Research Ethics In The Digital Age

The book discusses the multiple issues of a digital research ethic in its interdisciplinary diversity. Digitization and mediatization alter social behavior and cultural traditions, thereby generating new objects of study and new research questions for the social sciences and humanities. Furthermore, mediatization and digitization increase the data volume and accessibility of (quantitative) research and proliferate methodological opportunities for scientific analyses. Hence, they profoundly affect research practices in multiple ways. While consequences concerning the subjects, objects, and addressees of research in the social sciences and humanities have rarely been reflected upon, this reflection lies at the center of the book.

Internet Research Ethics for the Social Age: New Challenges, Cases, and Contexts directly engages with the discussions and debates surrounding the Internet, and stimulates new ways to think about - and work towards resolving - the novel ethical dilemmas we face as internet and social media-based research continues to evolve.

This volume offers a window into some of the hot-button ethical issues facing a society where digital has become the new normal. The research represented not only reflects on how our ethical frameworks have been changed and challenged by digital technology, but also provides insights for those confronted with specific ethical dilemmas related to digital technology.

Internet Research Ethics for the Social Age: New Challenges, Cases, and Contexts directly engages with the discussions and debates surrounding the Internet, and stimulates new ways to think about - and work towards resolving - the novel ethical dilemmas we face as internet and social media-based research continues to evolve.

Drawing from interviews with Internet researchers from across the globe who work in diverse disciplines and in a wide array of online venues, this book examines ethical issues and questions that Internet researchers may encounter throughout the research process. Although the ethics of Internet research are complex, the aim of the book is to provide a rhetorical, case-based process to aid researchers in ethical decision making. In doing so, the book provides Internet researchers with useful resources and heuristics for engaging in ethical practices, interactions, and problem solving for their research.

Thematically organized around three of the most pressing ethical issues of the digital age (shifting of professional norms, moderating offensive content, and privacy), this volume offers a window into some of the hot-button ethical issues facing a society where digital has become the new normal. Straddling an applied ethical and theoretical approach, the research represented not only reflects on how our ethical frameworks have been changed and challenged by digital technology, but also provides insights for those confronted with specific ethical dilemmas related to digital technology. With contributions from established experts and up-and-coming scholars alike, this book cuts across disciplines and with appeal to communication scholars, philosophers, and anyone with an interest in ethics and technology.

In a digital age of perceived anonymity and diminishing face-to-face contact what does it mean to be true to thyself? Has the internet given us license to be false to others, without consequence? Technology has given us capabilities we previously did not have and changed the way we think about time and space. Although research is now being done on many aspects of the interplay between humans and technology, there currently exists a vacuum regarding behavior and usage of technology. This edited volume contains some of the best research on digital ethics from authors in communication, law, information studies, education, philosophy, political science, computer science, and business on topics that range from sexting to piracy. This groundbreaking volume contributes to the growing body of knowledge in this area and provides a much-needed resource for scholars and teachers interested in exploring ethics in this new digital world.

A guide to understanding digital research from both a conceptual and practical perspective, helping the reader to make sense of the issues, challenges and opportunities of social science research in the digital age. The book will help the reader to understand how the digital context impacts on social science research and is divided into three main sections: A Justification & Reconceptualization of Digital Research: The authors explore how far the digital environment is transforming social science research. Accessing Digital Data: An outline of the characteristics of digital data, temporality issues in digital research and different data sources. Moving Forward with Digital Research: Examining the practicalities of how to conduct digital research, with examples and suggestions to strengthen the implementation of digital research. Suitable for Masters and Doctoral students undertaking digital or online research methods courses, as well as anyone doing a research project or dissertation with an online component.