The Ethics of Netnography.

Abstract

Ethnographic and phenomenological research is commonly used to understand the motivations behind, and consequences of, people’s participation in online spaces; and such qualitative methods are arguably essential to understanding the role that virtual spaces might play in areas of mental well-being, personal health and self-help. Such techniques clearly require consideration of the ethical dimension of research practices. This presentation examines the ethical guidelines for Internet-based studies published by the British Psychological Association and examples of their implementation in research projects, and suggests that such guidelines inappropriately apply models of public space to the web, and that their application often obscures an underlying misunderstanding of Internet practices. This presentation represents a key stage in the author's research into the use of online spaces by people who are bereaved, and is based on preliminary surveys prior to undertaking ethnographic and phenomenological research.