Ethics in quantitative sport management research: the impact of AI

Purpose

Despite the use of plagiarism-checking software and current ethical guidelines in sport management journals, raising awareness of ethical concerns and potential risks of artificial intelligence (AI) applications is necessary. This paper discusses how AI affects ethical research and publishing and provides guidelines for sport management scholars to ensure quality and integrity of their research.

Design/methodology/approach

A comprehensive review and critical analysis of literature was performed to evaluate research ethics, potential risks, and guiding principles for the use of AI in research.

Findings

Ethical research guidelines for quantitative sport management research were proposed. The guidelines encompass seven principles for the proper use of AI and ethical conduct specific to the research methods, data analysis, and results, which would be challenging for AI to accurately replicate.

Originality/value

This study provides an original contribution to the field of sport management because numerous questions concerning ethics and AI have not been addressed until now. The guidelines are suitable for use by sport management scholars, concerning the accuracy, validity, and quality of research while mitigating ethical risks in AI-generated content.