What are digital research ethics?
Speaker(s):
Bio: Kate Orton-Johnson is a digital sociologist. She is a senior lecturer at the University of Edinburgh and is Director of Education at the University of Edinburgh Futures Institute. She is co-convenor of the BSA Digital Sociology study group and a co-investigator at NCRM. She researches and publishes on intersections between technology, culture and everyday life, currently related to issues around digital leisure, digitally mediated parenthood and trust in blockchain technologies.
Abstract:
While ethical issues are faced by all social researchers the ethical issues posed by some digital platforms, digital spaces and mediated interactions can raise distinct ethical challenges (and opportunities).
This session will consider what it means to ethically collect data and to work with potentially sensitive data when using digital research tools and when researching digital spaces and objects. It will introduce researchers to principles underpinning ethical practice in digital contexts and will explore the complexities of managing issues of informed consent, anonymity and confidentiality in and through digitally mediated environments.