Challenges & Considerations
11 April 2014
Kelsey Beninger, NatCen Social Research
@KBeninger #NSMNSS

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 Intro to context and recent research
 Explore challenges
 Suggestions for putting into practice
 Discussion

 Social Media provides new opportunities
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 Recent studies:
 NatCen: www.natcen.ac.uk/ourresearch/research/research-usingsocial-media-users-views/
 NSMNSS: nsmnss.blogspot.co.uk

Recruitment & data collection
Researcher identity & wellbeing
Analysis & presentation of data

Recruitment
 Participant’s views: scepticism, acceptance and ambiguity.
 Digital identities
 Digital risks for participants
 Exclusion of particular groups
Informed consent
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Morally and legally required
Promote trust
Verify user views haven’t changed
To publish photos or imagery
Data Collection
 Ownership and expectations

 Your digital identity
 Impact on research outcomes
 Managing communication w participants
 Credibility and transparency

Analysis
 Third Party Software
 How much is too much?
 Validity and representativeness
 People behave differently online and offline
 Exaggerated views
 Impulsive comments
 Inaccurate profiles
Presentation
 Traceability of participant data
 short & long term implications for participants

 Is SM the right methodology for your research Q?
 Don’t make assumptions
 Review case studies and existing research
Recruitment:
• transparency in materials
• Explicit about privacy terms of the platform used
Collecting/generating data:
• Considering implications of legally permitted vs. intellectual property
• Acknowledge limits of accessing different user types
Reporting results:
• Test traceability of data, and paraphrase or remove handle
• Reasonably seek consent for use of verbatim/sensitive content

Report on User’ Views: http://www.natcen.ac.uk/ourresearch/research/research-using-socialmedia-users-views/
Report on Researcher Views https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1gmLw9jo6fLTQ5X0oyeE1aRjQ/edit
@nsmnss
#nsmnss

• Association of Internet Researchers (AOIR),
• British Educational Research
Association (BERA),
• British Psychological Society (BPS),
• CASRO ,
• European Society for Opinion and Marketing
Research (ESOMAR),
• Market Research Society (MRS), and
• Market Research Association (MRA)