• Jobin Anna

• Jobin Anna

This seminar provides an introduction to a range of methodological skills required to successfully engage with the Digital Society.

Week 1: Introduction to Methodology and Research
Epistemology, Evidence, Validity, Research Strategy, Research Design etc.

Week 2: Researching (within) a digital society
Sociotechnicity, Mediation, Traces, Experimentation, Critique etc.

Week 3: Methods I
Surveys, Standardized Interviews, Open Interviews etc.

Week 4: Methods II
(Digital) Ethnography, Digital Methods etc.

Week 5: Methods III
Big Data Analysis, Social Network Analysis etc.

Week 6: Researching Digital Research
Metaanalyses, Relevant Journals, Analyzing Papers etc.

Week 7: Research Ethics
Bioethics, Experimentation, Internet Research Ethics etc.

Week 8: Researching Digital Platforms and Infrastructures
Political Economy, Governance, Gig Work, Maintenance etc.

Week 9: Individual Study and Project Advancement

Week 10: Methodology report discussions

Week 11: Researching Digital Artifacts and Algorithms
Affordances, Machine Bias, Software Studies etc.

Week 12: Researching Digital Practices and Identities
Expertise, Communities, Visibilities, Vulnerabilities etc.

Week 13: Participatory and Creative Digital Methods
Crowdsourcing, data donations, participatory action research, speculative design etc.

Week 14: Presentations
Students present their individual projects, designing a research projet with a coherent methodology on a digital topic of their choice.

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Important note: The planning above is for information purposes only and may be subject to change. Please refer to the Moodle for the most recent version of the syllabus and for specific assignment details and due dates.

The course aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the methodologies available for researching and analyzing the digital society and a deeper understanding of the link between research question and methodology. The seminar emphasizes the importance of the sociotechnical aspects of digital society, including digital practices, identities, artifacts, platforms, and infrastructures. The students will apply their learned skills by designing and presenting a research project on a digital topic of their choice.

Grading: Participation (20%), Assignments (20%), Final paper and presentation (60%)

The reference list for this class is available on Moodle after each class.