Ethical Guidelines 3.0 Association of Internet Researchers
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Internet Research: Ethical Guidelines 3.0 Association of Internet Researchers Unanimously approved by the AoIR membership October 6, 2019 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/. aline shakti franzke (University of Duisburg-Essen), Co-Chair Anja Bechmann (Aarhus University), Co-Chair, Michael Zimmer (Marquette University), Co-Chair, Charles M. Ess (University of Oslo), Co-Chair and Editor The AoIR IRE 3.0 Ethics Working Group, including: David J. Brake, Ane Kathrine Gammelby, Nele Heise, Anne Hove Henriksen, Soraj Hongladarom, Anna Jobin, Katharina Kinder-Kurlanda, Sun Sun Lim, Elisabetta Locatelli, Annette Markham, Paul J. Reilly, Katrin Tiidenberg and Carsten Wilhelm.1 Cite as: franzke, aline shakti, Bechmann, Anja, Zimmer, Michael, Ess, Charles and the Association of Internet Researchers (2020). Internet Research: Ethical Guidelines 3.0. https://aoir.org/reports/ethics3.pdf 1 A complete list of the EWG members is provided in Appendix 7.2. Contributions from AoIR members are acknowledged in footnotes. Additional acknowledgements follow 4. Concluding Comments. 0. Preview: Suggested Approaches for Diverse Readers ...................................................................... 2 1. Summary .................................................................................................................................. 3 2. Background and Introduction ...................................................................................................... 3 2.1 Primary Ethical Norms ............................................................................................................ 4 2.2 A Basic Ethical Approach ........................................................................................................ 4 2.3 Ethical Pluralism and Cross-Cultural Awareness .......................................................................... 5 2.3.1 A Range of Ethical Frameworks (Utilitarianism, Deontology, Feminist Ethics, etc.) ................................ 5 2.3.2 Conceptions of Selfhood .................................................................................................................................................. 6 2.3.3 Ethical Pluralism ................................................................................................................................................................ 6 2.3.4 Judgment Calls: Guidelines, Not Recipes .................................................................................................................. 6 2.3.5 Asking the Right Questions ............................................................................................................................................ 6 3. Internet Research Ethics 3.0 ........................................................................................................ 9 3.1 Initial Considerations .............................................................................................................. 9 3.1.1 Stages of Research ............................................................................................................................................................. 9 3.1.2 Informed Consent ............................................................................................................................................................. 10 3.1.3 Protecting the Researcher(s) ......................................................................................................................................... 11 3.1.4 Additional Topics ............................................................................................................................................................. 12 3.2 A General Structure for Ethical Analysis ................................................................................... 12 3.2.1 Related Guidelines. .......................................................................................................................................................... 12 3.2.2 Legal Aspects .................................................................................................................................................................... 14 3.2.3 Venues and Platforms ..................................................................................................................................................... 15 3.2.4 Cultural Dimensions ........................................................................................................................................................ 15 3.2.5 Involved Subjects ............................................................................................................................................................. 17 3.2.6 Conceptual Issues: Ethical Frameworks and Concepts ....................................................................................... 18 3.2.7 Assumptions, Questions, Issues, Procedures for Data Acquisition, Analysis, Storage, Dissemination ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 19 3.2.8 Algorithms and Learning Models ............................................................................................................................... 21 3.2.9 Other Concerns ................................................................................................................................................................. 22 4. Concluding Comments .............................................................................................................. 23 5. References ............................................................................................................................... 25 6. Companion Resources: Topical Guidelines & Ethical Frameworks ................................................ 32 6.1 Anja Bechmann & Bendert Zevenbergen: AI and Machine Learning: Internet Research Ethics Guidelines .............................................................................................................................................. 33 6.2 Elisabetta Locatelli: Academy/Industry partnership and corporate data: Ethical considerations .......... 50 6.3 aline shakti franzke: Feminist Research Ethics .......................................................................... 64 6.4 Annette Markham: An “Impact Model” for Ethical Assessment…………………………. .................. 76 7. Appendices .............................................................................................................................. 78 7.1 Keith Douglas: Operational Security: Central Considerations ..................................................... 78 7.2 Members of the AoIR Ethics Working Group 3.0 ....................................................................... 82 1 0. Preview: Suggested Approaches for Diverse Readers The AoIR guidelines 2019 (Internet Research Ethics 3.0) are a collaborative document that builds on the previous guidelines (IRE 1.0, 2002; IRE 2.0, 2012) and should be read in conjunction with those. IRE 3.0 is written especially for researchers, students, IRB members or technical developers who face ethical concerns during their research or are generally interested in Internet Research Ethics. As with the previous two AoIR documents, IRE 3.0 is premised on primary commitments to ethical pluralism and cross-cultural awareness, coupled with the experientially-grounded view that ethics starts by asking and answering critical questions rather than taking a more deductive, rule-oriented approach. In particular, long experience with both numerous real-world examples and critical reflection now shows us that each context and stage of research is different and provokes distinct questions. This Preview seeks to guide you through the most relevant issues by asking for your research phase and context. In doing so, the Preview provides an initial starting point and points towards further resources. As with the IRE 3.0 guidelines and affiliated materials, we hope to build upon and improve this Preview in the future. If you find anything unclear or missing, don't hesitate to get in touch. Notice that each and every point is open for debate and ethics is an ongoing process. If you are a student, you may find the 2002 guidelines (IRE 2.0) a good starting point of reflection. If you are looking for a draft to obtain informed consent, look into the appendix of the 2002 guidelines (IRE 1.0, https://aoir.org/reports/ethics.pdf; IRE 2.0, https://aoir.org/reports/ethics2.pdf). If you are a researcher, you might want to begin with the 2019 guidelines to see if the provided resources are a helpful starting point. If you are looking for ways to solve the issue of informed consent you might want to have a look into the appendices of the 2002 document. A catalogue of important questions to start with can be found in the 2012 guidelines. For additional information, especially that focuses on recent technological developments, you might find the 2019 document a useful. Especially political and institutional pressure on researcher has gained importance. If you are an IRB, Ethical Review Board, or member of a similar research ethics oversight board, we highly encourage you to take a look into the 3.0 guidelines. Notice