Twitter chat transcript - quantitative methods

Thanks to everyone who joined us on Twitter to discuss quantitative methods in social media research - it was great to have a range of people involved. If you weren't able to make it, or if you want to take another look at what was said, the transcript is below - scroll to the bottom and work your way back up..

We'll be holding another Twitter chat in October and we'd love to hear your thoughts on what it should cover. Do let us know on Methodspace.

Twitter chat Monday 24th Sept.

We'll be kicking up a twitter storm on Monday 24th 4-5pm BST. We hope you'll be able to join us to discuss the challenges of using quantitative methods for social media research. Some of the questions we'll be discussing include:

• What is different when we use quant methods for social media research to when we use those methods for non-digital research?
• What value do data visualisations add to statistical analyses?
• Is big data changing the way we do research?
• What challenges does social media research pose for quantitative researchers wanting to draw robust samples?

Join in the debate by following #nsmnss, you can read more about how to join the chat in our earlier post: http://nsmnss.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/how-to-join-in-nsmnss-tweetchat.html 

Do join us and please spread the word.We'll also be arranging our first Blackboard session on the same issues for early in October for those of you who aren't able to join face to face events, we'd love to involve some of our international network members in this forum so if you'd like to be involved drop us an email nsmnss@natcen.ac.uk. More details shortly.

Kandy Woodfield, NSMNSS team at NatCen Social Research

Using Quant Methods for Social Media Research - knowledge exchange event 26th Sept, Oxford.

We're delighted to announce our next round of free NSMNSS network activities.

We will be holding our second Knowledge Exchange Seminar, hosted at the Oxford Internet Institute on September 26th.

This half-day session (12.30-4.30pm) will focus exclusively on using quantitative methods in social media research, please see the programme below for more details. We have very limited spaces for this event so places will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis and preference will be given to participants willing to contribute a case study or example from their own experience to one of the sessions.

If you would like to attend the seminar please email: events@oii.ox.ac.uk  confirming your contact details (email and phone number). We would hope attendees are able to share personal experiences using quantitative methods in social media. Although the Seminar is free, space is limited; if you do not attend after reserving a place we will make an administrative charge to cover the costs of catering and administration. Please only reserve a space if you intend to attend.

Our Knowledge Exchange Seminars provide an opportunity for researchers, practitioners and policy-makers to share ideas. Each of the four sessions will be interactive, with lots of opportunity for open discussion. You can volunteer to:

Lead a themed session – by preparing a 5 minute introduction on one of the seminar themes, which poses key questions for the group to discuss. You will co-facilitate the following discussion with one of the NSMNSS team and write a summary blog post after the event.

Tell us about your experiences by providing a descriptive case study– a short 2-3 minute description of your experience using quantitative methods in social media research. Please identify which of the suggested themes in the programme you think your example would fit under and we will ask you to share this during the relevant session.

If you would like to contribute to the event on 26th September please reply to

events@oii.ox.ac.uk by 19th September giving details of what you would like to contribute.

A video of the introductions to each theme will be available shortly afterwards, if you are unable to join us please  share your thoughts and insights with tweets and comments on our  Methodspace forum. You can join in network activities there at any time: http://www.natcen.ac.uk/nsmnss/

 

We will also be hosting a virtual Blackboard session for international participants later in September. More details to follow. 

Knowledge Exchange Seminar 2 – Quantitative Methods in Social Media Research, 26th September 2012, Oxford Internet Institute

12.30pm Arrival and lunch – networking

1.00pm -  Session 1 Visualisation:

Social media data can often be analysed using visual methods. How can we visualise data collected by social media? How does visualisation relate to statistical analysis? What are the payoffs from using visualisations?

1.50pm - Session 2 

Populations and Sampling: What is the “population” on social media platforms? How do platforms differ in population characteristics? How can we select cases or sample on social media?

2.40pm Break

3.00pm - Session 3 Big Data:

Social media research can involve very large datasets. What do we gain and lose with big data? How is big data changing the way we do research?

3.50pm Session 4 Drawing together key messages for quantitative research:

Exploring existing frameworks, identifying gaps and additions.

4.30pm Close and next steps