Blurry boundaries: Internet, big-new data, and mixed-method approach

Abstract

Internet as place of everyday life, as well as a vast repository of information, becomes an integral part of the society essential for understanding complex phenomena and social issues. Social researchers cannot remain anchored to traditional research practices and conceptual categories, but instead must cope with the exponential growth of new data, much of which is user-generated and freely available online. In this manner, Web-mediated research is already transforming the way in which researchers practice traditional research methods transposed on the Web. But the steady growth of interest in these new analytical frontiers has not been properly accompanied by a solid reflection on the implications that the new data available and the analysis of such data can generate. It is necessary to undertake a critical discussion of the quality of this new data and the processes involved: data collection, organization, analysis, and treatment of ethical issues. Over the next years, this domain will raise the need of to much efforts in social research including the use of new methodological approaches. Along this track, the current chapter aims to problematize future challenges for social research, with a particular emphasis on the advent of big-new data.