1,721,047 research outputs found
Defining ethical standards for the application of digital tools to population health research
No full textThere is growing interest in population health research which uses methods basedon artificial intelligence. Such research draws on a range of clinical and non-clinicaldata to make predictions about health risks, such as identifying epidemics andmonitoring disease spread. Much of this research uses data from social media in thepublic domain or anonymous secondary health data and is therefore exempt fromethics committee scrutiny. While the ethical use and regulation of digital-basedresearch has been discussed, little attention has been given to the ethicsgovernance of such research in higher education institutions in the field of populationhealth. Such governance is essential to how scholars make ethical decisions andprovides assurance to the public that researchers are acting ethically. We propose aprocess of ethics governance for population health research in higher educationinstitutions. The approach takes the form of review after the research has beencompleted, with particular focus on the role artificial intelligence algorithms play inaugmenting decision-making. The first layer of review could be national, openscience repositories for open-source algorithms and affiliated data or informationwhich are developed during research. The second layer would be a sector-specificvalidation of the research processes and algorithms by a committee of academicsand stakeholders with a wide range of expertise across disciplines. The committeecould be created as an off-shoot of an already functioning national oversight body orhealth technology assessment organization. We use case studies of good practice toexplore how this process might operate
"Reasoning “uncharted territory”: Notions of expertise within ethics review panels assessing research use of social media"
No full textThe fast changing field of social media (SM) research presents unique challenges for research ethics committees (RECs). This article examines notions of experience and expertise in the context of REC members reviewing proposals for SM research and considers the role of the RECs in this area of review. We analyze 19 interviews with REC members to highlight that a lack of personal and professional experience of SM, compounded by a lack of institutional and professional guidelines, mean many REC members feel they do not possess sufficient expertise to review SM research. This view was supported by 14 interviews with SM researchers. REC members drew on strategies to overcome their lack of experience, although most SM researchers still found this problematic, to varying degrees. We recommend several steps to ensure REC expertise in SM research keeps pace of this fast-developing field, taking a pro-active, dialogic approach
From “a fair game” to “a form of covert research": Research Ethics Committee Members differing notions of consent and potential risk to participants within social media research
No full textSocial media (SM) research presents new challenges for research ethics committees (RECs) who must balance familiar ethical principles with new notions of public availability. This article qualitatively examines how U.K. REC members view this balance in terms of risk and consent. While it found significant variance overall, there were discernible experience-based trends. REC members with less experience of reviewing SM held inflexible notions of consent and risk that could be categorized as either relying on traditional notions of requiring direct consent, or viewing publicly available data as “fair game.” More experienced REC members took a more nuanced approach to data use and consent. We conclude that the more nuanced approach should be best practice during ethical review of SM research
Population health AI researchers’ perceptions of the public portrayal of AI: A pilot study
No full textThis article reports how 18 UK and Canadian population health artificial intelligence researchers in Higher Education Institutions perceive the use of artificial intelligence systems in their research, and how this compares with their perceptions about the media portrayal of artificial intelligence systems. This is triangulated with a small scoping analysis of how UK and Canadian news articles portray artificial intelligence systems associated with health research and care. Interviewees had concerns about what they perceived as sensationalist reporting of artificial intelligence systems – a finding reflected in the media analysis. In line with Pickersgill’s concept of ‘epistemic modesty’, they considered artificial intelligence systems better perceived as non-exceptionalist methodological tools that were uncertain and unexciting. Adopting ‘epistemic modesty’ was sometimes hindered by stakeholders to whom the research is disseminated, who may be less interested in hearing about the uncertainties of scientific practice, having implications on both research and policy
Map of the Handbook of Meta-Research
Full text linkThis chapter introduces each contribution contained within the Handbook of Meta-Research. The chapters in the handbook are organised into four sections which represent many of the key focus areas of past and current meta-research. These four sections include: Public value of research; Policy and governance of research; Knowledge dynamics; and Research cultures and careers. The chapter ends by stating the main objective of this Handbook, which is to facilitate discussions within the meta-research space towards a more inclusive and interdisciplinary production of knowledge that we can use to simultaneously produce valuable, high-quality research as well as enrich the understanding of the environment in which we work
Meta-research as discipline, field, or spectrum
Full text linkThis chapter examines the current state of meta-research. Specifically, we explore meta-research’s dynamic nature as a unique characteristic of an area of study that requires researchers to examine the practices, processes and norms within which their own work is situated. In addition, the interdisciplinary nature of meta-research presents epistemological tensions around notions of research quality, that also are an important area of study and of constant examination and debate for meta-researchers. This chapter examines the potential consequences of this diversity on the recognition of meta-research as a field or discipline. The chapter concludes with an acknowledgement that the field benefits from keeping disciplinary borders fluid as a way of encouraging and valuing interdisciplinary perspectives and experiences of meta research
Export marketing in higher education: an international comparison
No full textPurpose
How higher education institutions (HEIs) approach the recruitment of international students is an area of global interest (James-MacEachern, 2018, Ross et al., 2013), but there is limited focus on how institutions in different parts of the world approach international student recruitment as an export marketing orientation (EMO). The purpose of this paper is to examine the similarities and differences of export marketing orientation amongst three higher education institutions.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses export marketing concepts to compare three universities from Canada, Hong Kong and the UK to explore how institutions use international student recruitment as export marketing in international markets.
