{"id":43161,"date":"2018-04-04T15:21:52","date_gmt":"2018-04-04T22:21:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/world.edu\/?p=43161"},"modified":"2018-04-04T15:21:52","modified_gmt":"2018-04-04T22:21:52","slug":"facebook-data-why-ethical-reviews-matter-in-academic-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/facebook-data-why-ethical-reviews-matter-in-academic-research\/","title":{"rendered":"Facebook data: why ethical reviews matter in academic research"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nWhen the Facebook data of 50m users was collected by Cambridge academic Aleksandr Kogan, his actions reportedly came to\u00a0the attention of colleagues<\/a>\u00a0who regarded his subsequent use of the data as unethical. The university revealed that Kogan\u00a0had unsuccessfully applied<\/a>\u00a0for ethics approval in 2015 to use data collected on behalf of GSR, a commercial enterprise he set up, for use in his academic research. He was reapplying for approval when Facebook requested that the data he had gathered be deleted. These applications are currently the focus of a\u00a0freedom of information request<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Responses to the Cambridge Analytica controversy have suggested that the rights of Facebook users would have been protected if the research had indeed been carried out under\u00a0the jurisdiction of a university regulatory regime<\/a>. Sanctioned university research has also been contrasted with what one of Kogan\u2019s academic colleagues\u00a0reportedly called<\/a>\u00a0a \u201c\u2018get rich quick\u2019 scheme\u201d in an internal email. The implication is that the oversight of research ethics is a key part of what makes the work of academics different from that produced commercially \u2013 a civilising of research practice that other professions may not always live up to.<\/p>\n

Yet it is notable that ethical review is not often regarded so favourably within universities. The growing bureaucratisation and regulation of research ethics within UK higher education institutions is seen by many as an unwelcome development. The requirement to obtain ethics approval is often regarded as a threat to academic autonomy and even as something sinister (\u201cethics creep<\/a>\u201d).<\/p>\n

The ethical review process is seen as demanding because it requires researchers to submit details of their projects for scrutiny before recruiting participants or collecting data. In the case of projects that present minimal risk of harm, this may be a \u201clight touch\u201d review involving one or two peer reviewers. Or it might involve more intensive levels of scrutiny by a full research ethics committee. It is underpinned by a concern with the protection of \u201chuman subjects\u201d (a term that reflects the historical influence of medical research \u2013 with its experimental subjects \u2013 on the ethics review process).<\/p>\n

Critical voices<\/strong><\/h4>\n

In\u00a0one of the strongest academic attacks<\/a>\u00a0on the ethical regulation of social research, Robert Dingwall described this growing intrusion as censorship, an assault on democracy and an extension of a growing surveillance society. Documenting the \u201cperverse consequences\u201d of the actions of Institutional Review Boards in the US and ethics committees in the UK, Dingwall showed how these review boards have sometimes threatened research by demanding requirements that are impossible to satisfy \u2013 where illiterate research participants, for example, are required to read and sign informed consent forms.<\/p>\n

Hostility towards the ethics review process has perhaps been exacerbated by the pressures that academics now face to meet the potentially toxic demands of the neoliberal \u201caccelerated academy<\/a>\u201d \u2013 to publish or perish, engage in consultancy activity, obtain impact and bring in research funding. Tight deadlines and increasing pressures mean that regulatory requirements can become barriers, rather than opportunities to reflect on practice. As I have experienced firsthand as chair of an ethics committee, within this competitive environment those involved in ethical review can face intense pressure from colleagues to speed up the process.
\n

\"\"

Not always on the side of innovation. Shutterstock<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

The situation is not helped when institutional explanations of why ethical review is necessary emphasise insurance and liability issues, denial of responsibility for non-authorised research, and penalties for non-approval \u2013 rather than the protection of subjects and issues of harm and risk. This promotes the idea that research regulation is driven primarily by legal concerns. While this may be partly true, and these messages might also have practical value, such explanations largely characterise ethical review in negative terms.<\/p>\n

Missing opportunity<\/strong><\/h4>\n

It is of course sensible to maintain scepticism in the face of bureaucratic developments that may be over cautious and which can block innovation. What is being missed here, however, is the idea that the ethics review process can itself be a useful experience. The\u00a0Research Ethics Guidebook<\/a>, for instance, suggests applicants can use it as \u201ca mechanism for discussing ethics within your team, or with your supervisor\u201d or \u201ca way of preparing \u2026 for fieldwork\u201d.<\/p>\n

In my experience, in the review of dissertation projects, the process is productive because it forces students to explain what may be vaguely defined plans in specific, concrete form. The very act of applying for ethics approval can also bring to the surface issues that might be lurking within research designs but may not have been recognised even by experienced scholars. There is therefore potential to reconsider how the review process is approached by educators and institutions. But such positive aspects have so far been neglected in many discussions.<\/p>\n

So, while it isn\u2019t very fashionable to make a case for the value of ethical review, I think this is exactly what we should be doing. To look beyond its regulatory intent and consider its potential value for both students and academics. At the very least, the review process provides a forced opportunity to pause and reflect and \u2013 even if we can\u2019t preempt all the ethical issues that might arise \u2013 to sensitise researchers and students to the potential risks and challenges of research. As we have seen in recent days with the cautionary tale that is unfolding before our eyes, this can be particularly important in the context of online research.<\/p>\n

