ABSTRACT
The complexity of the ethical considerations that shape a research project is also influenced by the variety in national and institutional practices and guidelines. As the latest set of guidelines from the Association of Internet Researchers suggest, there is no single set of recommendations for ethical research that can be prescribed universally to cover each and every research project. The governmental regulations, institutional ethics codes and protocols, and subject-specific guidelines for good practice should all be consulted in the ethical decision-making during the planning, conduct, and dissemination of research about the language of social media. Ethical decision-making in research design must take into account the legal obligations regarding the access to, storage, and dissemination of data, including the terms and conditions, which govern the membership and interactions for specific social media sites. However, ethical decision-making also goes beyond this and remains based on the need to respect human dignity. Researching the language of social media needs to take account of a number of complex issues which relate to the distinction between the public and private, the responsibility for confidentiality and anonymity, responsibility for informed consent, and the sharing of data.
