IASSIST GVC 2021: Ethics (2021-05-18)
Channel: iassistdata
Date: 18/06/2021

0:00 The cat’s out of the bag and we’re the cat ladies: The library’s role when researchers want to use leaked datasets 
17:34 Bound by ToS? Freedom of research and corporate interests in collecting and sharing digital trace data
38:08 Research participants’ views: ethical guidelines for archiving and sharing stories of migration for future reuse 

The cat’s out of the bag and we’re the cat ladies: The library’s role when researchers want to use leaked datasets
Nobody wants to find their banking information on the internet, but if it has already been released by hackers should researchers be allowed to use it? The case of the 2016 Qatar National Bank hack and data release forced information professionals, institutional review boards, and university legal counsel members in the Middle East and beyond to grapple with how exactly to handle requests from researchers who wanted to do research and create educational materials around this data. Using the research around the QNB hack and similar leaks as a starting point, this paper will evaluate the different ways institutions have dealt with issues around the ethics of using and managing leaked data in scholarly research. This paper will investigate under what circumstances do institutional review and ethics boards approve the use of leaked data; the complicated nature of copyright and other legalities surrounding leaked data; how researchers verify the accuracy of leaked data; and the necessary steps to manage this data to prevent further harm to the individuals impacted by the leak. This paper will build on previous research on the use and issues surrounding other types of sensitive data found online including biodiversity data on endangered species, social and behavioral science research on stigmatized communities, and government information, in order to place the academic library’s role in educating researchers about, and managing, leaked data in a greater context of sensitive information.
Jasmine Kirby, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar

Bound by ToS? Freedom of research and corporate interests in collecting and sharing digital trace data 
In recent years, GESIS has increasingly been involved in or received requests regarding projects collecting ‘digital trace data’ and is in the process of developing specific archiving services and solutions for this type of data. Digital trace data can be seen as “records of activity (trace data) undertaken through an online information system (thus, digital) and can be collected from a multitude of technical systems, such as websites, social media platforms, smart-phone apps, or sensors (Stier et al. 2019).” There is an ongoing discussion concerning ethical issues of working with this type of data, and also concerning sharing it with other parties, e.g., via data repositories. In practice, researchers as well as archives are confronted with the legal situation that research is a basic freedom and, at the same time, the availability and use of digital trace data is subject to the commercial interests of the companies that run the platforms. Archives are now facing the situation that terms of services might (have to) be “bent” (or at least interpreted in a specific way) in order to collect the data necessary to answer a particular research question. This presentation aims at discussing this tension between research and commercial interests in order to contribute to the open question of how archives can address the challenge of making digital trace data available for researchers.
Oliver Watteler, GESIS - Leibniz-Institute for the Social Sciences

Research participants’ views: ethical guidelines for archiving and sharing stories of migration for future reuse 
In the last five years, research funders in the UK have funded much social science research into the global migration crisis. This research explores intimate, and often difficult, aspects of migrant lives and creates a historically significant record of the testimonies of refugees. Despite data policies and data management plans showing intentions to archive these data, the ethical challenges meant very little of the data ended up preserved in an archive. It is well-known that sharing and archiving qualitative research data poses ethical challenges, especially with vulnerable participants and sensitive topics. Personal stories told may be impossible to anonymise. Research participants from different cultural backgrounds may have a different understanding of ethical principles and consent, with researchers uncertain how best to approach this. At the same time, such qualitative research data provide valuable evidence and often unique resources for future research and policy making. And also vulnerable research participants may want their voices heard beyond the primary research. 
Veerle Van den Eynden, UK Data Service