedom of Information, to take account of current and arising global issues. The Information Commission Office say:

“our focus at this stage will remain on establishing what our priorities should be, rather than rushing to produce guidance. That means plenty more listening to what people are concerned about, and where they’d like to see us ultimately focus our efforts around guidance” (source).

Specifically in terms of online research there is an international Association of Internet Research (AoIR), which produces ethical guidance for researchers, and covers many of the knotty issues outlined above. The latest version of this guidance was produced in 2012 and links to a wide range of studies to support the advice offered. There is a working committee keeping abreast of issues and new research coming through.

If you are in a professional association and/or your research needs to align with particular legislation or ethical guidance, it would be worthwhile checking and logging into any alerts, about reviews underway.

#FLresearchethics

#researchethics