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Overview
Emotions and ethics in qualitative research
Increasing interest in ‘Big Data’
The use of big online sources for qualitative research
Methods: case studies, data collection, analysis
Issues Ethics
Emotions
Quality
Conclusions
Emotion and ethics in research
Emotion and ethical issues impact on research quality
Both considered at length in participant present research Amanda Coffey: the Ethnographic Self
Beginning to be considered in participant absent research Jonathan Scourfield – documentary analysis of suicide case files
Need to apply these lessons to online research
“Big Data”
Definition Not yet a single definition
Lots of data
Online ?
Unable to analyse without use of computers
Use: health research Google searches to track ‘flu and ebola
Twitter – understanding tobacco/ e-cig company activity
Increasing interest COSMOS - http://www.cs.cf.ac.uk/cosmos/
ESRC
Big Data and Society journal (Sage)
Using Big Data qualitatively
Facebook – understanding the use of Facebook breastmilk banks
Twitter – analysis of advice provided by quit smoking accounts
Urban dictionary – discourse analysis of entries including ‘chav mum’
Comments from online news articles – response to murder in USA
Not clear where principles of documentary analysis should end and qualitative big data should begin
Focus for today: breastfeeding in public and waterpipe smoking
Data selection, collection and analysis
Breastfeeding: Case of Wioletta
Social media
Newspaper comments
Mail Online
BBC
Guardian
Waterpipe smoking
Tweets from a one week period relating to 8 #
Analysis Semiotic
Thematic
Discourse (Mail Online comments only)
Issues: ethics
Should we ask for permission to collect this data?
How should we use the data?
What about identifiable data (user names, photographs)
What about illegal activity Communications Act 2003
UK Press Complaints commission
BSA principles
Issues: emotions
Analysis of Twitter relatively unproblematic Shisha – uncontentious
Breastfeeding – many uncontentious posts Minority of posts with offensive views
Mail online comments Incredibly offensive comments were quite normal
Sexist language
Suggestion of sexual violence against breastfeeding women
Coffey – Reflexivity essential Should not aim for a ‘neutral’ stance
Is there any real risk to the researcher?
Regular debriefing Colleagues
Field notes
Regular breaks
Issues: quality
What is good participant absent online qualitative research?
Appropriateness of data to answer your research question
Understand limitations of data source, data collection tool
Analysis:
Conforms to ethical principles (eg: BSA)…
But researcher also needs to feel ethically comfortable
The conservative course may be the most suitable
Need for reflexivity
Should not pretend that we are being neutral in analysis – especially eg: discourse analysis
Conclusion
Research using “Big Data” is likely to remain popular for sometime
Useful for government, but also can be used for sociology
Essential to consider appropriateness of research design
Ethics and emotions should not be ignored… but many other issues are also relevant, and further debate is required
