From the Preface

This edited volume is the result of the discussions in the PhD courses Sociology of New Media and Methods and Techniques in New Media Research at Hacettepe and Ankara University Social Sciences Institutes. The young researchers prepared this reference work following these courses. Alternative Informatics Association and Ankara University NETlab New Media Research Laboratory also supported the bookization of the study and prepared this publication in cooperation. If you ask why a study on research ethics in Internet and new media research was prepared, the world and Turkish academia is increasingly focusing on new media and social media platforms. In Turkish academia, there is a limited number of studies on the ethical position of the researcher and ethical attitudes towards research subjects in Internet and new media research (Binark, 2005; Markham & Buckhanan, 2015; Tunç, 2018; Binark et al. 2017). However, we observe that networked communication practices and social media platforms are becoming the focus of research in more and more master's and doctoral theses. While looking at the YÖK Thesis catalog or Ulakbim DergiPark, it’s also possible to see an increase in the number of publications titled New Media.

In its "Internet Research: Ethical Guidelines 3.0" prescription, while stating that Internet and new media research has entered a new phase due to big data analysis, the Internet Research Association has started a new debate by focusing on the issue of data ownership (2019). The transition of the user from anonymity to nonidentity on the internet and social media platforms, the gradual development of legal legislation in the world and in Türkiye regarding the protection of personal data, and the ethical principles of the "subject" in the cases that researchers deal with in these environments protection of women's rights in these contexts. In particular, the perspective fed by feminist research ethics constantly reminds us that the data obtained in these environments is an extension of the "human subject". In this sense, the connection of the data we encounter on the internet and social media platforms, whether textual or visual, with the "subject" calls for a reconsideration of ethical principles in the researcher's research.

Mutlu Binark & Ergin Şafak Dikmen

The Internet Research Association's Internet Research: Ethical Guidelines 3.0 of the Internet Research Association has been translated into Turkish with Burak Özdemir's meticulous translation. As in the rest of the world, research on data generated in network-mediated environments, interfaces and applications of mobile technologies is increasing in Turkey. For this reason, it is necessary to understand the ownership of the data produced on these platforms and environments, the protection of personal data, and the relationship between data and subject from an ethical perspective that puts the subject at the center.

Internet Research: An Ethical Guide 3.0 will provide a new ground for discussion on the relationship between data and subject and the protection of personal data and similar issues in scientific studies conducted in Turkey in many disciplines including communication sciences, sociology of communication, new media, sociology, psychology, political science, public administration, public science, and we wish you a pleasant reading.

Mutlu Binark