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Ethics and Research: Role of Social Media - Your Thoughts?

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Ethics and Research: Role of Social Media - Your Thoughts?

Hi,

The CI site has a number of summaries - both theoretical and practical - that explore the ways in which ethics come into play in a research context when it comes to communication. To cite only one:

Case Study: An Ethics Case Study of HIV Prevention Research on Facebook: The Just/Us Study
http://www.comminit.com/global/content/case-study-ethics-case-study-hiv-prevention-research-facebook-justus-study

This research examines the use of internet-based social media use in research and the research requirement of informed consent. "In this article, we will describe an ethics case study of using Facebook to deliver a sexual education program to youth and young adults, with a focus on those issues... which include a description of potential ethical risks related to beneficence, information and comprehension, equity and special populations, and confidentiality and security."

It would be great to start a conversation here in this forum about how you have addressed ethical challenges when conducting research that involves social media.

Perhaps you could also contribute here good resources you have found on the topic. One of those summarised on The CI site [not specific to social media but still relevant, as video often ends up finding its way to social media] is:
Conducting Safe, Effective and Ethical Interviews with Survivors of Sexual and Gender-based Violence
http://www.comminit.com/global/content/conducting-safe-effective-and-ethical-interviews-survivors-sexual-and-gender-based-viole

Please share your thoughts!

Thanks,
Kier

Ethical Issues in Communication for Development
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