Findings
The study finds a number of similarities and differences in how HEIs react and respond to market and global environments, and responses impact the level of EMO. It argues that institutions rely differently on export marketing in their approach international students and highlights the need to understand how various factors such as national policy and institutional strategy impacts institutional adoption of an EMO in higher education.
Originality/value
By comparing HEIs from different parts of the world, this paper shows differences in export marketing orientation that are shaped by national policy frameworks and organizational culture. This is the first time three institutions from Canada, Hong Kong and the UK have been compared for EMO, and this study provides new insights into the factors that contribute or hinder EMO for HEIs
The Ethics Ecosystem : Personal Ethics, Network Governance and Regulating Actors Governing the Use of Social Media Research Data
Full text linkThis paper examines the consequences of a culture of “personal ethics” when using new methodologies, such as the use of social media (SM) sites as a source of data for research. Using SM research as an example, this paper explores the practices of a number of actors and researchers within the “Ethics Ecosystem” which as a network governs ethically responsible research behaviour. In the case of SM research, the ethical use of this data is currently in dispute, as even though it is seemingly publically available, concerns relating to privacy, vulnerability, potential harm and consent blur the lines of responsible ethical research behaviour. The findings point to the dominance of a personal, bottom-up, researcher-led, ‘ethical barometer’ for making decisions regarding the permissibility of using SM data. We show that the use of different barometers by different researchers can lead to wide disparities in ethical practice - disparities which are compounded by the lack of firm guidelines for responsible practice of SM research. This has widespread consequences on the development of shared norms and understandings at all levels, and by all actors within the Ethics Ecosystem, and risks inconsistencies in their approaches to ethical decision-making. This paper argues that this governance of ethical behaviour by individual researchers perpetuates a negative cycle of academic practice that is dependent on subjective judgements by researchers themselves, rather than governed by more formalised academic institutions such as the research ethics committee and funding council guidelines
When “culture trumps strategy”: Higher education institutional strategic plans and their influence on international student recruitment practice
No full textMany higher education institutions (HEIs) seek to attract international students through marketing and recruitment activity. At the same time, HEIs are developing strategic plans that suggest internationalisation strategies such as the recruitment of students are an important consideration for their institutions and these strategies and implementation differ by their individual settings and culture. This study uses an international comparison of three universities to explore how HEIs’ strategic plans shape or mediate international student recruitment practice within higher education. The activity theory is used to compare institutional strategies as an activity by considering how practitioners in different parts of the world shape the meaning, outcome and tensions of their practice. Using this approach, the study examines international student recruitment at three HEIs in Canada, Hong Kong and the UK and shows how practitioners of international student recruitment are influenced by their institutional strategic plans, and the extent of this influence on practice is mediated by institutional culture and the practitioner’s position within the institutional hierarchy. The study results indicate that considering strategy practitioners’ perceptions and interpretations of strategic plans provides HEIs with additional resources to improve strategic planning processes by creating and designing plans that address practice implementation within institutions
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