Researching in the Digital Age II

DIGI10042 Researching in the Digital Age II 20 Semester 2 Undergraduate Level 1 Giulia Grisot Unit coordinator School of Arts, Languages and Cultures 1 FHEQ level (Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) ' First part HE study/Bachelors ' European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System Rating : 10.0 This course unit will offer a more advanced introduction to the basics and principles of doing academic research in the digital age, building on ‘Researching in the Digital Age I’. Students will learn more about key concepts that structure all academic research, and be introduced to academic research methods and approaches, from interviews and ethnography, to content and discourse analysis. Crucially, students will explore debates that have shaped and changed how academic research is performed and valued. Different scientific and cultural traditions and discourses have altered our understanding of knowledge and reality, from the ‘empiricism’ and ‘structuralism’ of the 1950s/60s to the ‘relativism’ of the 1990s and the ‘materialism’ of the 2010s. Students will learn about positionality and perspective, and consider how values, ethics, and politics are embedded within, and projected from, these different traditions. Most importantly, students will learn about how academic research in the digital age is shaped by our acceptance, use, and often resistance to developments in media and technology – and that both have a central role to play in how knowledge and reality are constructed. Through the assessments, students will gain experience in how to design useful video-based ‘method explainers’, as well as write an individual analysis from the perspective of ‘digital identity/self’, using a research method of their choice. This course unit will offer a more advanced introduction to the basics and principles of doing academic research in the digital age, building on ‘Researching in the Digital Age I’. Students will learn more about key concepts that structure all academic research, and be introduced to academic research methods and approaches, from interviews and ethnography, to content and discourse analysis. Crucially, students will explore debates that have shaped and changed how academic research is performed and valued. Different scientific and cultural traditions and discourses have altered our understanding of knowledge and reality, from the ‘empiricism’ and ‘structuralism’ of the 1950s/60s to the ‘relativism’ of the 1990s and the ‘materialism’ of the 2010s. Students will learn about positionality and perspective, and consider how values, ethics, and politics are embedded within, and projected from, these different traditions. Most importantly, students will learn about how academic research in the digital age is shaped by our acceptance, use, and often resistance to developments in media and technology – and that both have a central role to play in how knowledge and reality are constructed. Through the assessments, students will gain experience in how to design useful video-based ‘method explainers’, as well as write an individual analysis from the perspective of ‘digital identity/self’, using a research method of their choice. The unit aims to: <ul><li>Provide students with a more advanced introduction to the basics and principles of doing academic research in the digital age</li><li>Offer students understanding of specific research methods and approaches relevant to studying digital media</li><li>Situate research methods within wider epistemological and discursive debates</li></ul> Students should acquire a range of more advanced academic research skills, including learning how to use specific digital research methods and approaches.Students will also develop a greater understanding of how social and cultural debates have shaped academic research, especially within media studies. Students should be able to locate, contextualize, and problematize research methods within social, cultural, and technological histories. Students should be able to communicate and discuss different ideas on how research methods are developed, deployed, contested, as well as how they merge or diverge from other such methods and approaches through a variety of social, cultural, and technological factors. Students should be able to identify the key characteristics of written method explainer/method textbook entries, to produce concise, engaging, first-person perspective, video explainers. In addition, students should be able to select and use a specific research method to study their own identity, behaviour, actions, or practices. <ul><li>Define and distinguish between advanced concepts that provide the foundations for doing academic research. </li><li>Demonstrate understanding of specific research methods used in media studies. </li><li>Situate research methods within epistemological and cultural traditions, debates, and discourses.