Researching experiences of cancer risk through online blogs: a reflexive account of working toward ethical practice

By providing space to document personal narratives and hold virtual discussions, the Internet represents a fruitful resource for sociologists of health and illness. However, the use of social media content for research entails complex ethical considerations. Due to the fluidity of online material, existing ethical guidelines advise a deliberative approach. However, this has led to disparity in the use of social media resources within the social sciences. I share an account of “doing ethics” for qualitative research with blogs focused on hereditary cancer risk. Blogging emerged not only as cathartic for authors, but also a means of accessing support. Blogs may thus be construed as constitutive and not only representative of cancer (risk) experience. Ethical questions surround anonymity and the appropriation of authors’ accounts beyond the context in which they are composed. By sharing reflections on working with hereditary cancer risk blogs, I contribute to the continued reflexivity of social media researchers.