When working with people it is important to take into consideration the ethics of the situation.
Ethics are the moral values of human conduct, and the principles that should govern it (Field 1932). This section explores the ethical dimensions of the research and the processes in place to ensure fairness, equity and high standard of care taken within the research context.
The application for ethics approval is appropriate when the research is with or about people (or their data or issue) and must be achieved before data generation commences. The first step in
applying for ethics approval is to identify the level of risk associated with the project. There are three categories: negligible risk projects, low risk and more than low risk. By completing a checklist it was determined that this study was low risk, as participants will not be exposed to physical, psychological and social risk greater than the everyday norm; but there may be an element of slight risk to participants because personal information was to be recorded. The application included developing Participant information and consent forms.
Ethics approval was received from the Chair of the Business College Human Ethics Advisory network at RMIT University on 20 December 2010. The research was deemed ‘low risk’.
Participants were given a Project Information Statement and a consent form via email prior to the interview and a hard copy at the time of the interview. The statement set out the guidelines for the study and gave individuals the following rights:
• the right to withdraw their participation at any time, without prejudice.
• the right to have any unprocessed data withdrawn and destroyed, provided it can be reliably identified, and provided that so doing does not increase the risk for the participant.
• the right to have any questions answered at any time.
• the right to request that audio recording be terminated at any stage during the interview.
Time was given to read through the statement and then the participants completed the consent form. The form was witnessed and then filed.
The anonymity of the participants has been preserved throughout the study by assigning aliases. No personal information or individual specific information will be reported in the publications which can identify any participants.
Fincher (2008) identifies a number of areas where discrimination can occur in the research design process. There was no discrimination against any individual or group of people and issues such as the use of discriminatory language, gender, or race that had potential to be an area of contention were acknowledged by the researcher and monitored as the research process evolved. No issues of discrimination occurred.
The researcher ensured that the confidentiality and cultural understanding was valued during the study by respecting differences, not making preconceived judgments about an entire group of people and communicating to participants that all information was to be given freely and without pressure. Confronting and sensitive questions about the cultural influences on the use of Social Media are out of scope of this research.
While the misuse of the results of this research is not foreseen at the publication of this dissertation, according to Fincher (2008) there is always potential for the results to be put to use by others with agendas quite different from those of the original researcher. In this instance it was intended that the research would be useful in understanding how individuals use Social Media to form Digital Identity and the role that membership of a group had on this process. Any nefarious use was not the intent of this study.
There was no power relationship between the researcher and the participants. All individuals participated voluntarily and could opt out at any time.
The participants were informed via the Information Project Statement that the results of the research would be published as part of a PhD and that it could also appear in book chapters, journals and conference papers. At all times the anonymity of the individuals would be kept and any identifying information would be replaced.
The participants were advised that there were no perceived risks outside their normal day-to-day activities. They were also advised that if they were unduly concerned about their responses to any of the questions or if they found participation in the project distressing, that they should contact the Executive Officer, RMIT Human Research Ethics Committee, Research & Innovation.
The information regarding the anonymous nature of the research and their right to cease participation at any time was also reiterated during the sessions and in the documentation given to individuals.
All hard data will be kept in a locked cabinet and soft data in a password protected computer in the office of the principal investigator Ms Claire Davison, School of Business IT and Logistics at RMIT University. Data will be saved on the University Network System where practicable as the system provides a high level of manageable security and data integrity, can provide secure
remote access, and is backed up on a regular basis. All electronic data will be stored in secure folders (eg. Password protected or hidden folders with a selected user group). Only the Investigator will have access to the data.