Social media approaches to health research: an empirical analysis of decision-making within the ethical landscape

At present no overarching international picture exists of ethical guidance practices for health-based university research incorporating social media approaches (HRSM). While some institutions have produced general ethical guidance for internet-based research, little direct research exists on how, or even if, different disciplines and scholars should navigate this guidance, or how ethical decisions are managed if no guidance is available. 

This project will explore the international ethical guidance landscape of HRSM and provide a detailed comparative analysis of research ethics committees’ and scholars’ views about the ethics of HRSM across different disciplines, research approaches, experience levels of using HRSM and institutional ethical guidelines.