The Tastes, Ties, and Time researchers were accused of a "failure to adhere to ethical research standards" (Zimmer 2010) in part because the students had not provided informed consent (all procedures were reviewed and approved by Harvard's IRB and Facebook).
ນັກຄົ້ນຄວ້າທີ່ມີຄວາມນິຍົມ, Ties, ແລະ Time ໄດ້ຖືກກ່າວຫາວ່າ "ການບໍ່ສອດຄ່ອງກັບມາດຕະຖານການຄົ້ນຄວ້າດ້ານຈັນຍາບັນ" (Zimmer 2010) ສ່ວນຫນຶ່ງແມ່ນຍ້ອນວ່ານັກຮຽນບໍ່ໄດ້ຮັບການຍິນຍອມເຫັນດີຢ່າງຊັດເຈນ (ທຸກໆຂັ້ນຕອນໄດ້ຖືກທົບທວນແລະອະນຸມັດຈາກ IRB ແລະ Facebook ຂອງ Harvard).