Web social science : concepts, data and tools for social scientists in the digital age / Robert Ackland
- Author:
- Ackland, Robert
- Published:
- Los Angeles : SAGE, 2013.
- Physical Description:
- 1 online resource (xix, 202 pages) : illustrations (black and white)
- Access Online:
- ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu
- Contents:
- Machine generated contents note: 1.Introduction -- 1.1.The web: technology, history and governance -- 1.2.Examples of online computer-mediated interaction -- 1.3.Cyberspace, virtual communities and online social networks -- 1.3.1.Cyberspace -- 1.3.2.Virtual communities -- 1.3.3.Online social networks -- 1.4.Disciplinary approaches to researching the web -- 1.5.Construct validity of web data -- 1.6.Shaping force or social tool? -- 1.7.Conclusion -- I.WEB SOCIAL SCIENCE METHODS -- 2.Online research methods -- 2.1.Dimensions and modes of online research -- 2.2.Online surveys -- 2.2.1.Sampling: basics -- 2.2.2.Types of Internet surveys -- 2.2.3.Online surveys: process and ethics -- 2.2.4.Online survey example: election studies and election polls -- 2.2.5.Other issues -- 2.3.Online interviews and focus groups -- 2.3.1.Types of online interviews -- 2.3.2.Online interviews: process and ethics -- 2.3.3.Online focus groups -- 2.3.4.Other issues -- 2.4.Web content analysis -- 2.4.1.Quantitative web content analysis -- 2.4.2.Qualitative web content analysis -- 2.4.3.Web content used in data preparation -- 2.5.Social media network analysis -- 2.6.Online experiments -- 2.6.1.Online laboratory experiments -- 2.6.2.Online field experiments -- 2.6.3.Online natural experiments -- 2.7.Online field research -- 2.8.Digital trace data: ethics -- 2.9.Conclusion -- 3.Social media networks -- 3.1.Social networks: concepts and definitions -- 3.1.1.An example school friendship network -- 3.2.Social network analysis -- 3.2.1.Social relations and social networks -- 3.2.2.Statistical analysis of social networks -- 3.3.Social media networks -- 3.3.1.Representing online interactions as interpersonal networks -- 3.3.2.Threaded conversations -- 3.3.3.Social network sites -- 3.3.4.Microblogs -- 3.4.Social networks, information networks and communication networks -- 3.4.1.Flows of information and attention -- 3.5.SNA metrics for the example school friendship network (advanced) -- 3.5.1.Node-level SNA metrics -- 3.5.2.Network-level SNA metrics -- 3.6.Conclusion -- 4.Hyperlink networks -- 4.1.Hyperlink networks: background -- 4.1.1.Motives for sending, and benefits of receiving, hyperlinks -- 4.1.2.Hyperlink network nodes, ties and boundaries -- 4.2.Three disciplinary perspectives on hyperlink networks -- 4.2.1.Citation hyperlink networks -- 4.2.2.Issue hyperlink networks -- 4.2.3.Social hyperlink networks -- 4.2.4.Comparing the disciplinary perspectives -- 4.3.Tools for hyperlink network research -- 4.3.1.Web crawlers -- 4.3.2.Historical web data -- 4.3.3.Blogs -- 4.4.Conclusion -- II.WEB SOCIAL SCIENCE EXAMPLES -- 5.Friendship formation and social influence -- 5.1.Homophily in friendship formation -- 5.1.1.Measurement issues -- 5.1.2.Friendship formation in Facebook -- 5.1.3.Online dating -- 5.2.Social influence -- 5.2.1.Identifying social influence -- 5.2.2.Social influence in social media -- 5.3.Conclusion -- 6.Organisational collective behaviour -- 6.1.Collective behaviour on the web: background -- 6.2.Collective action and public goods -- 6.2.1.Hyperlink networks as information public goods -- 6.3.Networked social movements -- 6.4.Conclusion -- 7.Politics and participation -- 7.1.Visibility of political information -- 7.1.1.Power laws and politics online -- 7.2.Social and political engagement -- 7.2.1.Web use and social capital -- 7.2.2.Political engagement -- 7.3.Political homophily -- 7.3.1.Divided they blog -- 7.4.An introduction to power laws (advanced) -- 7.5.Conclusion -- 8.Government and public policy -- 8.1.Delivery of information to citizens -- 8.1.1.Government hyperlink networks -- 8.2.Government authority -- 8.2.1.Civil unrest -- 8.2.2.Internet censorship -- 8.3.Public policy modelling -- 8.3.1.The mapping principle -- 8.3.2.The macroeconomics of a virtual world -- 8.4.Conclusion -- 9.Production and collaboration -- 9.1.Peer production and information public goods -- 9.1.1.Peer production -- 9.1.2.Information public goods -- 9.2.Scholarly activity and communication -- 9.2.1.Webometric measures of scholarly output and impact -- 9.2.2.Reconfiguring access to scholarly information and expertise -- 9.3.Network structure and achievement -- 9.3.1.Identifying a `network effect' in outcomes -- 9.3.2.Structural holes in Second Life -- 9.4.Conclusion -- 10.Commerce and marketing -- 10.1.Distribution of product sales -- 10.1.1.Power laws and superstars -- 10.1.2.Evidence for the Long Tail -- 10.2.Influence in markets -- 10.2.1.Referrals from friends -- 10.2.2.Ratings systems -- 10.2.3.Recommender systems -- 10.3.Conclusion.
- Summary:
- This book provides readers with a comprehensive guide to the theory and research of Web social science. It traces and critically evaluates the rise of Web social science, demonstrates how the Web is used as a resource for social research, illuminates how Web social science promotes social and political connections and the ways in which it has been used for the purposes of commerce and business.
- Subject(s):
- ISBN:
- 9781446270011 (ebook)
- Audience Notes:
- Specialized.
- Bibliography Note:
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
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