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Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - The DECIDE Framework
T2 - Describing Ethical Choices in Digital-Behavioral-Data Explorations
AU - Shaw, Heather
AU - Brown, Olivia
AU - Hinds, Joanne
AU - Nightingale, Sophie
AU - Towse, John
AU - Ellis, David
PY - 2025/7/7
Y1 - 2025/7/7
N2 - Behavioral sciences now routinely rely on digital data, supported by digital technologies and platforms. This has resulted in an abundance of new ethical challenges for researchers and ethical review boards. Several contemporary high-profilecases emphasize that ethical issues often surface after the research is published, once harm has already occurred. Consequently, implementing safeguards in digital behavioral research is often reactionary and fails to adequately prevent harm. In response,we propose theDECIDE framework which encourages ethical reflections and discussions throughout all stages of the research process. The framework presents several questions designed to help researchers view their work from new perspectives and uncover ethical issues they might not have anticipated. We provide several resources to support researchers with their ethical reflections and discussions, including (i) The DECIDE Framework Spreadsheet, (ii) The DECIDE Desktop App, (iii) Information Documents, and (iv) Flowcharts.This article provides suggestions on how to use each resource to encourage proactive discussions of how ethical issues may apply to specific research contexts. Bypromoting continousethical considerations, safeguards can be put in place throughout the research project, even after research commencement. The DECIDE framework shifts ethical reflection away from being reactive towards a more proactive endeavor, reducing the risk of harm,and the misuse of digital behavioral data.
AB - Behavioral sciences now routinely rely on digital data, supported by digital technologies and platforms. This has resulted in an abundance of new ethical challenges for researchers and ethical review boards. Several contemporary high-profilecases emphasize that ethical issues often surface after the research is published, once harm has already occurred. Consequently, implementing safeguards in digital behavioral research is often reactionary and fails to adequately prevent harm. In response,we propose theDECIDE framework which encourages ethical reflections and discussions throughout all stages of the research process. The framework presents several questions designed to help researchers view their work from new perspectives and uncover ethical issues they might not have anticipated. We provide several resources to support researchers with their ethical reflections and discussions, including (i) The DECIDE Framework Spreadsheet, (ii) The DECIDE Desktop App, (iii) Information Documents, and (iv) Flowcharts.This article provides suggestions on how to use each resource to encourage proactive discussions of how ethical issues may apply to specific research contexts. Bypromoting continousethical considerations, safeguards can be put in place throughout the research project, even after research commencement. The DECIDE framework shifts ethical reflection away from being reactive towards a more proactive endeavor, reducing the risk of harm,and the misuse of digital behavioral data.
U2 - https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/c8ert
DO - https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/c8ert
M3 - Journal article
JO - Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science
JF - Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science
SN - 2515-2459
ER -