Digital Methods for Social Science An Interdisciplinary Guide to Research Innovation

by Snee, Helene; Hine, Christine; Morey, Yvette; Roberts, Steven; Watson, Hayley

• ISBN13: 9781137453655
• ISBN10: 1137453656
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2015-10-19
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

Social science research requires methods that are responsive to and congruent with contemporary social formations. Digital technologies present a challenge to which social researchers must rise, and in turn offer the chance to access, generate and analyse new information in new ways and address new research questions.

In response to this challenge, this interdisciplinary collection considers the quantitative and qualitative analysis of social media, addressing the contemporary concern with 'big data' but also the rich or 'thick data' available. It provides examples of research that has sought to explore digital methods through comparing and combining these with 'offline' or traditional approaches, and presents case studies that are both innovative in their use of new, existing and combined methods but also question the nature of innovation. It also develops some of the key challenges in mainstreaming digital methods, including debates in educational research, research with young people, and the ethical issues that digital and social researchers face.

Author Biography

Helene Snee is Lecturer in Sociology at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. Her research explores stratification and socio-cultural change with a particular focus on young people and social class. She is author of A Cosmopolitan Journey? Difference, Distinction and Identity Work in Gap Year Travel.

Christine Hine is Reader in Sociology at the University of Surrey, UK, where her work focuses on the sociology of the Internet and the development of qualitative methods for technical settings, including ethnographic approaches which combine online and offline social contexts.

Yvette Morey is Research Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Behaviour Change and Influence at the University of the West of England, Bristol, UK. She conducts interdisciplinary research on young people, risk and participation in online and offline communities using digital methodologies.

Steven Roberts is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Monash University, Australia. His main area of expertise is the sociology of youth and the intersections of class and gender. He has published widely in international journals and is co/sole editor of three volumes with Palgrave.

Hayley Watson is Senior Research Analyst at Trilateral Research & Consulting, UK. She is author of several chapters and journal articles on ethical, legal and social considerations in the use of IT, including social media, for crisis management.

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables
Foreword; Noortje Marres
Acknowledgements
Notes on the Contributors
1.Digital Methods as Mainstream Methodology: An Introduction; Helene Snee, Christine Hine, Yvette Morey, Steven Roberts, Hayley Watson
PART I: BIG DATA, THICJ DATA: SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYSIS
2.Methodological innovation in precarious spaces: the case of Twitter; Axel Bruns and Jean Burgess
3. Have we even solved the first 'big data challenge?' Practical issues concerning data collection and visual representation for social media analytics; Phillip Brooker, Julie Barnett, Timothy Cribbin and Sanjay Sharma
4. I'm always on Facebook!' Exploring Facebook as a mainstream research tool and ethnographic site; Eve Stirling
PART II: COMBINING AND COMPARING METHODS
5. Mixing modes to widen research participation; Jo Hope
6. Do we need polls? Why Twitter will not replace opinion surveys, but can complement them; Javier Sajuria and Jorge Fábrega
7. Video analysis in digital literacy studies: Exploring innovative methods; Roberto de Roock, Ibrar Bhatt, and Jonathan Adams
PART III: DEVELOPING INNOVATIONS IN DIGITAL METHODS
8. Prototyping social sciences: Emplacing digital methods; Adolfo Estalella
9. Digital methods and perpetual reinvention? Asynchronous interviewing and photo elicitation; Emma Hutchinson
10. Digital stories and handmade skills: Explorations in how digital methods can be used to study transmissions of skill; Victoria Tedder
PART IV: DIGITAL RESEARCH: CHALLENGES AND CONTENTIONS
11. What's the matter with MOOCs? Sociomaterial methodologies for educational research; Jeremy Knox
12. Towards an innovative inclusion: Using digital methods with young people; Emma Bond and Stuart Agnew
13. Ethics Issues in Digital Methods Research; Claire Hewson
14. Digital Methods as Mainstream Methodology: Conclusions
Helene Snee, Christine Hine, Yvette Morey, Steven Roberts, Hayley Watson
Index