Wisdom of the crowds : developing a social media platform for socially responsible research : a thesis by publication. EMBARGOED to 6 September 2025.
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Date
2023
DOI
Open Access Location
Authors
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Publisher
Massey University
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The Author
Abstract
The recent proliferation of social media and the underlying technical applications have provided important opportunities for researchers to obtain wisdom-of-the-crowds (WoC)-type data to address their research questions for the benefit of society. In particular, complex or wicked social problems, e.g., COVID-19-like issues, may need more attention from researchers. As the contemporary world is filled with uncertainty and highly unpredictable, such kinds of problems are increasingly emerging, which require appropriate attention from researchers as well as new ways to tackle them.
However, most currently available social media applications have not been designed with researchers as their primary audience, and issues, such as ethical concerns and data acquisition restrictions, are also of concern with current applications. To better fulfil the needs of researchers, and address the challenges, this study designed and developed an experimental and research-oriented social media platform, Wisenet, for socially responsible research (SRR), which refers to studies that are conducted with consideration for the benefit of society at large. Wisenet is positioned as a specialized platform for researchers, enabling them to generate, collect, and analyze WoC-type data in a research-oriented environment. The mission of the platform is to provide valuable, accessible, ethically sourced data and analysis for researchers and to facilitate participants’ interest, interaction, and cognitive skills while maintaining the values of ethical principles and social responsibility.
Wisenet reaches and engages target participants – people over 50 – to obtain their perspectives on current significant social problems. People over 50 have been selected as the target group because their relatively high level of accumulated life experience makes them more likely to be able to provide meaningful insights on current social issues. Further, offering such insights may require them to use, reflect on, and synthesize their wisdom, knowledge, and experience, and these can be a pathway to develop or maintain their cognitive capabilities. Therefore, participating in Wisenet can be beneficial for both people over 50 and researchers.
A design science research methodology (DSRM) approach is employed, which includes six stages: problem identification and motivation, defining the objectives of a solution, design and development, demonstration, evaluation, and communication. Socio-technical theory and WoC provide the main theoretical underpinnings of this study, and along with SRR principles, guide both the purpose of the study and the design and development of the platform. Both qualitative and quantitative data can be generated and collected from the platform, and advanced data analytics methods (e.g., sentiment analysis and topic modelling) are employed to analyse data for WoC. The demonstration and evaluation phases provide evidence of the efficacy, effectiveness, usefulness and ease of use of this newly developed platform.
For the contributions, this study mainly provides an artefactual contribution, i.e., Wisenet. It is a comprehensive information system artefact, integrating the technology, social, and information artefacts. Additionally, this study contributes to theoretical understanding by applying design principles (i.e., interaction, understanding, trust and ethics, and simplicity) in the design and development of the artefact. While some of these principles may be found discussed in design literature, this study takes a comprehensive approach by integrating them to guide the design and development of the platform, and they can be used to design similar artefacts in the future.
For the research implications, Wisenet can be generalized as a class of artefact, which is a type of online platform focusing on generating WoC-type data for various purposes. Future research may develop a corresponding design theory to create this class of artefact. As for practical implications, this study mainly demonstrates a proof-of-concept, which shows the functional feasibility of Wisenet, and partially demonstrates the proof-of-value level implication, in which stakeholders (i.e., researchers) can use Wisenet to create value. In addition, Wisenet could also have important applications for both business and government; for example, in the development of policies and processes that affect people over 50. Wisenet also has practical implications for commercial social media providers. It emphasizes the idea that instead of concentrating solely on profits, providers may also consider promoting ethical, trustworthy, and socially responsible online environments for the benefit of society and their companies.
Description
Embargoed to 6 September 2025.
Keywords
Research, Technological innovations, Citizen participation, Social problems, Public opinion, Social media, Design, Crowdsourcing