Fabricius, A., O'Doherty, K., & Yen, J. (2025).
Canadian Psychology / Psychologie canadienne.
Advance online publication.
Abstract
The pervasive influence of digital data in contemporary society presents research psychologists with significant ethical challenges that have yet to be fully recognized or addressed. The rapid evolution of data technologies and integration into research practices has outpaced the guidance provided by existing ethical frameworks and regulations, leaving researchers vulnerable to unethical decision making about data. This is important to recognize because data is now imbued with substantial financial value and enables relations with many powerful entities, like governments and corporations. Accordingly, decision making about data can have far-reaching and harmful consequences for participants and society. As we approach the Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists’ 40th anniversary, we highlight the need for small updates to its ethical standards with respect to data practices in psychological research. We examine two common data practices that have largely escaped thorough ethical scrutiny among psychologists: the use of Amazon’s Mechanical Turk for data collection and the creation and expansion of microtargeting, including recruitment for psychological research. We read these examples and psychologists’ reactions to them against the current version of the Code. We close by offering specific recommendations for expanding the Code’s standards, though also considering the role of policy, guidelines, and position papers.
Impact Statement
This study argues that psychologists must develop a better understanding of the kinds of ethical issues their data practices raise. We offer recommendations for how the Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists might update its standards to account for data ethics issues and offer improved guidance. Importantly, we can no longer limit our ethical guidance on data to its role in knowledge production—we must account for the fact that data puts us in relation with corporations and governments, as well.
Here are some thoughts:
The digital data revolution has introduced significant, under-recognized ethical challenges in psychological research, necessitating urgent updates to the Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists. Data is no longer just a tool for knowledge—it is a valuable commodity embedded in complex power relations with corporations and governments, enabling surveillance, exploitation, and societal harm.
Two common practices illustrate these concerns. First, Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk) is widely used for data collection, yet it relies on a global workforce of “turkers” who are severely underpaid, lack labor protections, and are subject to algorithmic control. Psychologists often treat them as disposable labor, withholding payment for incomplete tasks—violating core ethical principles around fair compensation, informed consent, and protection of vulnerable populations. Turkers occupy a dual role as both research participants and precarious workers—a status unacknowledged by current ethics codes or research ethics boards (REBs).
Second, microtargeting —the use of behavioral data to predict and influence individuals—has deep roots in psychology. Research on personality profiling via social media (e.g., the MyPersonality app) enabled companies like Cambridge Analytica to manipulate voters. Now, psychologists are adopting microtargeting to recruit clinical populations, using algorithms to infer sensitive mental health conditions without users’ knowledge. This risks “outing” individuals, enabling discrimination, and transferring control of data to private, unregulated platforms.
Current ethical frameworks are outdated, focusing narrowly on data as an epistemic resource while ignoring its economic and political dimensions. The Code mentions “data” only six times and fails to address modern risks like corporate data sharing, government surveillance, or re-identification.
