"The SAGE Handbook of Social Media Research Methods offers a step-by-step guide to overcoming the challenges inherent in research projects that deal with 'big and broad data', from the formulation of research questions through to the interpretation of findings. The handbook includes chapters on spec
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ific social media platforms such as Twitter, Sina Weibo and Instagram, as well as a series of critical chapters. The holistic approach is organised into the following sections: Conceptualising & Designing Social Media Research; Collection & Storage; Qualitative Approaches to Social Media Data; Quantitative Approaches to Social Media Data; Diverse Approaches to Social Media Data; Analytical Tools Social Media Platforms." (Publisher description)
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"This report outlines the methodology and processes of the Radio Content Analysis Tool, a prototype developed by Pulse Lab Kampala to analyse public radio content in Uganda and explore its value for informing development of UN projects and programmes on the ground. It distills the technology behind
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the creation of the Radio Content Analysis Tool and presents the lessons learned along the way. The report also details the results of several pilot studies that were conducted together with partners from the Government, UN agencies and academia to understand the validity and value of unfiltered public radio discussions for development [...] By sampling different indigenous languages, types of broadcasters, and locations within Uganda, the pilot studies assess the potential uses of radio talk across five topics: perceptions towards refugees in Uganda, the impact of small-scale disasters on livelihoods, perceptions around the delivery of healthcare services, understanding the spread of infectious diseases, and monitoring the effectiveness of awareness raising radio campaigns." (Executive summary)
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"This report described a pilot study using the VOTO Interactive Voice Response (IVR) platform to 1) distribute content and 2) collect quantitative and qualitative monitoring and evaluation data regarding a media program in Rwanda. In addition to showing that the VOTO system worked well as a distribu
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tion tool (though expensive) – our findings suggest great potential for the use of IVR as an M&E tool. Unfortunately, we cannot recommend a particular system as yet having the capacity to offer an efficient and cost-effective system for NGOs looking to collect qualitative and quantitative data cheaply and accurately." (Discussion, page 13)
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"This report presents an evaluation of the utility of social media for conducting research, monitoring and evaluation in the MENA region, using a case study approach. The Twitter based reaction to the reported cancellation/reduction of food provision by World Food Programme (WFP) for Syrian Refuges
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was taken as the case study [...] The application of frequency analysis to the case study showed that information regarding ebb and flow of the popularity or awareness of the cuts to the WFP could be obtained from Twitter. Spikes in popularity or awareness on Twitter related to key reports in the media relating to the cuts. These spikes were subjected to further analysis using topic classification. Simple topic classification was performed on the spikes identified in the frequency analysis. Wordclouds are simple but effective methods for viewing the high-level discussion on social media. Words are sized in the wordcloud based on their frequency – the bigger the word, the more frequently it is used. The accounts @60Minutes and @bbcworld were dominant in the visualizations, confirming the broadcast reaction on Twitter. To further refine the analysis these Twitter accounts were visualised in retweet networks. Social Network graphs were used to visualise interactions between accounts posting about cuts to the WFP on Twitter. The size of nodes (accounts) in the graphs corresponded to amount of interactions with other nodes (accounts), indicating their relative importance in propagating information about the cuts to the WFP on Twitter. The graphs also identified nodes (accounts) that acted as bridges for information to travel from one Twitter community to another." (Executive summary)
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"This ESOMAR/GRBN Guideline for Online Research has a global focus and explains how to apply some of the fundamental principles of market, social and opinion research in the context of the current legal frameworks and regulatory environments around the world. Thus, this document is a statement of pr
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inciples rather than a catalogue of existing regulations. The objective is to support researchers, especially those in small and medium-sized research organisations, in addressing legal, ethical, and practical considerations in using new technologies when conducting research online.
