Ethical Issues in the Documentary Data Analysis of Internet Posts and Archives

Abstract

The documentary analysis of e-mail posts and archives for qualitative research has been outlined elsewhere. Although there is an increase in the number of studies being conducted on listserv and newsgroup material in health research, this has not always been accompanied by a careful, in-depth consideration of the concomitant ethical issues. Therefore, this article outlines the ethical considerations surrounding this form of research, including issues of accessing voices, consent, privacy, anonymity, interpretation, and ownership and authorship of research material.