Author Bio: <\/strong>Natasha Whiteman is a Lecturer in Media and Communication at the University of Leicester<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When the Facebook data of 50m users was collected by Cambridge academic Aleksandr Kogan, his actions reportedly came to\u00a0the attention of colleagues\u00a0who regarded his subsequent use of the data as unethical. The university revealed that Kogan\u00a0had unsuccessfully applied\u00a0for ethics approval in 2015 to use data collected on behalf of GSR, a commercial enterprise he set […]\n… learn more→<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":43162,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[311],"coauthors":[11733],"class_list":["post-43161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-higher-education","tag-research"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFacebook data: why ethical reviews matter in academic research - World leading higher education information and services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/facebook-data-why-ethical-reviews-matter-in-academic-research\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Facebook data: why ethical reviews matter in academic research - World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When the Facebook data of 50m users was collected by Cambridge academic Aleksandr Kogan, his actions reportedly came to\u00a0the attention of colleagues\u00a0who regarded his subsequent use of the data as unethical. The university revealed that Kogan\u00a0had unsuccessfully applied\u00a0for ethics approval in 2015 to use data collected on behalf of GSR, a commercial enterprise he set […]\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/facebook-data-why-ethical-reviews-matter-in-academic-research\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-04-04T22:21:52+00:00\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/ethics2.jpg\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"680\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"383\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kevin\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kevin\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/facebook-data-why-ethical-reviews-matter-in-academic-research\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/facebook-data-why-ethical-reviews-matter-in-academic-research\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kevin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee\"},\"headline\":\"Facebook data: why ethical reviews matter in academic research\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-04-04T22:21:52+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/facebook-data-why-ethical-reviews-matter-in-academic-research\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":924,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/facebook-data-why-ethical-reviews-matter-in-academic-research\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/04\\\/ethics2.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"research\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Higher Education\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/facebook-data-why-ethical-reviews-matter-in-academic-research\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/facebook-data-why-ethical-reviews-matter-in-academic-research\\\/\",\"name\":\"Facebook data: why ethical reviews matter in academic research - World leading higher education information and services\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/facebook-data-why-ethical-reviews-matter-in-academic-research\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/facebook-data-why-ethical-reviews-matter-in-academic-research\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/04\\\/ethics2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-04-04T22:21:52+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/facebook-data-why-ethical-reviews-matter-in-academic-research\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/facebook-data-why-ethical-reviews-matter-in-academic-research\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/facebook-data-why-ethical-reviews-matter-in-academic-research\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/04\\\/ethics2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/04\\\/ethics2.jpg\",\"width\":680,\"height\":383},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/facebook-data-why-ethical-reviews-matter-in-academic-research\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Facebook data: why ethical reviews matter in academic research\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/\",\"name\":\"World leading higher education information and services\",\"description\":\"Global Higher Education Jobs, University jobs, Lecturer & tenure jobs.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee\",\"name\":\"Kevin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g8ba4c352a279c450aa9435d770c1ebf4\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kevin\"},\"description\":\"Kevin is founder of the world.edu project. The past 28 years have been involved in publishing to the education sector in print and the internet. Kevin has a degree in Education and has a many years experience in developing companies and projects.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/author\\\/kevin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Facebook data: why ethical reviews matter in academic research - World leading higher education information and services","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/world.edu\/facebook-data-why-ethical-reviews-matter-in-academic-research\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Facebook data: why ethical reviews matter in academic research - World leading higher education information and services","og_description":"When the Facebook data of 50m users was collected by Cambridge academic Aleksandr Kogan, his actions reportedly came to\u00a0the attention of colleagues\u00a0who regarded his subsequent use of the data as unethical. The university revealed that Kogan\u00a0had unsuccessfully applied\u00a0for ethics approval in 2015 to use data collected on behalf of GSR, a commercial enterprise he set […]","og_url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/facebook-data-why-ethical-reviews-matter-in-academic-research\/","og_site_name":"World leading higher education information and services","article_published_time":"2018-04-04T22:21:52+00:00","og_image":[{"width":680,"height":383,"url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/ethics2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Kevin","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kevin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/facebook-data-why-ethical-reviews-matter-in-academic-research\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/facebook-data-why-ethical-reviews-matter-in-academic-research\/"},"author":{"name":"Kevin","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#\/schema\/person\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee"},"headline":"Facebook data: why ethical reviews matter in academic research","datePublished":"2018-04-04T22:21:52+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/facebook-data-why-ethical-reviews-matter-in-academic-research\/"},"wordCount":924,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/facebook-data-why-ethical-reviews-matter-in-academic-research\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/ethics2.jpg","keywords":["research"],"articleSection":["Higher Education"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/facebook-data-why-ethical-reviews-matter-in-academic-research\/","url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/facebook-data-why-ethical-reviews-matter-in-academic-research\/","name":"Facebook data: why ethical reviews matter in academic research - World leading higher education information and services","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/facebook-data-why-ethical-reviews-matter-in-academic-research\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/facebook-data-why-ethical-reviews-matter-in-academic-research\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/ethics2.jpg","datePublished":"2018-04-04T22:21:52+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#\/schema\/person\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/facebook-data-why-ethical-reviews-matter-in-academic-research\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/world.edu\/facebook-data-why-ethical-reviews-matter-in-academic-research\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/facebook-data-why-ethical-reviews-matter-in-academic-research\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/ethics2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/ethics2.jpg","width":680,"height":383},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/facebook-data-why-ethical-reviews-matter-in-academic-research\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/world.edu\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Facebook data: why ethical reviews matter in academic research"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#website","url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/","name":"World leading higher education information and services","description":"Global Higher Education Jobs, University jobs, Lecturer & tenure jobs.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#\/schema\/person\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee","name":"Kevin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g8ba4c352a279c450aa9435d770c1ebf4","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kevin"},"description":"Kevin is founder of the world.edu project. The past 28 years have been involved in publishing to the education sector in print and the internet. Kevin has a degree in Education and has a many years experience in developing companies and projects.","sameAs":["https:\/\/world.edu"],"url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/author\/kevin\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43161"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43161\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43161"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=43161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}