Biases, Methodological Pitfalls, and Ethical Boundaries When Working with Online Social Data

Online social data is at the core of many popular web platforms, driving the agenda of researchers in both academia and industry. The promises of social data are many, including understanding what the world thinks about social issues, brands, or other entities, and enabling better decision-making in a variety of fields like public policy and healthcare. Yet, many academics and practitioners are increasingly warning against the naive usage of social data. They highlight that there are biases and inaccuracies occurring at the source of the data, and also introduced during the data processing. There are methodological limitations, as well as ethical boundaries and unexpected consequences.