Facebook s Emotional Contagion: Social Media Research

Transcription

1 Facebook s Emotional Contagion: Social Media Research Mount Allison University March 11, 2015 Gordon DuVal, SJD [email protected]

2 Emotional Contagion 2

3 3

4 Facebook Research In 2012, Facebook researchers, in conjunction with academic researchers at Cornell, undertook a study on emotional contagion. Purposes: o Does emotional contagion operate in written/read interactions? o Is there a reverse emotional contagion in social media? o Basic research about human emotions that may be helpful to Facebook s promotion and marketing in future? o To help the US military? - Cornell press releases initially said that The study was funded in part by the James S. McDonnell Foundation and the Army Research Office. A subsequent release retracted this. 4

5 Facebook Research The study used Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) software to analyze and send disproportionately either positive or negative content to 689,003 subscribers newsfeeds. They then assessed these subscribers subsequent postings to see if the positive or negative messages resulted in happier or sadder emotional content. No notice was given or consent requested directly from participants. Result was that more positive content in news feeds did result in more positive emotional content, and perhaps happier subscribers. The reverse was also found. Both effects were found to be small, but significant. 5

6 Facebook Research What s the Problem? No ethics review and approval No informed consent Minors were almost certainly involved No debriefing Study was unnecessary and used bad methodology 6

7 Facebook Research No Problem? Subscribers newsfeeds have to be limited anyway, so what s the problem? Complaining about social media research is naïve. Manipulation is the essence of marketing. o Any/every social network exists to learn about you so that you can be manipulated to think certain things or buy certain products. (online comment on the Atlantic site) It s free. If you don t like it, don t use it. Anyway, if it had had ethics review, it would have been approved. 7

8 Internet Based Research Social media emotional contagion and similar research Qualitative research (eg with chat rooms and discussion groups) Online surveys, questionnaires and interviews Recruiting for traditional studies 8

9 Requires Ethics Review? Facebook Study Cornell University s IRB had determined that its researchers had no direct contact with subjects and therefore no review was necessary. The Cornell people had helped design the study and then helped analyze the already collected data. US - no requirement to review privately funded studies (exc. FDA) Canada roughly the same. No contact with subjects who are non-identifiable(?) 9

10 Research Requiring Review? TCPS 2 Art. 2.2 Research that relies exclusively on publicly available information does not require REB review when: a) The information is legally accessible to the public and appropriately protected by law; or b) The information is publicly accessible and there is no reasonable expectation of privacy. Research that relies exclusively on information that is publicly available, or made accessible through legislation or regulation, does not require REB review. 10

11 Reasonable expectation of privacy Are chat rooms, message board, or other internet postings: o Intended to be public like a newspaper letter to the editor or speaking in public? o Intended for the private use of a closed audience? 11

12 Reasonable expectation of privacy Indicators of a reasonable expectation of privacy? o password protection o aims/purposes of the group o sensitivity of subject matter o group's protocols, privacy rules and boundaries o nature of the target audience o membership or registration required o the real or assumed number of users 12

13 Reasonable expectation of privacy Bruckman (2002), any online information may be [ ] analyzed as long as: 1. it is officially and publicly archived, 2. no password is required to access it, 3. no site regulations prohibit its analysis, and 4. the subject is not too sensitive. What if you suspect that people have a false sense of privacy and security in online activity? 13

14 Research Requiring Review? Extending the Spectrum: The TCPS and Ethical Issues in Internetbased Research (2008) (Spectrum) web-based research need not be submitted for ethical assessment, but... researchers should demonstrate that the material collected is in the public domain and that there are no problems related to intellectual rights or copyright. 14

15 Research Requiring Review? REB review required for: o Engaged web-based research, even with minimal involvement where the researcher is participating or interacting in the group discussions and o Online research collecting information through interviews discussion group surveys or questionnaires. REB review not required for: o Non-intrusive, web-based research of non-public sites with no researcher interaction (it draws on text data or data from web sites or discussion groups that the researcher observes). 15

16 Informed consent? Facebook said that permission to do research, among other things, was contained in the terms of service, but: o Arguably this was not valid informed consent because study was not described to prospective subjects; o Facebook should know that the terms of service agreements are rarely read prior to use; and anyway o Reference to research in the Facebook terms of service did not appear until four months after the study was completed. 16

