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journal article Open Access Feb 03, 2022

Reporting and discoverability of “Tweets” quoted in published scholarship: current practice and ethical implications

Shannon Mason ORCID Lenandlar Singh
Research Ethics Vol. 18 No. 2 pp. 93-113 · SAGE Publications
View at Publisher Save 10.1177/17470161221076948
Abstract
Twitter is an increasingly common source of rich, personalized qualitative data, as millions of people daily share their thoughts on myriad topics. However, questions remain unclear concerning if and how to quote publicly available social media data ethically. In this study, focusing on 136 education manuscripts quoting 2667 Tweets, we look to investigate the ways in which Tweets are quoted, the ethical discussions forwarded and actions taken, and the extent to which quoted Tweets are “discoverable.” A concerning result is that in almost all manuscripts, and for around half of all quoted Tweets, the original author could be identified. Drawing on our findings we share some ethical dilemmas, including those that arise from an apparent lack of understanding of the technical aspects of the platform, and offer suggestions for promoting ethically-informed practice.
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Cited By
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Digital dating abuse: a Grounded Theory study

Tiago Rocha-Silva, Conceição Nogueira · 2026

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“This Isn’t Your Data, Friend”: Black Twitter as a Case Study on Research Ethics for Public Data

Shamika Klassen, Casey Fiesler · 2022

Social Media + Society
Metrics
28
Citations
53
References
Details
Published
Feb 03, 2022
Vol/Issue
18(2)
Pages
93-113
License
View
Authors
S
Shannon Mason

Nagasaki University, Japan

L
Lenandlar Singh

University of Guyana, Guyana

Cite This Article
Shannon Mason, Lenandlar Singh (2022). Reporting and discoverability of “Tweets” quoted in published scholarship: current practice and ethical implications. Research Ethics, 18(2), 93-113. https://doi.org/10.1177/17470161221076948
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