A distinction is made between research-induced and process-induced digital data.

1. Research-induced data:
   • Generated by the researcher (e.g., interviews, surveys…)
   • Data handling in terms of data protection, anonymization, informed consent, data security, ethics, and storage is the same as for analog field research.
2. Process-induced data:
   • Found on the Internet (e.g., blog posts or content on social media platforms…)
   • Divided into:
     • Trace data (unintentionally created traces)
     • Social media data (intentionally created traces)

Approach:

• For fully publicly accessible datasets (data and individuals generally traceable):
  • Informed consent is not necessarily required.
  • However, quoted text passages must be anonymized or paraphrased.
• For closed or semi-public chat groups and forums requiring login (data and individuals partially traceable):
  • Support from gatekeepers (e.g., admins) is needed for informed consent.
  • Permission must be obtained for thread storage.
  • If permission is granted:
    • Secure storage of data is required.
    • No publication of full datasets, as individuals may still be easily identified even with pseudonyms.
    • Quoted text passages must be anonymized or paraphrased.
• For private datasets (e.g., mutual friendships on Facebook or similar platforms):
  • Informed consent is absolutely required.
  • Regarding texts:
    • Anonymization may be less strict or even direct citation may be possible since data is not traceable.
    • However, real usernames should generally not be used.
  • For images, videos, and possibly audio recordings, anonymization is mandatory.