Measuring Romanian Students’ Attitude towards the Ethical Use of Social Networks

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

An interesting topic that may open up a research area to explore further the impact of social network influence in professional and personal communications.

Author Response

We thank the reviewer for approving and appreciating our work.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Very interesting and timely topic.

Well-written paper. 

 

Author Response

We thank the reviewer for approving and appreciating our work.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

This study explores the ethical issues and considerations of SN in the Romanian context. Overall, this paper shows a high quality of exploration based on quantitative analysis. Several minor issues may be changed before the next step. 

1. The authors need to update the literature review. It is essential to add more new references.

2. The discussion section should be further enhanced. It is necessary to provide more discussions about the theoretical model proposed by the authors. How do findings contribute to the theoretical development? 

3. Writing may need to be checked before the next submission.

Author Response

Comment#1: The authors need to update the literature review. It is essential to add more new references.

Reply: We have added 6 very recent studies in the field of ethical use of social networks.

Brady et al. [45] have developed a method to measure expressions of moral outrage at the level of texts used on social networks. A new direction of research includes investigating the attitude towards the ethics of artificial intelligence, which includes eight themes: confidentiality, responsibility, safety and security, transparency and explainability, fairness and non-discrimination, human control of technology, professional responsibility and promotion of human values [46].

Engaging in processes of reflexivity becomes a new way to improve ethical thinking in the case of using social networks [49]. Other recent research [50] highlights the importance of cultural factors in investigating the attitudes of social network users with reference to privacy concerns. Michaelidou et al. [51] used a mixed methods research approach to develop and validate an instrument to investigate the ethical dimensions of social media research. Moafa et al. [52] developed a model to measure the ethical effects of using social networks on students.

Comment#2: The discussion section should be further enhanced. It is necessary to provide more discussions about the theoretical model proposed by the authors. How do findings contribute to the theoretical development?

Reply: We have elaborated a paragraph about the proposed theoretical model in the discussion section. Also, we emphasized the way in which the ethical model contributes to the theoretical development.

The model of ethical attitudes in the context of the integration of social networks in the academic environment offers a new perspective on how students and teachers know and respect the rules of use. This model is based on several constructs, such as attitude towards the ethical use of social networks, ethical codes, online technological resources. There is an interdependent relationship between the variables, which determines an integrative approach to ethical attitudes towards social networks. Higher education institutions are already capitalizing on online instructional resources and applying ethical ways to design innovative and creative educational environments that help improve teaching-learning experiences. Therefore, the model allows determining the effects of the policies adopted by universities regarding the use of social networks on the ethical attitudes of students.

For the ethical use of social networks, there are proposed principles for the proper design of online social environments to reduce unintended harm caused by users during online interaction as well as to make users aware of the moral charge of their interactions [61].

University professors and instructors will implement precautions to manage issues such as identity theft, hacking, invasion of privacy, and other unethical activities that may arise from the use of social networks. At the same time, ethical approaches should be introduced into courses to inform students about the dos and don'ts of online learning environments. Therefore, students will become aware of what they can and cannot do in terms of social media ethics in academia.

We have added new current research to explain the results.

One of the reasons for using social networks is the ability to express emotions by adding emojis [51].

Comment#3: Writing may need to be checked before the next submission.

Reply: We rechecked the writing before submitting the manuscript.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 4 Report

The study is equilibrated and very well referenced. I want to make some recommendations for improving this article from a methodological point of view. 

This study has objective but doesn't have a research question and hypothesis. We recommend at least the research question assigned at the objective for a better understanding of the article's content.

In plus, the Abstract must include more clearly than now the originality/contribution in the scientific field. 

In the Introduction, there is not a clear paragraph with the Objective of this paper. 

We recommend including in the Discussion section an extended paragraph with the limits of research (for ex. how representative the sample is from a single-small university for a country). Please, move this par. from the Conclusions section.  

Author Response

Comment#1: This study has objective but doesn't have a research question and hypothesis. We recommend at least the research question assigned at the objective for a better understanding of the article's content.

Reply: We thank the reviewer for this suggestion. To clarify the research questions of the study we have replaced the previous enlisting research objectives, with a set of research questions as follows:

Hence, the research questions (RQs) are formed as follows:

RQ1: What is the students’ attitude towards the ethical use of SNs?

RQ2: Are there significant differences in the students’ ethical attitudes towards SNs, according to their characteristics of gender, age, specialization, level of study (Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree), year of study (1st, 2nd, 3rd), and residential environment (rural, urban)?

Comment#2: In plus, the Abstract must include more clearly than now the originality/contribution in the scientific field. 

Reply: We changed the last sentence of the abstract which was general and specified more clearly the contribution in the theoretical field.

The model of ethical attitudes provides a new perspective on how students and teachers know and respect the rules of using social networks in the academic environment.

Comment#3: In the Introduction, there is not a clear paragraph with the Objective of this paper. 

Reply: We have added a paragraph with the objective of paper in the Introduction.

The objective of this study consists in identifying the ethical attitudes of the students, as a result of the ever-increasing use of social networks in universities.

Comment#4: We recommend including in the Discussion section an extended paragraph with the limits of research (for ex. how representative the sample is from a single-small university for a country). Please, move this par. from the Conclusions section.  

Reply: The paragraph with the limits of the research has been moved to the Discussions section.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf