Challenges and Opportunities of Using Social Media for Social Science ResearchWednesday 9th July9.15am-12.45pm

Convenor: Kandy Woodfield, Director of LearningNatCen Social Research

Our panel Blurring the boundaries: a network of

researchers using social media – Kelsey Beninger, NatCen Social Research

Social media and prediction - Dr Luke Sloan & Dr Matthew Williams, Cardiff University, COSMOS team

Using social media to curate a collaborative social research hub - Donna Peach, Huddersfield University

Tea and coffee break Myths & mythologies - Jamie Bartlett & Carl Miller,

Demos From Flickr to Snapchat – Dr Farida Vis, Sheffield

University

Blurring the boundaries? InnovationCollaboration

InspirationFresh

thinking New social media, new social

science? Network of methodological

innovation Funded by NCRM, May 2012-May

2013 500+ members worldwide Open membership, all

welcome Interdisciplinary Peer network, member led

Aims of the network

InnovationCollaboratio

nInspiration

Fresh thinking On & off line community of practice

Forge links between academics, practitioners & disciplines

Catalyse debate Address challenges social media present

for social science research Share approaches, tools & experiences of

using social media Identify good practice Co-created content & guidance to be

shared with the wider community

What do we do InnovationCollaboration

InspirationFresh thinkingNetwork activities across a range

of platforms:Twitter: @NSMNSS, #NSMNSS – tweets, twitter chats, Q&AsBlogs: http://nsmnss.blogspot.co.uk/ - we welcome contributors – contact us @NSMNSS or via the blogYou Tube: http://www.youtube.com/user/NSMNSS - presentations from eventsFace to face events – knowledge exchange seminars, conferences, webinars

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Blurring the boundaries: findings from a network of researchers using social media Kelsey BeningerNatCen Social Research

What have we learnt? I Social media being used in most soc sci

disciplines Research innovation & ground breaking

use of technologies Great examples of multi-disciplinary

research using social media Silos & divides do still exist and are

counter-productive to moving social media methodology(ies) forward

No single methodology for social media research – many approaches, many tools, different epistemological stances

What have we learnt? IIPersisting uncertainty about whether we are ‘getting it right’ Ethical dilemmas - lack of consistent,

relevant guidance What are the political, ethical, legal

issues? Do we understand the digital world well

enough to make these choices? Lack of research with users of social media

platforms or engagement with platform providers

What have we learnt? III

‘Getting it right’ is also about methodological quality: What is a robust sample from Twitter or

Facebook? Need to develop methodological courage and

confidence to defend the methodScepticism and cynicism persist Digital literacy & methodological skills gaps Lack of experience and understanding in

institutions, ethics boards and funders

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Context

Social Media provides new opportunities

Recent studies: NatCen:

www.natcen.ac.uk/our-research/research/ research-using-social-media-users-views/

NSMNSS: nsmnss.blogspot.co.uk

Challenges

Recruitment & data collection

Researcher identity & wellbeing

Analysis & presentation of data

Recruitment & Data CollectionRecruitment Participant’s views: scepticism,

acceptance and ambiguity. Digital identities Digital risks for participants Exclusion of particular groupsInformed consent1. Morally and legally required2. Promote trust 3. Verify user views haven’t

changed4. To publish photos or imagery

Data Collection Ownership and

expectations

Researcher identity & wellbeing

Your digital identity Impact on research outcomes Managing communication w participants Credibility and transparency

Analysis and presentation of dataAnalysis Third Party Software How much is too much? Validity and representativeness

People behave differently online and offline Exaggerated views Impulsive comments Inaccurate profiles

Presentation Traceability of participant data Short & long term implications for participants

Recommendations Is SM the right

methodology for your research Q?

Don’t make assumptions

Review case studies & existing research

Recruitment: Transparency in materials Explicit about privacy

terms of the platform used

Collecting/generating data: Consider implications of

legally permitted vs. intellectual property

Acknowledge limits of accessing different user types

Reporting results: Test traceability of data, and

paraphrase or remove handle

Reasonably seek consent for use of verbatim/sensitive content

Thank you!Questions?

kelsey.beninger@natcen.ac.uknsmnss@natcen.ac.uk