a methodological approach for researching digital communities

Alexia Maddoxfind me on twitter @alexiamadd

A methodological approach for researching digital communities

Overview

❖ The case study community ❖ Metaphors of social form❖ Community as the container ❖ The environmental imprint of

a digital community❖ The 4/3 dance between

theory and data❖ Reflections & directions

The case study community

❖ People with interests in reptiles and amphibians.

❖ Marginalised community.❖ Occupants of the digital frontier.❖ Globally distributed, technically

mediated.❖ A combination of organisational

engagement and the power of social networks.

❖ High levels of exchange, low levels of trust.

❖ Mixed methods study: participant observation, in-person interviewing, online survey.

What kinds of theoretical frames would work for this study?

Metaphors of Social form❖ Society as an Organism (sum of

parts)❖ Class hierarchy (social

stratification through the pyramid schema)

❖ Community (a subset of society in a nation-state)

❖ Digitally native ideas (viral, networked & self-organising)❖ fields (networks & clusters)❖ rhizomes (memetic, & self-

replicating) ❖ swarms (self-organising &

dynamic)❖ ecologies (niche habitats)

Considerations• Adaptive nature of social

structures;• Loci of social control and

regulation;• Characteristics of social

cohesion: including notions of social stability and continuity;

• Capacity for social change through individual and collective action;

• Pathways for social mobility; and a

• Multi-sited and dynamic notion of place.

Community as the study container

❖ Theoretical and methodological safety net❖ Distinct boundaries, location and social

composition❖ Neighbourhood studies (by postcode)❖ Migrant groups studies (by ethnicity)❖ Gang studies (organic formations)❖ Online community studies (by platform)

The digital niche of community

❖ Characterising digital community through its coordinates in place and virtual space allows for a multi-sited notion of community.

❖ A digital community is characterised by open social structures that are dynamic and mobile.

❖ An environmental approach:❖ Sidesteps the structure-agency chestnut ❖ Moves away from seeing community as a subset of society.❖ Transcends digital dualism (separating online and offline behaviours).❖ Allows for the study of the emergent and episodic nature of

community engagement.

What kinds of research methods would work for this study?

The environmental approach

❖ Early Chicago School studies looked at migrant groups and the organic formations of gangs.

❖ Techniques used - ethnography and surveying populations to produce topographical maps.

❖ They demonstrated a diverse and pragmatic approach to research methods.

–Sampson 2002

1. A relentless focus on context (especially place) 2. a focus on properties of communities and cities as

social systems3. a relational concern with variability in forms of

social organization as opposed to population attributes (or composition)

4. continual attention to neighborhood change and spatial dynamics (time and space)

5. an eclectic style of data collection that relies on multiple methods but that always connects to some form of observation

6. a concern for public affairs and the improvement of community life and

7. an integrating theme of theoretically interpretive empirical research.

On the Chicago School approach:

The 4/3 dance❖ Communities are

characterised by:

1. Place

2. Composition

3. Boundaries

4. Social cohesion

❖ The emergent niche of a community is observable by:

1. Built environment

2. Social layer

3. Mediating culture

What does this look like when you merge the concept with the

available methodological toolkit?

Figure 1: Methods for researching the emergent form of digital community

Maddox (2015) “Research Methods and Global Online Communities: A case study”, Ashgate, UK

The built environment: from physical space to code

❖ Technology use and engagement

❖ Social media platforms

❖ Place (co-ordinates in time and space)

❖ Physical architecture & infrastructure

❖ Methods (quant & qual)❖ Surveying❖ Observation❖ Data visualisation

Social layer❖ Social capital

❖ Group membership

❖ Participation in voluntary organisations

❖ Trust & reciprocity

❖ Methods (quantitative)❖ Surveying (existing

measures)❖ Social network

analysis❖ Observation❖ Interviewing

Mediating culture❖ Shared or

overlapping values❖ Social norms and

expectations.❖ Narrative field❖ Collective identity❖ Collective action

❖ Ethnographic Methods❖ Observation❖ Interviewing

Concluding reflections❖ The study of communities remains relevant even in

the context of access to mass swathes of digital data about people both within and beyond country borders.

❖ Researcher use of Big Data provides insights into trends and social movements at scale.

❖ This can be contextual to and provide background information about the emergent and environmental niche of a community under study.

❖ The embedding of the internet into everyday life has changed the ways that researchers can imagine, engage and analyse communities.