scholarly journals RESEARCH ETHICS PRACTICES IN A CHANGING SOCIAL MEDIA LANDSCAPE

Author(s):  
Katharina E. Kinder-Kurlanda ◽  
Katrin Weller

In our work we study practical approaches to internet research ethics with a logitudinal perspective. We have interviewed more than 40 social media researchers in 2013-2014 using a semi-structured qualitative interview approach. From these interviews we gained insights into the challenges of everyday research practices at the various stages of the research process, as well as into motivations for specific approaches and critical reflections on research design and decision making, particularly concerning research ethics. At the end of 2019 we started re-interviewing the participants in our study and will continue to do so over the next months. In addition to questions about the details of everyday data work and the rationales behind (ethical) decision making, we are asking participants what has changed in the way they conduct research with social media. Based on our interviews as well as the ongoing discussions of Internet Research Ethics in the community, this paper focuses on the ethical dimensions of social media research practices and how they have evolved over the past years. Between our two interview periods, the social media landscape has witnessed several changes, including incidents like the "Cambridge Analytica scandal", which have also created ethical discussions in the broader public. By asking researchers about their everyday work, our research contributes to a look behind the scenes of "life as an internet researcher", as phrased in the list of topics in the call for papers.

Author(s):  
Charles Ess ◽  
Steven Jones

The AoIR ethics statement, developed by ethicists and researchers from 11 countries, articulates guiding questions for online research appropriate to the many disciplines—both within the social sciences and the humanities—that undertake such research. These guidelines are characterized by an ethical pluralism—one that acknowledges the legitimacy of a range of possible ethical responses to a given problem, especially as viewed from the perspectives of the diverse national and cultural traditions represented on the Web and the Net as global media. This is an excerpt of the full working document available at http://www.aoir.org/reports/ethics.pdf.


Author(s):  
Charles M. Ess

This article discusses Internet research ethics, which promises to become an ever-more robust and significant field within information ethics, on the one hand, and research ethics more broadly, on the other. As new venues emerge for human–human and human–machine interaction, it seems certain that new ethical conundrums will emerge. But the overall history of Internet research ethics includes at least some convergence on key values and rights, while at the same time preserving important local differences with regard to approaches to ethical decision making and implementation of basic rights and principles – even across East–West divides. This trajectory suggests not the certainty of finding resolutions to every ethical problem that comes along, but rather the sense of finding such resolutions in the face of new difficulties, with sufficient frequency and success to encourage further efforts to do so.


2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 452-454 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Samuel ◽  
W. Ahmed ◽  
H. Kara ◽  
C. Jessop ◽  
S. Quinton ◽  
...  

This article reports on a U.K. workshop on social media research ethics held in May 2018. There were 10 expert speakers and an audience of researchers, research ethics committee members, and research institution representatives. Participants reviewed the current state of social media ethics, discussing well-rehearsed questions such as what needs consent in social media research, and how the public/private divide differs between virtual and real-life environments. The lack of answers to such questions was noted, along with the difficulties posed for ethical governance structures in general and the work of research ethics committees in particular. Discussions of these issues enabled the creation of two recommendations. The first is for research ethics committees and journal editors to add the category of ‘data subject research’ to the existing categories of ‘text research’ and ‘human subject research’. This would reflect the fact that social media research does not fall into either of the existing categories and so needs a category of its own. The second is that ethical issues should be considered at all stages of social media research, up to and including aftercare. This acknowledges that social media research throws up a large number of ethical issues throughout the process which, under current arrangements for ethical research governance, risks remaining unaddressed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 02`-16
Author(s):  
Dyuty Firoz

Social media destination promo videos (DPVs), are among the most important information sources of travel decision-making for their interactive and sharing features, and outstanding destination promotion strategy. Country image is also another important factor for travel decision-making. This study’s purpose is to assess whether the social media DPVs like DMOs’ promo videos and country image have any impact on visiting intentions towards risky destinations. A quantitative method was used for this study. Data was collected by online questionnaires, and 609 valid responses were considered for the analysis of the study. The results showed that the country's image positively influences the attitude of young tourists towards the country and that attention towards the promo videos positively influences young tourists’ overall emotions, attitudes, social norms, interests, desires and behaviours toward visiting a risky destination. This study results would be beneficial for those who are interested in using social media DPVs as part of their destination-promotion strategy, and also can guide destination-marketers to monitor and create better destination promotional contents in social media platforms, to encourage tourism to the destinations, especially risky ones.


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