Hi Bruce, Unless you have permission to use an image, it’s considered best practice to protect the identity of the people who have produced the social media content you’re analyzing. You can either clip the image or blur it for your presentation. See this post<https://www.howtogeek.com/437476/how-to-blur-an-image-in-powerpoint/#:~:text=First%2C%20open%20PowerPoint%20and%20navigate,appears%2C%20click%20the%20Blur%20option.> for info on how to blur an image. Best wishes, Lynn Lynn Schofield Clark, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) Professor, Chair & Director, Estlow Center for Journalism & New Media Department of Media, Film & Journalism Studies University of Denver And President, international Association of Internet Researchers<http://aoir.org/> LynnSchofieldClark.com In the spirit of healing, I acknowledge and honor the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, and all of the original Indigenous peoples of the land upon which University of Denver stands. [cid:image001.jpg@01D737AD.CBD17250] From: "Phillips, Bruce" <bphillips@huc.edu> Date: Thursday, April 22, 2021 at 6:26 PM To: "citams@list.citams.org" <citams@list.citams.org> Subject: [EXTERNAL] [CITAMS]Do I need to make public posts on social media anonymous [External Email From]: citams-bounces+lynn.clark=du.edu@list.citams.org I am doing content analysis of posts on FB and Twitter that I will be using for a "works in progress" presentation next week. I have several screen shots of the posts in which the identity of the person is visible. It's easier for me not to take out the identity, but would it be ethical to leave the identities in? Twitter posts in particular are frequently quoted in news articles, so it seems to me that there really can't be any reasonable expectation of privacy with them. I want to be an ethical researcher here, but I also don't want to spend time making the ppt slides anonymous if I don't have to. Any ethical and/or legal guidance is much appreciated. thanks! bruce Bruce A. Phillips Professor of Sociology & Jewish Communal Service, Hebrew Union College HUC Louchheim School of Judaic Studies at the University of Southern California University Research Fellow, USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture Affiliated Faculty, USC Middle East Studies Program Hebrew Union College 3077 University Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90007 213-765-2151

All, I understand Lynn's point, but also think there is some room for interpretation. Coming from an IRB perspective, one could consider a public Twitter post to be publicly available data and then it might not be necessary to take extra steps to protect the identity of the subject. But, (and this is after serving on a University IRB for six years) I view the IRB guidelines in a certain light. To me the IRB's mission is to assure compliance with federal regulations regarding the protection of human subjects. Beyond this, each researcher needs to consider their own professional ethics. In my case, I think of the underlying principle of "do no harm," so the judgement is very situational. If the topic is sensitive and could have a negative impact on the Tweeter, then I would conceal the identify. On the other hand, if there is not such an impact and/or the identity of the poster (particularly if it is a public figure) aids in the understanding of an important research question, then I think it would not be necessary to conceal the identity. Just my view, jim James C. Witte Director, Institute for Immigration Research http://iir.gmu.edu Professor of Sociology http://soan.gmu.edu/people/jwitte <http://soan.gmu.edu/people/jwitte>Senior Research Fellow, the Mercatus Center https://www.mercatus.org/ George Mason University 4400 University Drive, MSN 1H5 Fairfax, VA 22030 jwitte@gmu.edu<mailto:jwitte@gmu.edu> @jamescwitte 703-993-2993 (Tel) 864-508-2425 (cell) The Parallel Pandemic Project: https://parallelpandemicproject.com/ ________________________________ From: Lynn Schofield Clark <Lynn.Clark@du.edu> Sent: Thursday, April 22, 2021 9:29 PM To: Phillips, Bruce <bphillips@huc.edu>; citams@list.citams.org <citams@list.citams.org> Subject: [CITAMS]Re: Do I need to make public posts on social media anonymous Hi Bruce, Unless you have permission to use an image, it’s considered best practice to protect the identity of the people who have produced the social media content you’re analyzing. You can either clip the image or blur it for your presentation. See this