The ethical challenges of researching primary school children's online activities: a new ethical paradigm for the virtual ethnographer

This theoretical paper was peer reviewed for presentation at the BERA Conference of 2006. It was rated highly by the committee for originality and relevance because of its focus upon the ethical issues in researching young children’s online activities within an e-learning context. It highlights ethical issues that have emerged out of the author’s work into researching the potential of online communities. Issues surrounding virtual ethnography are often under-reported, but it is the author’s view that these should be foregrounded in any research investigating the use of virtual learning environments with children. The case is made for a dynamic, reflexive approach to ethics due to the fast changing environment of new technologies. The work offers a theoretical model which synthesises the affordances of the virtual research environment with researcher and participant attitudes in the wider cultural context to address the difficult issues around the nature of online research with children.