Consider the example of Longitudinal SNA in Schools. What type of ethical questions might one need to consider for such studies? Which of the six ethical lenses might be helpful for addressing such questions?
Section 6.2 Ethics in Social Network Analysis
The second resource we will consider is the 2021 special issue of the journal Social Networks devoted to the topic of "Recent ethical challenges in social network analysis":
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/social-networks/vol/67/suppl/C There are multiple interesting papers in this volume of the journal, but we will focus our discussion on the following paper, for which a PDF version is available on the Canvas page for this course.-
Paola Tubaro, Louise Ryan, Antonio A. Casilli, Alessio D’Angelo, Social network analysis: New ethical approaches through collective reflexivity. Introduction to the special issue of Social Networks, Social Networks, Volume 67, 2021, Pages 1-8, ISSN 0378-8733.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socnet.2020.12.001
Throughout this article, the abbreviation "SNA" is used for "Social Network Analysis".
Let’s begin with a review of what SNA is. The instructor will review the first paragraph or two of
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_network_analysis as an overview.
Next: the instructor will review some of the practical applications of SNA listed in
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_network_analysis#Practical_applications.
Checkpoint 6.2.1.
Checkpoint 6.2.2.
Consider the example of Security Applications. What type of ethical questions might one need to consider for such studies? Which of the six ethical lenses might be helpful for addressing such questions?
We will next discuss some aspects of the paper by Tubaro et. al. The instructor will next read the third paragraph of the section titled "The difficult relationship between SNA and research ethics" and the first paragraph of the section titled "Digitization and its challenges to SNA research".
Checkpoint 6.2.3.
Informed by the six ethical lenses, what types of ethical questions do you think might be asked about confidentiality prior to conducting a social network study? Are there ways in which the six ethical lenses conflict with each other in this context? Do any of the lenses complement or reinforce each other in this context?
The instructor will next read the second paragraph of the section titled "Digitization and its challenges to SNA research".
Checkpoint 6.2.4.
How might the framework for ethical decision-making that you wrote about for Essay 6 inform the collection and analysis of social network data in situations such as the Cambridge Analytica scandal and the use of Twitter data regarding the Benalla affair?
The instructor will next read the fifth paragraph in the section titled "A way forward for SNA researchers". The remainder of the article argues that both individuals and teams of researchers should engage in "reflexivity", which for practical purposes means engaging in ongoing considerations of ethical issues at every stage of research.
Checkpoint 6.2.5.
This paragraph states "there is very little consensus among researchers as to the best and most effective ethical frameworks". Do you believe that it is necessary to find consensus of this type? Or is it appropriate to have multiple ethical lenses and to have researchers engage in discussion regarding which is most appropriate for a given ethical dilemma?
Do you feel it is reasonable to expect individuals and teams to maintain a state of reflexivity in their research practices? Why or why not?
