Critical methods and user generated content

Abstract

Sites like YouTube offer vast sources of data for studies of Human Computer Interaction (HCI). However, they also present a number of methodological challenges. This paper offers an example study of the initial reception of the iPhone 3G through YouTube. It begins with a quantitative account of the overall shape of the most frequently viewed returns for an "iPhone 3G" search. A content analysis of the first hundred videos then explores the returns categorized by genre. Comments on the most popular video "Will It Blend" are analyzed using grounded theory. It is argued that social science methods are not sufficient for a rich understanding of such material. The paper concludes with an analysis of "Will it Blend" that draws on cultural and critical theory. It is argued that a multi-methodological approach is necessary to exploit such data and also to address the challenges of next generation HCI.

Unpacking social interaction that make us adore

“…Qualitative content analysis is a research technique for making replicable and valid inferences from texts (or other meaningful matter) to the contexts of their use [4,19,22,25]. It aims for the "qualitative data reduction and sensemaking effort that takes a volume of qualitative material and attempts to identify core consistencies and meanings" [25].…”

“…It aims for the "qualitative data reduction and sensemaking effort that takes a volume of qualitative material and attempts to identify core consistencies and meanings" [25]. The concept of "qualitative", rather than quantitative, makes visible that the analysis moves beyond systematic data coding to identify trends, and also allows us to interpret the material given theoretical preconceptions [4,18,34]. In our case, our interpretations are informed by fashion theory.…”

Success of Mixed Martial Arts Video Topics on YouTube

“…Content analysis was used to manually classify videos into fitting categories based on semantic themes and structural features (Bauer, 2000). It is a well-known method for examining qualitative data, frequently used in studies of mass media (Blythe & Cairns 2009;Jarett 2010). In an online context it might lead to identification or discussion about categories of examined content (Parker, Saundage & Lee, 2011).…”

“…Nevertheless, the core of the idea holds its grounds and site is firstly the area for watching and uploading video content as well as for commentating, responding and assessing. From researcher perspective, it gives an access to vast amount of primary data (Blythe & Cairns, 2009). …”

InfoExtractor—A Tool for Social Media Data Mining

“…As these services are shifting the social and communication infrastructure of our society, having proper tools and techniques to study these platforms becomes ever more critical for understanding social activities (Naaman, Boase, & Lai 2010), public opinion (Bennett & Iyengar, 2008;Castells, 2009), political action (Parsons, 2010;Siegel, 2009) and more. At the same time, the ubiquity of new social media has stupefied some of the best students of social change, with the prominent exceptions of marketing, advertising, and information science researchers (Blythe & Cairns, 2009;Xenos, 2010). Meanwhile, transformative social and political norms are emerging in online social practices and their offline corollaries (Glynn, Huge, & Lunney, 2009;Wallsten, 2010).…”