Morality in social media: A scoping review

Neumann, D., & Rhodes, N. (2023).

New Media & Society, 26(2), 1096-1126.

(Original work published 2024)

https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448231166056

Abstract

Social media platforms have been adopted rapidly into our current culture and affect nearly all areas of our everyday lives. Their prevalence has raised questions about the influence of new communication technologies on moral reasoning, judgments, and behaviors. The present scoping review identified 80 articles providing an overview of scholarly work conducted on morality in social media. Screening for research that explicitly addressed moral questions, the authors found that research in this area tends to be atheoretical, US-based, quantitative, cross-sectional survey research in business, psychology, and communication journals. Findings suggested a need for increased theoretical contributions. The authors identified new developments in research analysis, including text scraping and machine coding, which may contribute to theory development. In addition, diversity across disciplines allows for a broad picture in this research domain, but more interdisciplinarity might be needed to foster creative approaches to this study area.

Here are some thoughts:

This article is a scoping review that analyzes 80 articles focusing on morality in social media. The review aims to give researchers in different fields an overview of current research. The authors found that research in this area is generally atheoretical, conducted in the US, uses quantitative methods, and is published in business, psychology, and communication journals. The review also pointed out new methods of research analysis, like text scraping and machine coding, which could help in developing theories.

Social media has rapidly become a major part of our culture, impacting almost every aspect of daily life. It provides digital spaces where people can learn socially by watching and judging the moral behaviors of others. The easy access to information about moral and immoral actions through social media can significantly influence users' moral behaviors, judgments, reasoning, emotions, and self-views. It's vital for psychologists to understand how social media affects moral reasoning, judgments, and behaviors. This understanding is key to addressing any negative impacts of social media, especially on young people, and to creating strategies that encourage positive online behavior.

Emerging technologies and research ethics: Developing editorial policy using a scoping review and reference panel

Knight, S., et al. (2024).

PLoS ONE, 19(10), e0309715.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0309715

Abstract

Background

Emerging technologies and societal changes create new ethical concerns and greater need for cross-disciplinary and cross–stakeholder communication on navigating ethics in research. Scholarly articles are the primary mode of communication for researchers, however there are concerns regarding the expression of research ethics in these outputs. If not in these outputs, where should researchers and stakeholders learn about the ethical considerations of research?

Objectives

Drawing on a scoping review, analysis of policy in a specific disciplinary context (learning and technology), and reference group discussion, we address concerns regarding research ethics, in research involving emerging technologies through developing novel policy that aims to foster learning through the expression of ethical concepts in research.

Approach

This paper develops new editorial policy for expression of research ethics in scholarly outputs across disciplines. These guidelines, aimed at authors, reviewers, and editors, are underpinned by:

• a cross-disciplinary scoping review of existing policy and adherence to these policies;
• a review of emerging policies, and policies in a specific discipline (learning and technology); and,
• a collective drafting process undertaken by a reference group of journal editors (the authors of this paper).

Results

Analysis arising from the scoping review indicates gaps in policy across a wide range of journals (54% have no statement regarding reporting of research ethics), and adherence (51% of papers reviewed did not refer to ethics considerations). Analysis of emerging and discipline-specific policies highlights gaps.

Conclusion

Our collective policy development process develops novel materials suitable for cross-disciplinary transfer, to address specific issues of research involving AI, and broader challenges of emerging technologies.

Here are some thoughts:

This research explored the intersection of emerging technologies and research ethics, focusing on the development of editorial policies.  Their study employed a scoping review combined with a reference panel to identify key ethical challenges and tensions arising from the use of new technologies in research.  The research highlights the need for updated and robust research ethics policies to address these challenges, particularly given the rapid advancements in fields like artificial intelligence.  Essentially, the authors argue that existing ethical frameworks may not be sufficient to handle the complexities introduced by emerging technologies, and they propose a process for developing new editorial policies to guide ethical research practices in this evolving landscape.