Big Data Approaches to the Study of Digital Media

Abstract

Recently there has been much excitement about using big data in social research, especially data derived from digital media. This chapter examines leading examples of this type of research from three platforms: Facebook, Twitter, and Wikipedia. It discusses their findings, data sources, and claims to validity. The aim is to assess how a number of landmark studies advance on existing social science research, pushing it in the direction of a more quantitative and more scientific mode of research. The chapter argues that this more scientific approach has advantages and drawbacks: on the positive side, for example, it often makes for rapid cumulative advances in knowledge. On the negative side, several of these studies are poorly theorized in terms of how these platforms fit into existing theories and research about the uses of information and communication technologies. The chapter goes on to examine how big data fits into the advance of social science, arguing that research technologies, quantification, and new sources of data are key drivers of research fronts. The chapter concludes with reflections about how these advantages and limitations shape how these studies are used and how they will (or will not) fit into the disciplinary landscape of the social sciences, and the study of media and communications in particular.