Chapter 8: Ethical Practice in Qualitative Research Involving User-generated Online Content: Questions, Challenges, and Opportunities

Massive amounts of user-generated content (UGC) are posted online daily across the globe on social media sites, Internet discussion forums, blogs, and more. This content is a valuable source of data for qualitative researchers seeking to conduct detailed analyses of how individuals describe their experiences and perceptions, how they present themselves online, and how they interact with others in online spaces. However, working with UGC presents ethical challenges. These particularly relate to questions regarding whether online content should be treated as public or private, whether the informed consent of users is necessary, and what anonymity and privacy look like in the online landscape. This can leave researchers uncertain over the correct course of action to take. This chapter provides an overview of the ethical challenges faced when working with UGC and describes different ways researchers in this area have attempted to address them as well as highlighting elements of current guidance. The aim is to help researchers, particularly those new to working with UGC, prepare to deal with these issues in their own work. The overview shows that there are no fixed procedures for ethical practice with UGC and instead decisions are often made flexibly, dependent on context. I argue that a useful way forward in this space is dialogue between researchers and ethics committees/advisors. Dialogue can recognise the challenges researchers face, acknowledge the importance of context for ethical decision-making plus likely future changes in the UGC landscape, and promote deeper discussion on fundamental issues regarding research ethics.