Social Media Analysis

Two types of research methods reign supreme when it comes to analyzing
social media: the ethnographic method and the quantitative method. An
ethnographic approach can be used for any type of social research, as
it takes into account the trends within a cultural or social group. As
a qualitative research method, ethnographic research gathers data
through observation, interviews, surveys and other direct contact with
the studied group. Quantitative research, while also looking for
trends, instead relies on statistical (often charted or graphed) data.
Often a theory is proposed and then tested through quantitative
research instead of a conclusion being found, as is more often the
case in the ethnographic method. Each leaves something to be desired,
as ethnography focuses on a small group and often does not allow for
observation of different facets (users vs. producers vs. labor market
etc.). Quantitative research, on the other hand, often takes into
account an entire culture, and given its nature is limited in
response, evolution of behavior.


Different researchers use different methods depending on the topic or
group they’re interested in. Since each method has its pros and cons,
it’s difficult to pick one over the other. This past week’s reading
had researchers split over methods. For example, Beer’s “Social
networking sites… revisiting the story so far: A response to danah
boyd and Nicole Ellison” takes issue with boyd and Ellison’s essay,
“Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship”. Largely
Beer criticizes the focus on the user of social networking sites, as
it allows other facets to be overlooked. She notes that this leaves
the question of how social media is contextualized in capitalist
society.


Nardi, and Boellstorff are interested in the way people interact via
social media. Instead of taking a more traditional approach to the
research however, Nardi (World of Warcraft) and Boellstorff (Second
Life) also immersed themselves in the culture each was investigating.
Through their personal experiences in conjunction with conducting
interviews and reading relevant online resources, these researchers
were able to create broader conclusions about the studied groups
Researchers such as boyd, Golder, and Lotan or Hargittai preferred a
quantitative approach to their research. boyd, Golder, and Lotan
mapped out the conventions of retweeting, while Hargittai was
interested in social media adoption. While the population and
interest of each study is different, the way the research was
conducted is much the same. While looking for a trend, surveys were
conducted across a rather large group. The results were then analyzed
and graphed and conclusions were drawn based largely on this data.


I believe researchers like Nardi and Boellstorff would say about boyd,
Golder, and Lotan’s “Tweet, Tweet, Retweet” is that is does not
account for follow-up interviews or real insight into Twitter users. I
also believe Nardi and Boellstorff might say that the survey group for
Hargittati’s research was too specific in that it targeted a small age
group on a college campus. This in itself says something about the
conclusions that can be drawn.


As previously mentioned, I don’t believe that one method has a leg up
on another in the field of social network analysis. I think each has
room for improvement. I do, however, find reading the ethnographic
studies to be more interesting, as they often have one-on-one accounts
with social media users as well as their own personal experience.

S.Nelson