Emerging Research Agendas at the Intersection of Communication & Computational Social Science

DR. KATY PEARCE, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON

@KATYPEARCE

Drawing constellations

amongst the stars:

Opportunities and

challenges of studying

vulnerable populations

via computational social

science

1

SO WHAT?

• We all have to deal with ethical issues in computational social science

• Looking at extreme cases of vulnerable populations can illuminate issues

• I’m suggesting this is helpful for those with contextual knowledge

2

RESEARCH IN AUTHORITARIAN

STATES IS NOT FOR THE MEEK

AUTHORITARIAN STATES

ACCESS

RISK

CREDIBILI

TY

BLURRED

LINES

3

ENTER THE INTERNET

“Social networking sites are a social scientist’s wet

dream” – Halavais, 2011

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WHAT CAN THE INTERNET DO FOR

YOU?

AFFORDANCES

ACCESS

RISK

CREDIBILI

TY

BLURRED

LINES

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INTERNET &

AUTHORITARIAN STATES

ACCESS

RISK

CREDIBILI

TY

BLURRED

LINES

6

Computational methods can allow to see beyond the visible spectrum of traditional analysis (Cioffi-Revilla, 2010) – this is rich, detailed, interrelated, timely, and low-cost data (Kitchin, 2013) that can reveal patterns of individual and group behavior (Lazer, et al., 2009)

ENTER

COMPUTATIONAL METHODS

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ACCESS

• Access is easy

• But perhaps unethical

• Informed consent (boyd & Crawford, 2012; Gleibs, 2014)

RISK

• Data collection reduces risk greatly

• Analysis introduces entirely new risk (Oboler, Welsh, & Cruz, 2012)

BLURRED

LINES

• The issue remains: am I friend or foe or merely a researcher?

CREDIBILITY

• Computational analysis may seem “creepy”

COMPUTATIONAL &

AUTHORITARIAN STATES

• Hard to access participants

• Everyone is at risk

• Credibility and blurred lines are always an issue

• Computational methods give me something and complements other methods

• Less risky to access

• Analysis is probably putting people at greater risk

AT STAKE

CHALLENGES OPPORTUNITIES

WHAT HAVE I DONE AND WHAT SHOULD I DO?

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• Busting “bad guys” feels good

• Oppositionists ask me to do these analyses to determine if campaigns were successful, to identify powerful nodes, and to identify new allies

• Embassy staff find analyses useful

• If oppositionists and embassy staff find analyses useful, so does the regime

• Regime probably knows someof this, but not everything

– Example: after analyses where I determined a young photographer to be the most powerful social media player, increased threats to him and regular blocking of his accounts

• Retaliatory society

WHAT TO DO?

HELPFUL HARMFUL

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7

TAKEAWAYS

The Internet and especially computational methods solve many of

the issues related to research in authoritarian states

But it creates many new problems

Given the challenges related to privacy and consent in

computational social science, how should we be thinking about

vulnerable populations?

1

8

THANK YOU

1

9

EXTRA SLIDES

1

9

1

RESEARCH IN AUTHORITARIAN

STATES IS NOT FOR THE MEEK

AUTHORITARIAN STATES

ACCESS

•Researchers face access barriers – getting visas,funding to do fieldwork, language and culture differences, finding willing participants, building rapport

RISK

• Participants can take on great risk to speak to a researcher

• IRB cares more about participants than researcher

• Researcher can easily risk denial of visa or slanderous content

BLURRED

LINES• Friendships or relations in an authoritarian state increase risk for all involved

• When does friendship begin and research end?

CREDIBILITY

• Make or break

• Very difficult to establish

• Researchers are assumed to be spies

• Trust and credibility can be helped by demonstratingspecific knowledge

• Using connections and dropping names can help

1

INTERNET AFFORDANCES

ACCESS

• Easier to find individuals, easier to find time to conduct interviews

• Allows for participants to have greater reflection than in a face-to-face interview

RISK

• Digital traces can increase likelihood of information getting out

• Research in a digital space may not be considered as authentic

BLURRED

LINES• Online contexts and social media blur lines between friend and researcher

• If a research subject is a “friend” and posts things online, where is the informed consent?

CREDIBILITY

• Difficult to demonstrate authenticity in a mediated environment

• Rapport can be build online in a different way

• Self-presentation online can be carefully crafted

• Researchers can make credentials available online

WHAT CAN THE INTERNET DO FOR

YOU?