Dialoguing with Data and Data Reduction: An Observational, Narrowing-Down Approach to Social Media Network Analysis

In this article, we propose an observational, narrowing-down approach to analysing social media networks and developing research design by the joint use of computational algorithms researchers’ inductive exploration interpretive explanations. The Brexit referendum on Twitter study is used illustrate how applied in practice. study, observation helped us combine strengths statistical analysis modelling inquiries. Computational tools including Elasticsearch, Kibana Gephi provided with “ethnographic field” where were able inductively observe relationships among users reduce amount data down a level which could intuitively understand these relationships. traditional observational studies, talking human subjects observing their interactions site are important ethnographers. Likewise, it useful for science researchers dialogue data, embodied reconstructed tools, through closely examining small batch meaningful that extracted from large-scale data. case adopting proposed approach, found importance political disagreement leading tale two politicians, pro-Brexit denounced @David_Cameron but legitimised @Nigel_Farage.