Older adolescents' views regarding participation in Facebook research.
OBJECTIVE
Facebook continues to grow in popularity among adolescents as well as adolescent researchers. Guidance on conducting research using Facebook with appropriate attention to privacy and ethics is scarce. To inform such research efforts, the purpose of this study was to determine older adolescents' responses after learning that they were participants in a research study that involved identification of participants using Facebook.


METHODS
Public Facebook profiles of older adolescents aged 18-19 years from a large state university were examined. Profile owners were then interviewed. During the interview, participants were informed that they were identified by examining publicly available Facebook profiles. Participants were asked to discuss their views on this research method.


RESULTS
A total of 132 participants completed the interview (70% response rate); the average age was 18.4 years (SD = .5); and our sample included 64 male participants (48.5%). Participant responses included endorsement (19.7%), fine (36.4%), neutral (28.8%), uneasy (9.1%), and concerned (6.1%). Among participants who were uneasy or concerned, the majority voiced confusion regarding their current profile security settings (p = .00).


CONCLUSIONS
The majority of adolescent participants viewed the use of Facebook for research positively. These findings are consistent with the approach taken by many U.S. courts. Researchers may consider these findings when developing research protocols involving Facebook.
Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53705, USA. mamoreno@pediatrics.wisc.edu
Megan A
MA
Moreno
Alison
A
Grant
Lauren
L
Kacvinsky
Peter
P
Moreno
Michael
M
Fleming
D000293:Adolescent; D001290:Attitude; D016494:Computer Security; D003219:Confidentiality; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D010358:Patient Participation; D061108:Social Media; D055815:Young Adult