Eleições online em tempos de 'big data': Métodos e questões de pesquisa a partir das eleições municipais brasileiras de 2016

Abstract

The objective of this article is to discuss the potential of digital campaigns research to understand some processes underlying the elections, based on the analysis of Brazilian municipal elections in 2016. The methodological strategy employed consisted of the analysis of quantitative data - collected in a collective project of electoral monitoring - on the following research fronts: (i) on-line presence of candidates in electoral and non-electoral periods; (ii) the use of different online popularity metrics; (iii) the overlapping of followers of candidates from different municipalities; (iv) the origin of shared content; (v) the reactions to the posts; (vi) mentions to the party in the campaign material. The results indicate that the systematic study of e-campaigns can serve as a mean for the knowledge of political phenomena such as the existence of different degrees of accountability among candidates, a better apprehension of the impact of online presence considering the action of small but active groups, the role of the different media players in the circulation of the contents, the mobilization and expression of feelings throughout the campaign, and the degrees of partisanization of communicative strategies.