The theory of planned behavior has played an essential role in assisting the researchers to frame the entire research approach that can be applied in understanding the manner in medical students uses social media platforms to post unprofessional content. At the beginning of the research paper, it is evident that the authors begin the work by analyzing the generalized behavior for increased access to technological behavior that contributes to increased access and use of social media platforms ( Montano & Kasprzyk, 2015) . In framing the ideas, the authors look at the effects of increased use of social media platform as the primary objective as to why people change the manner in which people communicate. Based on this argument, the researchers frame the research problem based on the fact that medical students use social media platforms with the intention of posting content to communicate and share ideas. Based on this information, researchers assumed that increased access to social media platforms has become the primary reason as to why medical students shift communication to such platforms. Using data related to the increased use of social media platforms indicates that researchers have a basis on the effects of social media platforms on unprofessional content by medical students.
In the research, there is also recognition of the presence of guidelines which act as norms for controlling the social behavior for medical students when it comes to acting professionally or unprofessionally through the social media platforms. Planned behavior theory of research indicates that there is a presence of guidelines and rules designed based on the expectations of group members such as friends, co-workers, and people in authority ( Kinmonth et al., 2015) . Similarly, the researchers recognize the presence of norms and guidelines that govern the use of social media platforms in guiding the kind of content that medical students should post. Researchers also recognize the importance of medical student ethical actions thus determining the content which should be considered when looking at the unprofessional behavior among the respondents. For example, the laws regarding ethical actions of medical students especially disclosing patient’s conditions show that the kind of content that students post is intentional. The reveling of intentional engagements by medical and health students indicates that the behavior is intentional. This evidence shows that the theory of planned behavior becomes the theoretical framework the researchers use. They assume that since there is an existence of rules and guidelines that guide the behavior of medical professionalisms, engaging in posting this content becomes an intentional behavior and the availability of technological devices, social media platforms, and peer pressure becomes the fundamental reason behind violation of rules thus supporting the presence of planned social behavior theory in the research.
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Contributions of the Theory of Planned Behavior
Theory of planned behavior will be helpful in examining the assumptions of the reasons behind the increased use of social media platforms among health students. The previous studies examined the rate of use of social media platforms among the youths as well as the medical students but they do not provide information related to the kind of content posted by medical students and the attitude behind the increased posting of such content. Through the theory of planned behavior in the research, the researchers are in a position to expand the existing study about the unprofessional conduct by medical students in social media ( Montano & Kasprzyk, 2015). The assumption that the majority of medical students spend a time of social media platforms will be expanded to understand the reasons the various reasons and the kind of content they post on social media platforms. Theory of planned behavior indicates that there individual’s action should be intentional and based on this argument, the researchers identified the reasons behind the increased use of social media platforms for unprofessional postings despite the existing guidelines regarding the use of social media platforms.
The application of the theory of planned behavior, it is evident that researchers add ideas related to the use of social media platforms for posting unprofessional content. Theory of planned behavior indicates that there is a presence if rules that govern the actions of an individual and it becomes necessary for researchers to identify the reasons as to why medical students engage in unprofessional despite the existence of rules and guidelines. During the research, scholars identify that there is no significant difference between exposing students to guidelines regarding the use of social media platforms for medical professionals and the kind of content they provide in social media (Barlow et al., 2015). Despite the existence of the norms and the increased exposure of students on social media platforms, it is undeniable that students keep on acting unethically on social media. Theory of planned behavior in research argues that an individual’s action in a particular manner is intentional thus giving the authors an opportunity to explore other contributions that lead to unethical behaviors. As a result, they contribute new ideas such as the ability to delete the content and account upon graduation or the use of pseudo accounts on social media platforms.
Conclusion
Theories are essential in any form of research because they act as a guideline for the researchers to frame research in a particular manner that is informative to the topic of study. Application of the theory of planned behavior in the study of the relationship between increased use of social media and unprofessional online conduct reveals other factors that educators need to consider in limiting improper conduct among medical students. The application of the theory of planned behavior in analyzing the research phenomenon created a room for scholars to identify the causal actions and intentions of medical students on social media platforms. The entire research framework is characterized by understanding behavioral actions by increased use of social media platforms and the kind of information they post in social media. the theory becomes the guiding tool of the entire research and they end up revealing new information that ought to be included in understanding the relationship between social media platforms and increased unethical actions of the students.
References
Barlow, C. J., Morrison, S., Stephens, H. O., Jenkins, E., Bailey, M. J., &Pilcher, D. (2015). Unprofessional behavior on social media by medical students. Medical Journal of Australia, 203(11), 439-439.
Kinmonth, A. L., Hardeman, W., Griffin, S., Wareham, N. J., Mitchell, J., Hennings, S. J., ... & Sutton, S. (2017). Eliciting Salient Beliefs in Research on the Theory of Planned Behavior: The Effect of Question Wording. In Planned Behavior (pp. 69-90). Routledge.
Kulik, B. A., Zuenko, A. A., & Friedman, A. Y. (2015). Deductive and defeasible reasoning on the basis of a unified algebraic approach. Scientific and Technical Information Processing, 42(6), 402-410.
Montano, D. E., & Kasprzyk, D. (2015). Theory of reasoned action, theory of planned behavior, and the integrated behavioral model. Health behavior: Theory, research and practice , 95-124.
Zalaghi, H., &Khazaei, M. (2016). The role of deductive and inductive reasoning in accounting research and standard setting. Asian Journal of Finance & Accounting, 8(1), 23-37.
