An Ethical Dilemma Inspiring Exploration into Netnography

This presentation seeks to explore a methodology new to the author and possibly of interest to conference attendees who are seeking to conduct research in the online space. The focus will be on netnography as a methodology and the ethical implications of conducting research over social media. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought challenges to students completing short-term research subjects. Some may be inspired to turn to social media to conduct research perceived to be straightforward to implement while avoiding the ethical pitfalls that often accompany doing face-to-face research with humans. This presentation seeks to tell the story of an ethical dilemma that sparked exploration into netnography, a methodological approach seeking to ‘understand the cultural experiences that encompass and are reflected within the traces, practices, networks and systems of social media’ (Kozinets, 2020, p.14). The presentation aims to engage the audience in conversation about doing research in the online space by exploring the similarities and differences between netnography and other approaches applied in the online context. At the same time, the presentation will explain the ethical practices enabling netnographic research to be conducted over social media through collection, participation in and interpretation of online traces