Document details

Kits for Digital Methods: Doing Sociotechnical Research

Contains illustrations, index

ISBN 978‑1‑032‑83120‑6 (pbk); 978‑1‑003‑51158‑8 (ebook)

"Kits for Digital Methods: Doing Sociotechnical Research is a guide to innovating research methods for a world where digital technologies permeate everyday life and research. Drawing on the expertise of leading sociotechnical researchers, it reimagines the “kit” not as a fixed set of tools or solutions, but as a flexible, transparent, and collaborative framework for methodological experimentation. These kits are sandboxes for experimenting, playing, and reflecting on the ethics and possibilities of digital research. Organized into three sections—Digital Engagement, Digital Elicitation, and Digital Data—contributors share their processes for designing and adapting methods to complex digital contexts. Each chapter contains background, components, practical guidance, and lessons learned for exploring the frictions, failures, and surprises that shape sociotechnical research. Kits range from remote fieldwork and social media ethnography to participatory analysis, collaborative image description, and AI‑assisted elicitation—filled with concrete techniques for engaging digital environments, eliciting novel forms of data, and working with digital materials. This volume encourages adaptation, remixing, and the creation of new kits, fostering a culture of openness and methodological innovation." (Publisher description)
1 The Kits for Digital Methods Kit: Introduction / Angela K. VandenBroek and Nicole Taylor
PART I: DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT KITS
2 The Remote Fieldwork Kit / Valerie Black
3 The UX Researcher’s Identity Balancing Kit / Elizabeth Rodwell
4 The Programming as Participant Observation Kit / Samantha Breslin
5 The Friending as Participant Observation Kit / Nicole Taylor
6 The AI Impact Engagement Kit / Tamara Kneese, Meg Young, Ranjit Singh, Briana Vecchione, Emnet Tafesse, and Jacob Metcalf
PART II: DIGITAL ELICITATION KITS
7 The AI Feedback Kit / Ritwik Banerji
8 The Making Together Kit / Liliana Gil
9 The Photostories Kit / Ricardo Gomez
10 The Collaborative Comics and Image Description Kit / Barbara N. Carreras
11 The Participatory Analysis Kit / Angela K. VandenBroek
PART III: DIGITAL DATA KITS
12 The Purposeful Sample Kit / Patricia G. Lange
13 The Metadata and Mapping Kit / Grant Jun Otsuki
14 The Image Collage Kit / Rebecca Carlson
15 The Encountering Qualitative Data with STEM Students Kit / Elizabeth Reddy
16 The Academic Website Building and Optimization Kit / Matt Artz
17 The Kits for Digital Methods Kit: Conclusion / Angela K. VandenBroek and Nicole Taylor
Appendix: Kit Component Reference