ABSTRACT
This chapter explores ethical considerations for treating online talk as data. Despite its prevalence and availability, authors of online talk do not necessarily expect their words to be treated as data. Professional organizations and ethics boards can help guide the decision-making process around whether and how to treat online talk as data. Ethical practices for working within researcher-influenced contexts of online talk are different from working with pre-existing ones. The rise of social media as sources of “big data” also pose an ethical dilemma. We provide considerations for thinking through how best to gain permission to treat online talk as a data source. Whatever procedures are followed, these should be clearly documented in the research report for transparency of ethical practices and as guidance for future researchers.
