There are four key considerations to think about when conducting research online:

• Venues and Platforms: User requirements under the Terms of Service of online platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, Diaspora, Pinterest, Snapchat,
• Cultural Dimensions: Internet-facilitated communication will almost always cross multiple cultural boundaries, thereby implicating multiple local cultural norms, practices, beliefs, etc., both in terms of local uses, approaches, etc. and local research ethics.
• Involved subjects: ‘Vulnerable groups’ – women, minors people with disabilities, refugees; assessing downstream harms or effects; politically sensitive research; special emotional states such as trauma and grief; LGBTQi stigmatisation etc. In online research it is more difficult to assess the risk of participants coming to harm because fewer studies have been conducted from which researchers can learn, and it is harder to judge individuals’ reactions to the research.
• Ethical Conceptual Frameworks: Frameworks which address foundational ethical norms and commitments such as: privacy, anonymity, trust, accountability, responsibility, freedom.

In addition to the requirements set by Research Ethics Committees and professional bodies, there are also laws regarding privacy and data protection that govern research in different countries. In Internet research, however, the institutional and legal context may be uncertain because research participants may be online in any geographical context. The global reach of the Internet may entail that researchers take heed of contexts which go beyond their own jurisdictions.

It is necessary to think ‘globally’, or ‘glocally’ – local and global – as it is increasingly described, because values such as privacy may be culturally specific and what is considered an appropriate balance between privacy and anonymity. Some common considerations are:

• How are data being managed, stored, and represented?
• What method is being used to secure and manage potentially sensitive data?
• What unanticipated breaches might occur during or after the collection and storage of data or the production of reports? (For example, if an audience member recorded and posted sensitive material presented during an in-house research presentation, what harms might result?)
• If the researcher is required to deposit research data into a repository for future use by other researchers (or wishes to do so), what potential risks might arise? What steps should be taken to ensure adequate anonymity of data or to unlink this data from individuals?
• What are the potential ethical consequences of stripping data of personally identifiable information?
• How might the removal of selected information from a dataset distort it such that it no longer represents what it was intended to represent?
• If future technologies (such as automated textual analysis or facial recognition software) make it impossible to strip personally identifiable information from data sets in repositories, what potential risks might arise for individuals? Can this be addressed by the original researcher? If so, how? How will this impact subsequent researchers and their data management? (p.19, at: https://aoir.org/reports/ethics3.pdf)

SREC therefore encourages caution for all use of remote data collection: where you ask your participant to communicate using an online/ digital/ technology mediated platform or tools, there are additional elements to consider. Think carefully about what you can do to meet the principles of transparency and privacy in your choice of platform:

• What is the approach of that platform/ third party to privacy and protections? Discuss these with your supervisor/ team and be sure to fully inform yourself. Where you require a participant to engage with a platform, it should be named and risks identified;
• One approach would be to (a) explicitly signal that as a researcher you are the ‘data controller’ and as such will endeavour to treat the data they provide for the project in the manner outlined within the information sheet, but that they should be aware that this does not extend to what data is collected by that platform as the ‘data processor’; (b) include a link to the privacy policy of the platform if you have chosen one specifically, and/or offering to be flexible to platforms which participants have chosen to provide permissions to in the past.

Look here for more wide-ranging resources and publications about online research and ethics.

There is an excellent collection of resources on methods of online research, particularly useful during the pandemic

A range of options and opinions are available under the following Ethical Guidelines:

• BERA;
• The Canadian Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans;
• The [Norwegian] National Committee for Research Ethics in the Social Sciences and the Humanities;
• Internet Research: Ethical Guidelines Association of Internet Researchers. etc. (see link above);
• European Commission: Ethics in Social Sciences and Humanities 2018

Are all participants aware of their obligations under the appropriate policies (see Data protection policy, Data Security Policy and Policy on Recording of Educational Materials); this will ensure that anyone involved is aware of what they can and cannot do during the event.

• When conducting academic research through MS Teams, it will be important to include in your ‘Informed Consent’ and Participant Information Sheet details of what any restrictions may be. We have summarised some of these below:
• Recording of the session via MS Teams or any other software or device is not allowed.
• Capturing images of participants is forbidden.
• That the participants understand that names will be visible to all other users (use pseudonyms where possible).
• Participants must not document or share information outside the session.
• Researchers should complete a data protection impact assessment (DPIA) that will address the risks and mitigations required to ensure the research is conducted in compliance with data protection legislation.
• When providing training or educational activities through MS Teams, please consider the following prior to commencement.
• Ensure that all participants are aware of and understand the policies which govern the use of MS Teams and materials shared.
• Make participants aware that recordings are prohibited unless otherwise specified by the host.
• All materials and any recordings are the property of Queen’s University Belfast and/or the host.
• If you are discussing sensitive subject matter, ensure that all participants are aware that if they provide details about themselves which could be deemed sensitive personal data this has now been provided in a public forum and may be exempt of some of the protections of afforded under data protection legislation.
• Where you are sharing files with personal data, please consider if MS Teams or Canvas are appropriate mediums and whether additional protections can be applied, such as password protection.

It is also important to consider what you have recorded during the session, including any Chat Box discussions, conversations or other. This could potentially hold personal/sensitive data and should be reviewed and stored or deleted in line with your agreed retention and deletion timeframes.

Please ensure that if you are recording the session or if you have taken notes or similar, which contain personal data, this must be stored as appropriate on secure, encrypted QUB devices.

It is important to remember that any files and other material that are made available to participants via MS Teams will then be their responsibility to comply with the DPA 2018, where those files or other materials contain identifiable personal data. Files can be safely and easily shared via MS Teams, as this platform supports end-to-end encryption and is considered a secure transfer.

If you wish to enquire as to who has attended, what they have viewed and whether or not anyone has recorded the sessions without permission, you may contact IS and request ticket support to view the session’s statistics. Helen Browne has agreed to assist with these issues or queries and has asked that formal tickets are raised to ensure that they are addressed in her absence.

For any further support or guidance in relation to the data privacy implications of using MS Teams in an educational or research setting, please contact Information Compliance – info.compliance@qub.ac.uk