post<https://secure-web.cisco.com/1BYCbkXDa5YtQ0TBKfTZ0EzIP5xQK-echsifMrDBHMq8DYG3LfoWTGrQGx9fjPW2beUFc20kq0gISEMDGolC9cX-xt-xgRvuBlY3dgT1uxUDQKOxzvZ0D32u9u3eeYsGBcdWWlSsdfAqVMVBu10zngLjsWEeBscUA5MK1ywT1uYLfepQlao3C9RJFbPkmi5y3I9duvgx0rGp7B6ihy9EK_qIyeNJc1Ocx49KNcVNZNoTrbh-jIQK36hSEdsnf6gYCbid2cka2je5CS__2km9VvdYzMF1A4inw3yr7787Y13c4BNOknMEPSiFBaJQCh2hb7thirBo1A5OdzVI5she2mJO8AsYszOKXJ0Ls3500aFLBZ3b_v2pcn8KxBWnd8JM4iEeTofuUw8YT6VMSOgiMyc1p2JZKQ34TSef0lctUgTuxuEBbJlDXI1VWaMZzzfEo01ajGjVP6evIApn0UBUXvw/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.howtogeek.com%2F437476%2Fhow-to-blur-an-image-in-powerpoint%2F%23%3A%7E%3Atext%3DFirst%252C%2520open%2520PowerPoint%2520and%2520navigate%2Cappears%252C%2520click%2520the%2520Blur%2520option.> for info on how to blur an image. Best wishes, Lynn Lynn Schofield Clark, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) Professor, Chair & Director, Estlow Center for Journalism & New Media Department of Media, Film & Journalism Studies University of Denver And President, international Association of Internet Researchers<http://secure-web.cisco.com/1kMS-8bNfzhGb0aIW1BmmupN2hgZ5Q9k2lOTpGawfLlMJ86kG_9Cf1r5Szgf79wJHh_cWsahWev43OoRHe-BNLOh2UX_8uTYvrDPRF8z4w1gDm5_9yCZbTx57yS8oyHfUnFdIiVmx__DJ7DQLJ-FrFdr3WRiAVggugMhzXma3_Uj3oTkyLXbkGMkqqy7gxtUx_dxlJ15eSJ_m-IaDD8hWez_8vxCGFZX3PyPhZDxn0VwQbucd4kPhJyZahho8ln7Fm26SFFlXBnFa88P0qLsX8XyAzK35dj1OiQ3FW7PyzEgArnuT4wZOmorTmKZWxw9d5EY_eJY6gsZKDEt5yUBTDgswxAktxlkatiGRmiSSO-3fVylnfEeDlqVcsH5Pbwu4EK_DzDZbnimkAs_IemnVBv2VVz689mQZm9rWDScus6TkcyrKd8U1XN5NqUiyB3E1/http%3A%2F%2Faoir.org%2F> LynnSchofieldClark.com In the spirit of healing, I acknowledge and honor the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, and all of the original Indigenous peoples of the land upon which University of Denver stands. [cid:image001.jpg@01D737AD.CBD17250] From: "Phillips, Bruce" <bphillips@huc.edu> Date: Thursday, April 22, 2021 at 6:26 PM To: "citams@list.citams.org" <citams@list.citams.org> Subject: [EXTERNAL] [CITAMS]Do I need to make public posts on social media anonymous [External Email From]: citams-bounces+lynn.clark=du.edu@list.citams.org I am doing content analysis of posts on FB and Twitter that I will be using for a "works in progress" presentation next week. I have several screen shots of the posts in which the identity of the person is visible. It's easier for me not to take out the identity, but would it be ethical to leave the identities in? Twitter posts in particular are frequently quoted in news articles, so it seems to me that there really can't be any reasonable expectation of privacy with them. I want to be an ethical researcher here, but I also don't want to spend time making the ppt slides anonymous if I don't have to. Any ethical and/or legal guidance is much appreciated. thanks! bruce Bruce A. Phillips Professor of Sociology & Jewish Communal Service, Hebrew Union College HUC Louchheim School of Judaic Studies at the University of Southern California University Research Fellow, USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture Affiliated Faculty, USC Middle East Studies Program Hebrew Union College 3077 University Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90007 213-765-2151

I'd strongly recommend reviewing AoiR's ethical guidelines: https://aoir.org/ethics/ On Thu, Apr 22, 2021 at 9:48 PM James Witte <jwitte@gmu.edu> wrote: > All, > > I understand Lynn's point, but also think there is some room for > interpretation. Coming from an IRB perspective, one could consider a public > Twitter post to be publicly available data and then it might not be > necessary to take extra steps to protect the identity of the subject. But, > (and this is after serving on a University IRB for six years) I view the > IRB guidelines in a certain light. To me the IRB's mission is to assure > compliance with federal regulations regarding the protection of human > subjects. > > Beyond this, each researcher needs to consider their own professional > ethics. In my case, I think of the underlying principle of "do no harm," so > the judgement is very situational. If the topic is sensitive and could have > a negative impact on the Tweeter, then I would conceal the identify. On the > other hand, if there is not such an impact and/or the identity of the > poster (particularly if it is a public figure) aids in the understanding of > an important research question, then I think it would not be necessary to > conceal the identity. > > Just my view, > jim > > > > James C. Witte > Director, Institute for Immigration