Concerns over social media data use in research
“Researchers may be using information that has been willingly shared in the public domain but this doesn’t give them carte blanche to do as they please."
Information shared on social media is being regularly used in research without the users’ consent, according to a new study that calls for better UK guidance.
Social media data is increasingly being used to gain an insight into human behaviours, feelings and opinions. However, researchers from the University of Edinburgh say ethics frameworks for these studies are not keeping pace with technological advances.
The team analysed 156 published health studies involving social media data. They found less than a third reported ethical consideration on the use of personal information. And only two of the nine studies by UK institutions referred to the Research Councils UK (RCUK) recommended guidelines.
Only four out of 13 sets of ethics guidelines developed or endorsed by the RCUK, mention the use of social media data in research.
“Our study highlights a significant gap in UK guidance on mining social media data for research purposes,” said Dr Claudia Pagliari, of the University of Edinburgh’s Usher Institute.
“Ethics is about more than privacy in this context,” she continued. “Researchers may be using information that has been willingly shared in the public domain but this doesn’t give them carte blanche to do as they please. Asking permission to use people’s social media postings is courteous, although this may be impossible in very large studies. Treating personal information with confidentiality and respect, and avoiding its misuse for unethical purposes, are essential.”
Dr Pagliari believes funding bodies, learned societies, research organisations and journals also have a part to play in ensuring high ethical standards in such studies. Good interdisciplinary guidelines and clear expectations of how they should be applied, will help to improve practices, she added.
The findings are published in the journal Research Ethics.
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