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Facebook as a research tool for the social sciences: opportunities, challenges, ethical considerations, and practical guidelines

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

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Authors

Kosinski, M 
Matz, SC 
Gosling, SD 
Popov, V 

Abstract

Facebook is rapidly gaining recognition as a powerful research tool for the social sciences. It constitutes a large and diverse pool of participants, who can be selectively recruited for both online and offline studies. Additionally, it facilitates data collection by storing detailed records of its users’ demographic profiles, social interactions, and behaviors. With participants’ consent, these data can be recorded retrospectively in a convenient, accurate, and inexpensive way. Based on our experience in designing, implementing, and maintaining multiple Facebook-based psychological studies that attracted over 10 million participants, we demonstrate how to recruit participants using Facebook, incentivize them effectively, and maximize their engagement. We also outline the most important opportunities and challenges associated with using Facebook for research, provide several practical guidelines on how to successfully implement studies on Facebook, and finally, discuss ethical considerations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved)

Description

Keywords

Data Collection, Female, Humans, Research Design, Social Networking, Social Sciences

Journal Title

American Psychologist

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

1935-990X
1935-990X

Volume Title

70

Publisher

American Psychological Association (APA)