ME-638-1: Advanced Methods in social science research on digitalization
This two day DIGIT course/workshop at the University of Agder (UiA), jointly organized by the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Centre for Digital Transformation (CeDiT) introduces the participants to selected methods for exploring digital environments and offers them the opportunity to deepen and apply advanced research methods during the workshop.
When: Spring 2025, exact date TBD
Where: UiA, Campus Kristiansand
Registration: will open soon
Language: English
ECTS Credits: 5
For DIGIT members, it is possible to attend the course without completing the course assignment and receiving ECTS credits.
Content
Probing the nascent “digital environments” – such as political online discourses, filter bubbles, social media exchanges or digital participation fora - require special methodological skills and advanced techniques that facilitate comprehensive and detailed analysis of digital data. The Centre for Digital Transformation (CeDiT) and the Department of Sociology & Social Work (ISS) at UiA, will design and organize an innovative two-day workshop for doctoral students at any stage of their PhD. Participants will learn and discuss advanced methods that are specifically relevant for the for obtaining, processing and comparing digital data (although may be applicable more generally). They will also be encouraged to practice selected methods suitable for their own projects in small breakout sessions. The workshop will take place at UiA. Campus Kristiansand.
Highlights from the course
General introduction
Selected methods (e.g. Social Network Analysis; Netnography; Visual Discourse Analysis; Online Surveys; Online Participatory Action Research (e-PAR); Critical Realist Case Study)
Breakout Sessions with selected lecturers, based on student interest: Implementing and adapting methods to concrete PhD Projects
Summary and practical tips.
Assessment methods and criteria
Brief summary report (2-3 pages).
Financial support
For DIGIT participants residing outside Kristiansand, DIGIT will cover expenses related to travel and accommodation. Once your place in the course is confirmed, contact us for more details.
Course leader - Alexander Ruser
Alex is professor of sociology at the UiA with a special interest in political sociology, environmental sociology and the sociology of knowledge.
From September 2022 he has been the director of the Centre for Digital Transformation (CeDiT) at UiA.
He holds a PhD in Sociology from the Max-Weber-Institute of Sociology at Heidelberg University and was a Dahrendorf Postdoctoral Fellow at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin, the London School of Economics and Political Sciences and a visiting fellow at Punjab University, Chandigarh.
Current research projects focus on the role of “science in society”, the social & political role of think tanks, the impact of scientific expertise on climate politics and climate change scepticism.
Please feel free to contact the DIGIT coordinator should you have any practical questions.
For questions related to the course content, please contact Alexander Ruser.