#Academicchatter: methodological and ethical considerations for conducting Twitter research in education

Abstract

ABSTRACT As Twitter’s (or X’s) influence permeates aspects of education, researchers must consider how to ethically and effectively leverage the unique types of data that this social media platform offers. This paper provides recommended methodological practice considerations for working with qualitative Twitter data toward the advancement of education research. To inform our methodological protocol, we draw from a larger study that investigated disability disclosure during graduate school on Twitter. We use examples from our study to highlight similar protocol considerations that future researchers might take when working with qualitative Twitter data, including use of the website’s advanced search feature and use of multifaceted analysis approaches for capturing this data’s often unique complexity. We further provide ethical considerations for conducting social media research in education. Finally, we discuss the utility of the practices described in this article for moving education research forward via qualitative Twitter data.