Ethical Processes and Dilemmas during Research with Youth on Cyber-Risk

Jay Cavanagh; Michael Adorjan; Rosemary Ricciardelli

doi:10.18778/1733-8077.21.3.03

Authors

Jay Cavanagh University of Calgary, Canada https://orcid.org/0009-0000-6751-9956
Michael Adorjan University of Calgary, Canada https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1900-2087
Rosemary Ricciardelli Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0905-8968

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1733-8077.21.3.03

Keywords:

Youth Research, Research Ethics, Focus Groups, Qualitative Methodology, Cyber-Risk

Abstract

In this article, we reflect on the ethical processes and dilemmas we encountered in almost a decade of qualitative research with teenagers about digital technologies and cyber-risk. Our research underscores both the opportunities and challenges of teenagers’ engagements with digital technologies, including cyberbullying and image-based sexual harassment and abuse (i.e., non-consensual sexting), on popular social media platforms. Our current research explores teenagers’ experiences with cyber-risk during the COVID-19 pandemic, including managing homeschooling (due to lockdowns), online addiction, mental health challenges, and encounters with disinformation and misinformation. We discuss our experiences with focus group facilitation and one-to-one semi-structured interviews, specifically our reflections on ethical processes encountered in the field, such as fostering rapport with young participants given the significant age gaps and our lack of knowledge at times, regarding digital technologies or topics like image-based sexual abuse. We also discuss our experiences conducting research with teenagers under the new capacity to consent ethical framework, which positions children and youth as often having agency to consent to research independently from their parents or legal guardians. Here, we detail reflections on navigating a new approach and highlight some of the considerations arising from ascertaining assent and consent. Centralizing issues of developing rapport, trust, and ethical processes related to interactional dynamics during interviews, the paper provides insights and possible strategies for those conducting research with children and youth.

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Author Biographies

Jay Cavanagh, University of Calgary, Canada

Jay Cavanagh is a Ph.D. student and Killam Laureate in the Department of Sociology at the University of Calgary. His research focuses on the experience of borderline personality disorder in therapeutic, virtual, and peer support spaces, through a qualitative critical phenomenological lens. As part of this work, Jay has won awards to support extensive fieldwork in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, examining the work of revolutionary Brazilian psychiatrist, Dra. Nise da Silveira.
Michael Adorjan, University of Calgary, Canada

Michael Adorjan is a Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Calgary. His research and teaching centers on youth and cyber-risk, drawing from theoretical areas including dramaturgy and social constructionism, surveillance, and privacy. Recent publications examine both educator and parent understandings and responses to cyberbullying and other forms of online-mediated conflict and harm, and restorative practices in response to cyber-risk. He also publishes on Hong Kong, especially responses to youth crime and public perceptions of police in Hong Kong, and, with Dr. Rosemary Ricciardelli, is involved in research examining correctional officers in Canada.
Rosemary Ricciardelli, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada

Rosemary Ricciardelli is a Professor and Research Chair in Safety, Security, and Wellness at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Elected to the Royal Society of Canada and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, her research centers on public health and safety, with an explicit focus on gender, vulnerabilities, and risk within different facets of the criminal justice system.

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