While academic integrity is more commonly attributed to publishing research via traditional means, the same rigour and responsibilities also apply when communicating about and sharing research via social media.
Promoting your research on social media is a powerful opportunity for researchers to improve visibility and engage with the public but it can come with risks.
A report, ‘Feeling Better Connected’: Academics’ Use of Social Media, written in 2014 by Dr. Deborah Lupton, Centenary Research Professor at the University of Canberra, some researchers expressed concerns around:
- issues of privacy and the blurring of boundaries between personal and professional use
- misappropriation of authorship credit
- publishing data without authorisation
- jeopardising their career through careless use of social media
- concerns around the reception and quality of their posted content
- ethical considerations in using social media to engage research participants
- copyright concerns
- becoming a target of attack
- possible plagiarism of their ideas
- the commercialisation of content
An ABC News article addresses the issues of Privacy, Consent and Good Manners describing the impact on an individual when consent was not obtained for them to be filmed and the resulting footage used as a Tik Tok entry. While this may not be research related activity, it highlights the importance of obtaining consent and of the use of basic courtesy when working with your subjects. Obtaining consent, ensuring subjects are not misrepresented, and making efforts to tell their story while not exploiting them or risking their privacy, is all about practising good research integrity.
Reference
Lupton, D. (2014) ‘Feeling better connected’: Academics’ use of social media. Canberra: News & Media Research Centre, University of Canberra.
https://www.canberra.edu.au/about-uc/faculties/arts-design/attachments2/pdf/n-and-mrc/Feeling-Better-Connected-report-final.pdf
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