How should/could we consider all of the dimensions, polarization and dialectic and problematic forms of engagement within and in relation to social when doing research on citizen engagement in relation to social media? Our research team has been doing research on the subject for the past few years, and this has involved online questionnaires in a number of countries, case studies using mainly Twitter data, interviews with diverse colleagues and civil society activists internationally, and knowledge dissemination and debate mainly through Facebook, among other connected projects. While we can theorize and conceptualize citizen engagement (we’re interested in examining the effects of social media on citizen engagement?), we’re also participants (consumers and producers of debate, dialogue and interaction). We’ve noticed and also experienced bots, trolls, cantankerous individuals and moments of in- and mis-comprehension. This goes with the terrain but also makes us reflect on how debate does, should and might take place within the confines of click-bait, clictivism and sharply divergent viewpoints. Some have argued that there isn’t a lot of space between disconnected and unlike groups and interests to address concerns in a meaningful way, and we can see this. Others have noted there are some openings for more engaged and salient debate, and we can also see that some social movements have been able to move beyond mobilized opposition to reach higher levels (BLM, #metoo, Idle No More and other examples), and, effectively, bring about some levels of conscientization and social change. My question relates to this changing context, and how we should consider social media research, warts and all. Traditionally, there have been many levels of control on who participated and how through research but now the gate has been, proverbially, blown open. How do researchers consider the ethical, epistemological, methodological and personal dimensions of research that connects with, is interwoven with and overlaps with social media?
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Lots of interesting and relevant questions! I'd be tempted to break it into smaller chunks or levels of analysis.
First, there is the issue of engagement with social media - the platforms/tools that people are using. In marketing and advertising, some scholars (myself included) have developed sets of behavioural indicators to study the scope of engagement, or to profile users' social media sharing styles. Examples:
- Mulvey, M. S., Lever, M. W., & Elliot, S. (2020). A cross-national comparison of intragenerational variability in social media sharing. Journal of Travel Research, 59(7), 1204-1220.
- Pentina, I., Guilloux, V., & Micu, A. C. (2018). Exploring social media engagement behaviors in the context of luxury brands. Journal of Advertising, 47(1), 55-69.
Second, there is the question of "manners" or the conversational norms that people abide by (or violate) in the process of sharing information. This reminds me of research by Steven McCornack, who investigated the ways that people manipulate information (or engage in deceptive communications). His interesting idea is "cooperative communications" - the assumptions regarding the quantity, quality, manner, and relevance of information. Perhaps you could develop a set of behavioural indicators that reflect these norms and then profile the communications. I've used his approach to consider misleadingness in advertising (e.g. price claims).
- McCornack, S. A. (1992). Information manipulation theory. Communications Monographs, 59(1), 1-16.
Best wishes with your research!
Thanks for sharing the critical question and knowledgeable answers.
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