Why researchers are turning to social media data 

Social media has transformed how we connect and is increasingly transforming how we conduct research. With billions of users sharing experiences, opinions, and behavior in real time, platforms like X (formerly Twitter), Reddit, Instagram, and TikTok have become treasure troves of information for understanding human communication, health trends, and social dynamics.  

According to Dimensions, research publications using social media data have surged in the last five years, increasing by more than 60% from 523,204 papers to 870,624 papers in 2025. 

And it’s no wonder: social media platforms provide a rich environment for researchers to conduct investigations. Not only can you extract large-scale datasets, but you can also access small-scale qualitative data. Researchers can collect data from social media platforms either actively (interacting with participants directly online) or passively (by analyzing publicly available content such as posts or videos).  

As the field grows, so does the need for clarity on how to collect, interpret and report this kind of data responsibly. Those conducting social media research face increasing ethical challenges as users become more protective of their privacy and public awareness of data protection continues to grow.  

Why ethics and platform policies matter in social media research 

A recent article from Retraction Watch about authors from the University of Zurich using AI-generated posts on Reddit highlights the problem of not abiding strictly by institutional guidance and social media platforms’ terms and conditions. Researchers ran an experiment on Reddit’s r/ChangeMyView using AI-generated comments without clear disclosure. After the undisclosed experiment came to light, the university issued a formal warning to the principal investigator and said future reviews will be stricter. Community moderators from the subreddit forum also reported feeling deceived.  

As with all other kinds of research, the ethics of social media studies should be assessed with the ‘do no harm’ principle in mind. But the potential harms arising from social media research are difficult to define, often underexplored, and highly context-dependent, making it challenging for researchers to anticipate them in advance. 

How to conduct ethical social media research 

It is essential that researchers understand how to conduct and report their work safely and ethically.  At Frontiers, our research integrity team reviews all social media research to ensure it meets ethical and data protection standards. Social media research is expected to adhere to UKRIO guidance. We also encourage researchers to check that their study design and consent processes align with both their institution’s ethics policies and the social media platform’s terms of use.  

Conducting social media research doesn’t have to be complicated; it just requires thoughtful planning and awareness of a few key principles. Here are our six essential tips for responsible social media research, based on UKRIO’s guidance: 

1. Check platform guidelines and rules before you start. Most platforms do allow for publicly available social media posts to be used in research without the poster’s explicit consent but check their terms and conditions to be sure whether this is the case. 

2. Protect users’ privacy and anonymize data. Make sure any data reported in presentations and publications cannot be reidentified. Even if you do not include any identifying information when presenting a direct quote from a social media user, the quote can easily be searched, and the person’s information can be found. Data should be presented in aggregate or in non-specific quotes. The data should also be GDPR-compliant. 

3. Be honest about your role in private groups. Be upfront about your role in any private group. For example, a researcher who requests membership of a private group for cancer survivors and does not disclose that they are there for research purposes may be deceiving group members, which poses high ethical risks. 

4. Get consent and ethics approval where required. Check that your study design and consent processes align with your institution’s ethics policies.  

5. Follow the ‘do no harm’ principle. As with all other kinds of research, the ethics of social media studies should be assessed with the ‘do no harm’ principle in mind. However, the potential harms arising from social media research are difficult to define, often underexplored, and highly context-dependent, making them challenging for researchers to anticipate in advance. Make sure you understand the social media platform’s policies about consent, ethical approval, and legality that might apply to your study. 

6. Be transparent about how you collect and use data. Clearly report how data were collected, what permissions were obtained, and how user privacy was safeguarded. Transparency builds trust and strengthens your study’s credibility. 

Staying up to date: policies and practices are always changing

Social media research is a fast-moving and ever-growing field. As such, our overall advice is to keep in touch with policies, terms and conditions before each new project and stay informed about any updates that may affect their work. 

Where to find more guidance 

At Frontiers, we help researchers use social media to advance knowledge while upholding the standards that keep science credible. And for more detailed guidance, we recommend consulting the UK Research Integrity Office’s guidance on social media research and discussing any specific questions with your institutional ethics office.   

References 

This advice was written by Frontiers’ research integrity team with the help of the UK Research Integrity Office’s (UKRIO) external guidance on social media research. Their policy document has been added to our references list. We used data obtained on 23 May 2025 from Digital Science’s Dimensions platform, available at https://app.dimensions.ai. Access was granted to subscription-only data sources under the license agreement. 

Frontiers (no date) Editorial policies and publication ethics. Available at: https://www.frontiersin.org/guidelines/policies-and-publication-ethics (Accessed 12 May 2025) 

Retraction Watch (2025). AI-Reddit study leader gets warning as ethics committee moves to ‘stricter review process’. Available at: https://retractionwatch.com/2025/04/29/ethics-committee-ai-llm-reddit-changemyview-university-zurich/ (Accessed 12 May 2025). 

UKRIO (2024) Ethical issues in research using social media. Available at: https://ukrio.org/ukrio-resources/ethical-issues-in-research-using-social-media/ (Accessed 12 May 2025) 

UKRIO (2016) Good practice in research: Internet-mediated research. Available at: https://ukrio.org/wp-content/uploads/UKRIO-Guidance-Note-Internet-Mediated-Research-v1.0.pdf (Accessed 12 May 2025) 

COPE (2025). Authors collecting social media data without group members’ consent. Available at: https://publicationethics.org/guidance/case/authors-collecting-social-media-data-without-group-members-consent  (Accessed 12 May 2025)