Internet Research and Ethical Decision Making

Internet research constitutes a social phenomenon and ubiquitous tool for researchers interpreting information and gathering data. Internet research includes research carried out with journal databases, such as Ebsco Host or Proquest, and online books and newspapers; however, Internet research efforts also include research carried out on social media sites, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Social media sites provide an avenue for researchers to gain public opinion as well as solicit participants for potential studies. While the Internet contains an abundance of information concerning a variety of different subject matters and permits an ease in data collection, it is rife with biased and discredited information. The problem or challenge of the Internet becomes one of identifying the elements that are responsible versus the elements that ...