Research http://iir.gmu.edu > Professor of Sociology http://soan.gmu.edu/people/jwitte > <http://soan.gmu.edu/people/jwitte>Senior Research Fellow, the Mercatus > Center https://www.mercatus.org/ > George Mason University > 4400 University Drive, MSN 1H5 > Fairfax, VA 22030 > jwitte@gmu.edu > @jamescwitte > 703-993-2993 (Tel) > 864-508-2425 (cell) > > The Parallel Pandemic Project: https://parallelpandemicproject.com/ > > ------------------------------ > *From:* Lynn Schofield Clark <Lynn.Clark@du.edu> > *Sent:* Thursday, April 22, 2021 9:29 PM > *To:* Phillips, Bruce <bphillips@huc.edu>; citams@list.citams.org < > citams@list.citams.org> > *Subject:* [CITAMS]Re: Do I need to make public posts on social media > anonymous > > > Hi Bruce, > > > > Unless you have permission to use an image, it’s considered best practice > to protect the identity of the people who have produced the social media > content you’re analyzing. You can either clip the image or blur it for your > presentation. See this post > <https://secure-web.cisco.com/1BYCbkXDa5YtQ0TBKfTZ0EzIP5xQK-echsifMrDBHMq8DYG3LfoWTGrQGx9fjPW2beUFc20kq0gISEMDGolC9cX-xt-xgRvuBlY3dgT1uxUDQKOxzvZ0D32u9u3eeYsGBcdWWlSsdfAqVMVBu10zngLjsWEeBscUA5MK1ywT1uYLfepQlao3C9RJFbPkmi5y3I9duvgx0rGp7B6ihy9EK_qIyeNJc1Ocx49KNcVNZNoTrbh-jIQK36hSEdsnf6gYCbid2cka2je5CS__2km9VvdYzMF1A4inw3yr7787Y13c4BNOknMEPSiFBaJQCh2hb7thirBo1A5OdzVI5she2mJO8AsYszOKXJ0Ls3500aFLBZ3b_v2pcn8KxBWnd8JM4iEeTofuUw8YT6VMSOgiMyc1p2JZKQ34TSef0lctUgTuxuEBbJlDXI1VWaMZzzfEo01ajGjVP6evIApn0UBUXvw/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.howtogeek.com%2F437476%2Fhow-to-blur-an-image-in-powerpoint%2F%23%3A%7E%3Atext%3DFirst%252C%2520open%2520PowerPoint%2520and%2520navigate%2Cappears%252C%2520click%2520the%2520Blur%2520option.> > for info on how to blur an image. > > > > Best wishes, > > Lynn > > > > Lynn Schofield Clark, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) > > Professor, Chair & Director, > > Estlow Center for Journalism & New Media > > Department of Media, Film & Journalism Studies > > University of Denver > > And > > President, international Association of Internet Researchers > <http://secure-web.cisco.com/1kMS-8bNfzhGb0aIW1BmmupN2hgZ5Q9k2lOTpGawfLlMJ86kG_9Cf1r5Szgf79wJHh_cWsahWev43OoRHe-BNLOh2UX_8uTYvrDPRF8z4w1gDm5_9yCZbTx57yS8oyHfUnFdIiVmx__DJ7DQLJ-FrFdr3WRiAVggugMhzXma3_Uj3oTkyLXbkGMkqqy7gxtUx_dxlJ15eSJ_m-IaDD8hWez_8vxCGFZX3PyPhZDxn0VwQbucd4kPhJyZahho8ln7Fm26SFFlXBnFa88P0qLsX8XyAzK35dj1OiQ3FW7PyzEgArnuT4wZOmorTmKZWxw9d5EY_eJY6gsZKDEt5yUBTDgswxAktxlkatiGRmiSSO-3fVylnfEeDlqVcsH5Pbwu4EK_DzDZbnimkAs_IemnVBv2VVz689mQZm9rWDScus6TkcyrKd8U1XN5NqUiyB3E1/http%3A%2F%2Faoir.org%2F> > > LynnSchofieldClark.com > > > > *In the spirit of healing, I acknowledge and honor the Cheyenne and > Arapaho Tribes, and all of the original Indigenous peoples of the land upon > which University of Denver stands.* > > > > > > > > > > > > *From: *"Phillips, Bruce" <bphillips@huc.edu> > *Date: *Thursday, April 22, 2021 at 6:26 PM > *To: *"citams@list.citams.org" <citams@list.citams.org> > *Subject: *[EXTERNAL] [CITAMS]Do I need to make public posts on social > media anonymous > > > > [External Email From]: *citams-bounces+lynn.clark=du.edu@list.citams.org > <du.edu@list.citams.org>* > > > > I am doing content analysis of posts on FB and Twitter that I will be > using for a "works in progress" presentation next week. I have several > screen shots of the posts in which the identity of the person is visible. > It's easier for me not to take out the identity, but would it be ethical to > leave the identities in? Twitter posts in particular are frequently quoted > in news articles, so it seems to me that there really can't be any > reasonable expectation of privacy with them. I want to be an ethical > researcher here, but I also don't want to spend time making the ppt slides > anonymous if I don't have to. > > > > Any ethical and/or legal guidance is much appreciated. > > > > thanks! > > > > bruce > > > > Bruce A. Phillips > Professor of Sociology & Jewish Communal Service, Hebrew Union College > HUC Louchheim School of Judaic Studies at the University of Southern > California > > University Research Fellow, USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture > > Affiliated Faculty, USC Middle East Studies Program > Hebrew Union College > > 3077 University Ave. > Los Angeles, CA 90007 > 213-765-2151 > _______________________________________________ > CITAMS mailing list -- citams@list.citams.org > To unsubscribe send an email to citams-leave@list.citams.org >