17 Waiving informed consent? Art 3.7: The REB may approve research that involves an alteration to the requirements for consent if satisfied that: a) The research is no more than minimal risk; b) The alteration to consent is unlikely to adversely affect the welfare of participants; c) Is impossible or impracticable to carry out the research if prior consent is required; d) The precise nature and extent of the alteration is defined; and e) The plan to provide debriefing (if any) shall be in accordance with Art 3.7B 17

18 Waiving informed consent? Art 3.7B: Debriefing must be done whenever possible, practicable and appropriate 18

19 Obtaining informed consent? (From TCPS Spectrum)... engaged web-based research (chat rooms and online fora) may require researchers to make themselves known and to explain the research objectives.... for online research (interviews, online questionnaires, experiments), researchers must explain the strategies they intend to use to obtain informed consent, as well as the verification mechanisms they intend to use for cases involving minors in particular. 19

20 Obtaining consent to the group? Contact with the group administrator/owner (for advice or consent)? Direct contact with each participant whose postings are used? Do other members of the group get to say no? Informed consent ascertaining understanding/comprehension of participants? ascertaining age and capacity to consent? Ensuring eligibility -- are they who they say they are? 20

21 Risks and benefits emotional reaction/trauma (usually little the researchers can do to help) o... where the research presents risks, researchers must explain the monitoring strategies they intend to use... (Spectrum) confidentiality breach either to outside world or within the online group -- real identities versus online identities damage to the welfare of the group -- no longer a "safe place" for participants, particularly for sensitive subject matter of the group. 21

22 Protection of privacy... sending research data over the Internet requires the use of encryption software to prevent the data s being intercepted by unauthorized people and to maintain anonymity and confidentiality. (Spectrum)... in general, data kept on a computer that is connected to the Internet should be encrypted. (Spectrum) Anonymity vs. pseudonymity 22

23 Deception and Withholding Relevant Information Is it okay to "lurk in a discussion group before identifying as a researcher? Is it okay to interact as a member of the group without identifying as a researcher? Is it okay to take on an assumed persona to elicit responses from group members? If so, is it necessary to de-brief group members afterwards? If so, should participants have the option to withdraw their data? 23

24 Participation of minors How would you know if respondents are minors or that parental consent is that of the real parents? Worry is heightened for research on sensitive topics. 24

25 Validity of the Data Are participants who they say they are? Who is the researcher really dealing with? Responses may be less likely to be genuine Sample may be badly skewed, not representative 25

26 Security of Research Data 26

27 Security of Research Data TCPS: identifiable information = personal information Research Design Collect only minimum necessary personal information Remove identifying information as soon as possible Limit access to identifying information to only those with valid research need 27

28 Security of Research Data Consent How will information be collected? How will information be recorded? Will information be coded, how? How will information be stored? Who will have access? Plan for safeguarding data and limiting access. When will information be deleted or destroyed? Warn of potential for insecurity privacy cannot be guaranteed 28

29 Security of Research Data Physical Security Locked doors, file cabinets and other data storage locations Don t leave data file open on desktop Beware of casual viewing by passers-by or others 29

30 Security of Research Data Data Security Measures should be proportionate to the need for security i.e. sensitivity and confidentiality obligations. Use sign-on passwords for files and computers Avoid storing information on portable devices (memory sticks, smart phones, tablets, laptops) particularly if not encrypted. If storage on portable devices is unavoidable, transfer data to more secure storage as soon as possible. After data destruction, sanitize (scrub) storage devices to make data unrecoverable. 30

31 Security of Research Data Data Security Appropriate back-up that offers proportionate level of security. Data recovery in case of loss. Controlling access: o o o logging successful and failed access attempts. background checks of research team Terminate user access for those no longer with the project. 31

32 Security of Research Data Data Security -- Encryption Using encryption software for: o o data at rest encrypting stored data, documents, files etc. data in flight protecting unencrypted data while it passes through the network, , online data transfers, etc. to create secure modes of communication. 32

33 Security of Research Data Data Security -- Breach of security Provisions for notifying participants in case of breach of security. 33