"We Tend to Err on the Side of Caution": Ethical Challenges Facing Canadian Research Ethics Boards When Overseeing Internet Research

<p dir="ltr">Internet research has gained tremendous momentum over the past few decades. As data collection tools, research sites, communication venues, and community spaces, internet-based technologies greatly benefit researchers to save costs and time associated with reaching diverse populations, obtaining information, and conducting observations beyond temporal and spatial constraints. Despite these unprecedented opportunities, internet research proposes a set of distinct ethical questions to researchers and regulatory bodies that oversee research activities. A number of scholarly publications to date have identified various ethical issues associated with internet research including the changing nature of privacy, confidentiality, informed consent, and data security (e.g., McKee & Porter, 2009). In particular, researchers using internet platforms to study vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations, including individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (Rodriquez, 2013), sexual minority youth (McDermott & Roen, 2012), and people who engage in self-harm (Seko, Kidd, Wijer, & McKenzie, 2015; Sharkey et al., 2011), have documented unique ethical challenges arising from their studies. Ethical dilemmas pertinent to these studies, along with the practical solutions proposed by these researchers, have contributed greatly to the enrichment of empirical knowledge. Likewise, scholarly associations such as the Association of Internet Researchers (Ess & AoIR Ethics Working Committee, 2002; Markham & Buchanan, 2012) and American Psychological Association (2013), as well as governmental bodies like the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2013), have published guidelines to assist internet researchers and ethics reviewers.</p>