Web Research Ethics: Confidentiality, Consent, Data Integrity & More

Katharina Kinder-Kurlanda, Michael Zimmer

Abstract: Researchers studying the web find themselves immersed in a domain where information flows freely but is also potentially bound by contextual norms and expectations, where platforms may oscillate between open and closed information flows, and where data may be user-generated, filtered, algorithmically-processed, or proprietary. When using the internet as a tool or a space of research web scientists are confronted with a continuously expanding set of ethical dilemmas. Participants of the tutorial will actively engage with concrete example cases of common, not so common, tricky, interesting and puzzling ethical dilemmas. Some in-depth ethical thinking and theory, as well as very practical and creative solutions, will be explored. Participants will also have the chance to bring their own questions or ethical dilemmas to the workshop (it will be possible to 'submit' cases in advance to be discussed in an ethics 'clinic') for discussion and help to find solutions.