Ethical Considerations for Generative AI in Social Science Research

Abstract

Social science research embodies the inquiry into people as individuals and their interpersonal interactions with each other in communities and varied societies, with due consideration for their natural, technological, and constructed environments. Due to (a) the nature and composition of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research designs coupled with (b) the apparent expectations of responsible behavior from researchers (human beings), room exists for research misconduct or unethical practices. The prevalence and acceptance of generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology such as ChatGPT propagate at a hyper-accelerated pace based on its potential for ease of work in many sectors, including research, particularly academic research. Journal reviewers, editors, and publishers do not possess sufficient tools to differentiate between human-written and partially or wholly AI-authored manuscripts submitted for journal publication.