Understanding research ethics in the context of children and young peoples’ digital lives

Citation: Ní Bhroin, N. & Staksrud, E. (2022). Understanding research ethics in the context of children and young people’s digital lives. An annotated bibliography and guided reading list. CO:RE – Children Online: Research and Evidence.

Alderson, P. & Morrow, V. (2004). Ethics, social research and consulting with children and young people. London: Bernardos.

In this book Anderson and Morrow consider ethical issues that arise in social research and consulting with children and young people. They review how these issues arise throughout the research process, including from the planning stage, where research questions and methods are developed and chosen, through to the reporting and dissemination of findings.

Buchanan, E.A. (2011). Internet Research Ethics: Past, Present, Future, in C. Ess and M. Consalvo (eds.). The Handbook of Internet Studies, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, pp. 83–108. DOI: 10.1002/9781444314861.ch5

In this book chapter, Elisabeth Buchanan considers how research methods, ethics and technologies (including in particular the Internet and online technologies) meet. She uses the concept ‘research ethics 2.0’ to holistically consider and contextualise discussions of Internet research ethics in a larger framework and history of research ethics.

Bell, N. (2008). Ethics in child research: rights, reason and responsibilities. Children’s Biographies, 6, 7-20.

In this article, Nancy Bell explores the relationship between research ethics and children’s rights. She examines the historical origins of both concepts and analyses contemporary research ethical guidelines from a rights-based perspective. She finds that research ethical guidelines in the social sciences and humanities often lack direct reference to human rights principles such as those articulated in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Ess, C. M. (2013). Digital Media Ethics. Wiley.

In this book, Charles Ess considers central ethical issues relating to digital and online media. He draws on ethical theories and perspectives from multiple cultures to provide a global perspective on issues such as privacy, copyright, pornography, violence and cross-cultural online communication.

Fisher, C. B. (1994). Reporting and referring research participants: Ethical challenges for investigators studying children and youth. Ethics and Behavior, 4, 87-95.

In this article Celia Fisher addresses the complex issues of deciding if, when and how to report or provide referrals for research participants who are minors. She focuses on both the validity of risk estimates and meta-ethical positions on scientific responsibility as to factors that underlie these decisions.

Franzke, Aline Shakti, Bechmann, Anja, Zimmer, Michael, Ess, Charles and the Association of Internet Researchers (2020). Internet Research: Ethical Guidelines 3.0.

The Association of Internet Researchers has collaboratively developed a series of guidelines for researchers, students, Institutional Review Board Members and technical developers who deal with Internet Research Ethics. The guidelines are underpinned by a commitment to ethical pluralism and cross-cultural awareness as well as an experientially grounded view of research ethics. The guidelines underline how each context and stage of research is different thus provoking distinct questions and requirements for ethical consideration.

Markham, A. N., Tiidenberg, K., & Herman, A. (2018). Ethics as Methods: Doing Ethics in the Era of Big Data Research—Introduction . Social Media + Society. 

In this introduction to a special issue on Ethics as Methods: Doing Ethics in the Era of Big Data Research, Annette Markham, Katrin Tiindenberg and Andrew Herman outline how a variety of theoretical paradigms and frameworks can contribute to ongoing discussions about ethics in data-driven research. They question an emerging grand narrative about the ’truth’ of knowledge derived from data analytics that are grounded in an understanding of the objective qualities of data based on means of collection, analysis and the sheer size of big datasets. They argue that a byproduct of this narrative is that qualitative aspects of behaviour and experience that form data are diminished and that humans are removed from the process of analysis.

Merton, R.K. (1979). The Sociology of Science: Theoretical and Empirical Investigations. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

In this book, Robert Merton explores the social conditions and ethical principles that facilitate the development of scientific knowledge. He further develops four sets of institutional imperatives that influence ethical values and norms, which he argues comprise the ethos of modern science. These include communism, universalism, disinterestedness and organised scepticism. 

NESH. (2022). Guidelines for Research Ethics in the Social Sciences and the Humanities. Oslo: The Norwegian National Research Ethics Committees.

The Norwegian National Research Ethics Committees published an updated series of research ethical guidelines for researchers in the social sciences and the humanities in 2022. These guidelines aim to support researchers in understanding the fundamental norms of research ethics. They also highlight the distinction between ethics and legislation with particular regard to the investigation of scientific misconduct and dealing with personal data.

Vallor, S. (2016). Technology and the Virtues: A Philosophical Guide to a Future Worth Wanting. Oxford. Oxford University Press. ISBN: 9780190498511

Considering how emerging technologies are reshaping our lives, Shannon Vallor draws on a virtue ethics framework to outline a practical approach to developing technomoral virtues in order to support human beings to learn to live wisely and make good choices in the context of new media and technology use.

All of the resources referenced in our reading lists are also included in our Zotero library.