The Study of the Internet: New Methods for New Technologies
Overview
Wednesday, September 7, 4:30pm-5:30pm
Format: Roundtable Discussion
Lead: John Palfrey
Participants: Yochai Benkler, Herbert Burkert, Rob Faris, Eszter Hargittai, Ethan Zuckerman
What is the range of tools, disciplines, and research approaches that we can bring to bear on the study of the Internet and the study of the impact of new technologies on social, political, economic, legal, and other processes in both the online and offline spaces? This session will explore rigorous ways of studying the Internet's societal implications, including empirical analysis, legal frameworks, policy perspectives, sociological surveys, and other methodologies. It will also surface and explore some of the challenges faced by researchers working with big data sets, with a particular focus on issues related to privacy, data security, and other considerations.
Required Readings
- John Palfrey, Graduate Seminars in General Education 211 : Seminar on Research Methods on Internet and Society Wiki, 2009-2010.
- John Palfrey, Graduate Seminar on Research Methods on Internet & Society, September 2009.
- John Palfrey, Research Confidential and Surveying Bloggers, November 2009.
- Eszter Hargittai, Research Confidential: Solutions to Problems Most Social Scientists Pretend They Never Have, 2009.