Challenges and Opportunities of Using Social Media for Social Science Research Wednesday 9 th July 9.15am-12.45pm Convenor: Kandy Woodfield, Director of Learning NatCen 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? Innovation Collaboration Inspiration Fresh 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 Innovation Collaboration Inspiration 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 Innovation Collaboration Inspiration Fresh thinking Network activities across a range of platforms:  #NSMNSS – tweets, twitter chats, Q&As  Blogs: - we welcome contributors – contact or via the blog  You Tube: - presentations from events  Face to face events – knowledge exchange seminars, conferences, webinars

6 Blurring the boundaries: findings from a network of researchers using social media Kelsey Beninger NatCen 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? II Persisting 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 method Scepticism and cynicism persist  Digital literacy & methodological skills gaps  Lack of experience and understanding in institutions, ethics boards and funders

10 Context Social Media provides new opportunities  Recent studies:  NatCen: research-using-social-media-users-views/  NSMNSS: nsmnss.blogspot.co.uk

Challenges Recruitment & data collection Researcher identity & wellbeing Analysis & presentation of data

Recruitment & Data Collection Recruitment  Participant’s views: scepticism, acceptance and ambiguity.  Digital identities  Digital risks for participants  Exclusion of particular groups Informed consent 1. Morally and legally required 2. Promote trust 3. Verify user views haven’t changed 4. 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 data Analysis  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?