Table 2:

Ethical guidelines for longform audio recordings in behavioral research

Protection of privacy and confidentiality	Increasing participant autonomy over recordings instruct participants on how to remove the device and/or pause the recording provide a mechanism for participants to request deletion of sensitive information from the recordings Researcher’s role in protecting participants’ privacy configure devices so that recordings can only be retrieved by researchers; third parties cannot access data if device gets lost use filtered or low-resolution data when it will suffice for desired analyses (e.g., feature extraction techniques, subsampling) vet recordings for personal information prior to public sharing; stricter vetting procedures may be necessary for third parties provide appropriate privacy and confidentiality training for researchers who will have access to the audio data
Illegal activities and safety concerns in recordings	ascertain whether the researcher(s) are mandated reporters as defined by an employment contract/applicable laws include information about mandated reporting and qualifying events in the consent form (see Table 3) determine what qualifies as a reportable event, in consideration of applicable laws, time since data collection, and the purported risk to participants or others specify how researchers are to identify reportable events (e.g., are only incidental findings considered or will researchers conduct oversight on all recordings) be aware of the procedure for reporting safety concerns/illegal activity (e.g., identifying the correct person to contact and delineating how much information is necessary to disclose) if reporting is deemed necessary, determine whether to notify participants about the breaking of confidentiality provide appropriate training for research staff, including cultural training that addresses potential for misinterpretation
Data sharing and storage	make explicit plans for long and short term data management do not make promises that you will be unable or unwilling to keep, such as destroying data after a number of years consider different dissemination levels based on length and content of audio snippets from recordings adjust template consent forms to include data sharing and storage options that conform with the needs of your research (see Table 3); follow participants’ wishes for how their data should be shared and re-used store data according to national data protection regulations be prepared to explain your data storage system in a comprehensible manner to ensure participant understanding choose an appropriate data repository venue (see section 4.4.1) include a meta-data statement that explains the conditions for re-use
Third parties	Researcher responsibilities prior to and after data collection be familiar with the laws on third party consent of the country/region in which the research is taking place provide participants with an information card (or short verbal explanation) to give to third parties that explains the device, study goals, and privacy options (e.g., pausing the recording) do not share or publish recordings of third parties without their consent Participant responsibilities while recording if recording at home, participants should seek verbal permission from those likely to appear in the recording if socializing with friends and acquaintances, participants should alert them of the recording (can use information card) in public spaces (e.g., market, park), participants can wear a salient marker (e.g., distinctive clothing, a “warning triangle” on the device) that alerts individuals of the recording