Work

How scientists can take the lead in establishing ethical practices for social media research

Year: 2018

Type: article

Abstract: Social media use has become ubiquitous in the United States, providing unprecedented opportunities for research. However, the rapidly evolving research landscape has far outpaced federal regulations for the protection of human subjects. Recent highly publicized scandals have raised legitimate concerns in the media about how social media data are being used. These circumstances combined with the absence of ethical standards puts even the best intentioned scientists at risk of possible research misconduct. The scientific community may need to lead the charge in insuring the ethical use of social media data in scientific research. We propose 6 steps the scientific community can take to lead this charge. We underscore the important role of funding agencies and universities to create the necessary ethics infrastructure to allow social media research to flourish in a way that is pro-technology, pro-science, and most importantly, pro-humanity.

Source: Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association

DOI: 10.1093/jamia/ocy174

Authors: Sherry Pagoto, Camille Nebeker

Institutions: University of Connecticut, Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy, University of California San Diego

Language: English

Topic: Ethics in Clinical Research

Subfield: Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,332

Funders: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute