[Air-L] Mastodon research ethics questions

[Swati Mehta]

Hello everyone,

I’m part of a research team at the Experimental Methods and Media Lab at Trent Uni, Canada that is working on a Mastodon-based study. The project involves setting up and moderating a solar-powered Mastodon instance. The study will observe and interview users to understand their experience of using an intermittently connected social media.

We are currently in the process of the submitting our research ethics application and would really appreciate insights from anyone who has experience in conducting research on Mastodon. We are particularly interested in understanding how research projects on Mastodon have secured participant consent, established privacy expectations, developed a code of conduct, moderation policy, and a research data collection policy. It will also be very helpful for us to know how these and any other ethical considerations related to conducting research on Mastodon have been successfully communicated to research ethics boards.

Looking forward to learning from your experiences with Mastodon.

Best wishes,
Swati Mehta

PhD Candidate - Department of Cultural Studies, Trent University
RA - Experimental Methods and Media Lab, Trent University
GTA - Cultural Studies | Trent School of Environment
Editorial Assistant - Media Theory