Using Social Media as a Source for Understanding Public Perceptions of Archaeology: Research Challenges and Methodological Pitfalls

Lorna-Jane Richardson

doi:10.5334/jcaa.39

Abstract

Digital social science research has had an important impact on the types of methodological approaches to the internet and digital social phenomena, practices and communities. Whilst this paper does not seek to include empirical data, it aims to elaborate further on these debates in digital social research, that is, research on ‘life in digital society’ (Lindgren 2017: 230), using insights from my own research methods. This paper will firstly consider some methodological pitfalls that could sabotage our digital social archaeology research. It will then discuss the importance of understanding the framework and sources of our data. It will outline the two main methodological approaches I have used in my own empirical research to date – ‘thick’ social media data collection and analysis, and digital ethnography. It will discuss some of the many ethical considerations that must be assessed and implemented when undertaking this type of work. I will argue for a methodological pragmatism when undertaking social research in the fields of archaeology and heritage, although this pragmatism can be applied to any field of social study in the digital world.

Highlights

Over the past two decades or more, an overwhelming amount of data about society and what it is to be a human actor in a digital world has become available to the social researcher
If we understand archaeology and heritage as a series of social practices, we can perhaps envision data that can be extracted from contemporary social media discussions on archaeological topics as a field site for the examination of heritage-focused social and economic power structures, of political expediency, and the source of symbolic resources for nationhood and identity
This paper will firstly discuss the importance of understanding the framework and sources of our data, especially in the light of recent changes to access to Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), the impact of these changes and the issues of restricted access to social media data for digital research

Summary

Introduction

Over the past two decades or more, an overwhelming amount of data about society and what it is to be a human actor in a digital world has become available to the social researcher. This paper will firstly discuss the importance of understanding the framework and sources of our data, especially in the light of recent changes to access to APIs, the impact of these changes and the issues of restricted access to social media data for digital research.

Results

Conclusion