</li></ul> <ul><li>Identify how complex concepts structure the production of academic knowledges. </li><li>Examine the components and features of relevant research methods. </li><li>Compare how epistemological and cultural debates and discussions have shaped how academic knowledges have been produced.</li></ul> <ul><li>Experiment with using academic research methods. </li><li>Develop methodological ideas and theories. </li><li>Acquire skills to find methodological resources.</li></ul> <ul><li>Synthesize and communicate methodological material from within and across academic disciplines. </li><li>Engage in exploratory modes of methodological inquiry. </li><li>Develop independent methodological project management skills.</li></ul> The course unit will provide students with a more advanced introduction to the basics and principles of doing academic research in the digital age. The unit will cover three aspects: <ul><li>Advanced terms and concepts that form the basis of academic inquiry (ethics, epistemology, ontology)</li><li>Specific research methods and approaches commonly used in media studies and cognate fields (e.g. interviews, ethnography, discourse analysis)</li><li>Epistemological and cultural debates and discussions out of which such methods have emerged (e.g. empiricism, structuralism, relativism, materialism, post-humanism).</li></ul> The unit consists of 2-hour lectures and 1-hour seminars per week, delivered synchronously and in-person. Lectures will be delivered through presentation format with short individual/group tasks.Lectures will be divided into three parts, focusing on concepts (epistemology, ontology), methods (interviews, ethnography), and debates (structuralism, post-humanism) that will offer advanced understanding of researching in the digital age. Seminars will be delivered through a mix of group reading and discussion of key texts, and practical workshop-style activities. Students will have the opportunity to discuss foundational academic texts that consider epistemological, ontological, and methodological questions pertaining to doing research in a digital age. Students will work in groups to discover, examine, and debate different examples of research methods being used ‘in the wild’. Students will also work collaboratively to compare, contrast, and contextualize different definitions and perspectives on epistemological theories and periods, collating and mapping such definitions/perspectives in group activities. 0 Other 100% <figure class="table"><table><tbody><tr><td>Formative Assessment Task</td><td>Length (word count/time)</td></tr><tr><td>Method explainer outline (individual) [a written outline/script for a ‘method explainer’-style video]</td><td>500 words</td></tr><tr><td>Digital identity analysis outline (individual) [written outline of research method and digital identity topic]</td><td>500 words</td></tr></tbody></table></figure><figure class="table"><table><tbody><tr><td>Summative Assessment Task</td><td>Length</td><td>Weighting within unit (if relevant)</td></tr><tr><td>Method explainer vlog (individual) [production/edit of a short POV video explaining what a chosen research method is, providing background, context, examples, and individual perspective/reflection]</td><td>1,000 words</td><td>30%</td></tr><tr><td>Digital identity analysis (individual) [written analysis/reflection of an aspect of ‘digital identity/self/practice’ using a chosen research method, justifying, explaining, and contextualizing use of method]</td><td>2,000 words</td><td>70%</td></tr></tbody></table></figure> Written, via Canvas/Turnitin, within 15 working days. N Ash, J., Kitchin, R. and Leszczynski, A. (2024) Researching Digital Life: Orientations, Methods and Practice. London: Sage. Charles M. Ess, Elisabetta Locatelli, Aline Shakti Franzke (Eds.) (2023) Internet Research Ethics in the Platform Society: Theoretical Reflections, Research Experiences, and Open Questions. Special Issue of COMUNICAZIONI SOCIALI, avaialable at: https://comunicazionisociali.vitaepensiero.it/scheda-fascicolo_contenitore_digital/charles-m-ess-elisabetta-locatelli-aline-shakti-franzke/comunicazioni-sociali-2023-2-internet-research-ethics-in-the-platform-society-theoretical-reflections-research-experiences-and-open-questions-001200_2023_0002-395669.html Lupton, D., & Watson, A. A. (2021). Towards more-than-human digital data studies: Developing research-creation methods. Qualitative Research, 21(4), 463-480.Ruddock, A. (2017) Exploring Media Research: Theories, Practice, and Purpose. London: Sage.Seale, C. (2017) (4th ed.) Researching Society and Culture. London: Sage. Stokes, J. (2021) (3rd ed.) How to Do Media and Cultural Studies. London: Sage. Lectures 22 Seminars 11 0 167