Communication research in times of big data: methodologies and temporalities in the approach of social networks

Abstract

This article, of essayistic tone approaches a series of central issues related to social communication research, particularly those that propose study materials collected from social networking. It proposes a reflection around three main axes. On the one hand and taking two postdoctoral research in progress, the main difficulties involved in corpus construction work based on large amounts of data are presented. On the other, it specifies the way in which big data is understood as a phenomenon not circumscribed exclusively to quantity and where it becomes necessary the hybridization between computational analysis methods and artisanal strategies of collection and inquiry. Finally, we reflect on the temporal dimension of these data sets, derived from the online linking modalities and the collection techniques used. What has been worked on here proposes a critical look at the optimism that links the availability of material with the successful outcome of an investigation. In addition, it is emphasized that these difficulties related to the construction of corpus of analysis do not refer only to technical particularities but also influence the epistemological and methodological principles that guide the investigations.