This Guideline is not intended to substitute for a thorough reading and understanding of the ICC/ESOMAR International Code on Market and Social Research, which has been adopted by over 60 local associations worldwide, or the individual codes of the 38 associations that comprise the GRBN. Rather, it is intended to be an interpretation of the foundational principles of those codes in the context of online research. It also is essential that researchers review and comply with the national and local data protection and market research self-regulatory requirements of each country where they plan to collect or process data, as there may be differences in how basic principles are implemented within a specific country. The guidance provided in this document is a minimum standard and may need to be supplemented with additional measures in the context of a specific research project. Researchers may find it necessary to consult with local legal counsel in the jurisdiction where the research is to be conducted in order to ensure that they are in full compliance." (Introduction and scope, page 5)
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"The paper focuses on exploring the application of the following ICTs: mobile technology, social media, big data, the digitization of surveys, and tools to better visualize data. Each section outlines a series of resources and some advantages and drawbacks to utilizing the new technology for M&E pur
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poses. When appropriate, examples and case studies have been included." (Document summary)
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"Das Feld der Online-Forschung befindet sich im dynamischen Wandel. Die Weiterentwicklung der Analysemethoden, neue Auswertungsinstrumente und die wissenschaftliche Untersuchung des Social Web haben das Forschungsfeld verändert. Das Handbuch Online-Forschung bietet einen gut verständlichen Überbl
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ick über die sozialwissenschaftlich motivierte, internetgestützte Datengewinnung und deren Auswertung. In einer kompakten Darstellungsweise wird die gesamte Breite des Feldes sowohl theorie- als auch praxisbezogen bearbeitet und erlaubt einen akademischen und praktischen Überblick. Es beinhaltet einerseits aktuelle Themen und Entwicklungen, so z.B. Aspekte des Datenschutz und Potenziale durch das Social Web, andererseits resümiert das Handbuch die Erträge, die über die Jahre erarbeitet wurden wie Fragen der Repräsentativität, Panelforschung oder der Umgang mit schwierigen Befragtengruppen. Zur Zielgruppe gehören Sozialwissenschaftler, Ökonomen, Psychologen an Fachhochschulen und Universitäten, welche Methoden und Instrumente des Feldes reflektieren und anwenden, genauso wie Mitarbeiter und Projektverantwortliche von Unternehmen und Institutionen, die an der Entwicklung oder Anwendung von Online-Forschung beteiligt sind. Sowohl die Interdisziplinarität als auch die Relevanz in akademischer Forschung und Praxis, die sich in der Zielgruppe widerspiegeln, waren auch bei der Zusammensetzung der Autoren ein wichtiges Kriterium." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"Overall, this paper finds that peacebuilding practitioners have much to learn in terms of new media use from their humanitarian and development colleagues. New media is increasingly and often successfully used for needs assessments and beneficiary communication but only very few examples exist in w
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hich new media are applied for (improving) monitoring and evaluation in peacebuilding contexts. In a sense, therefore, peacebuilders are latecomers to an action trend that is far more advanced in other fields." (Page 2)
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"Instead of defining a priori the types of websites to be included in a national web, the approach put forward here makes use of web devices (platforms and engines) that purport to provide (ranked) lists of URLs relevant to a particular country. Once gathered in such a manner, the websites are studi
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ed for their properties, following certain of the common measures (such as responsiveness and page age), and repurposing them to speak in terms of the health of a national web: Are sites lively, or neglected? The case study in question is Iran, which is special for the degree of Internet censorship undertaken by the state. Despite the widespread censorship, we have found a highly responsive Iranian web. We also report on the relationship between blockage, responsiveness and freshness, i.e., whether blocked sites are still up, and also whether they have been recently updated. Blocked yet blogging portions of the Iranian web show strong indications of an active Internet censorship circumvention culture. In seeking to answer, additionally, whether censorship has killed content, a textual analysis shows continued use of language considered critical by the regime, thereby indicating a dearth of self-censorship, at least for websites that are recommended by the leading Iranian platform, Balatarin." (Abstract)
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"This report presents an analysis of Iranian public opinion and mood as expressed over Twitter in the nine months following the election. The research represents an initial case study of a novel methodology developed to analyze politically oriented social media content. In addition to policy-relevan
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t findings regarding Iranians’ attitudes toward a variety of topics (e.g., President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the United States), our methodological approach is described in detail. The results should be of interest to analysts and policymakers concerned with Iranian politics and public opinion in closed societies, as well as social media researchers." (Preface)
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"New media are powerful but have mixed effects on political organizations. To identify these consequences, we need to continue devising new frameworks of analysis. Knowing more about how new media relate to each other and to traditional media is critical. Being sensitive to the differences between,
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and relationships among, the various kinds of new media is also important. Blogs are different from text messages, and both are different from social networking sites. Categorizing these media in terms of their form and likely consequences would help advance research and policy. The consequences of new media for political polarization are especially important. Understanding when new media can have the one or the other consequence is key to future research and policy. Better research tools are urgently needed. Although some highly promising tools exist, they need to be developed so that they can parse languages other than English. New tools that can identify the tone of communication would help greatly but would also require major technological advances. The disparity between publicly available data on new media and those held by private companies (or, in some cases, publicly owned companies in other countries) is considerable. Public-private partnerships, or initiatives sponsored by well-respected nongovernmental bodies, are needed to create frameworks that would allow research on the consequences of new media." (Summary)
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"Drawing together the new techniques available to the market researcher into a single reference, The Handbook of Online and Social Media Research explores how these innovations are being used by the leaders in the field. This groundbreaking reference examines why traditional research is broken, both
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in theory and practice, and includes chapters on online research communities, community panels, blog mining, social networks, mobile research, e-ethnography, predictive markets, and DIY research." (Publisher description)
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"FUNREDES and Union Latine have designed an original research method to measure linguistic diversity in cyberspace. The aim was to use search engines and a sample of word-concepts to measure the proportionate presence of these concepts in their various linguistic equivalences (in Latin languages, En
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glish and German) in cyberspace. The research, undertaken from 1996 to 2008, has enabled interesting indicators to be built in order to measure linguistic diversity. Additionally, some basic evaluations of the cultural projections associated with these languages (mentioned above) were undertaken. This paper describes the research method and its results, advantages and limitations. It also provides an overview of existing alternative methods and results, for comparison. The paper concludes with the examination of different perspectives in a field which have in the past been considered to have been characterized by a lack of scientific rigor. This has led to some misinformation about the dominant presence of English on the Web. It is a topic that is only now slowly attracting due attention from international organizations and the academic world." (Abstract, page V)
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