In the last decade, studies on digital sociality and its multiple technical and social developments have gained prominence in different fields of knowledge and, gradually, have become an interdisciplinary field of study, with their own categories and theoretical references. The Covid-19 pandemic marks a “digitalization turn” in social relations and investigative paths have found an unparalleled expansion of frontiers in digital environments.
In this context, the idea is spreading that another shift is underway, the methodological one. In addition to mastering the strategies of data production and extraction methods and techniques, it is necessary to consider the research process in this peculiar social space. After all, the media, the architecture of digital platforms and their algorithms act in an intricate socio-technical manner that influences behaviors and interactions, shaping performances, values and ways of acting.
The central objective of the course is to methodologically support the carrying out of qualitative research that has as its object social practices mediated by the internet, as well as those that choose virtual environments as source of collections.
In this sense, the course will discuss some aspects of “cyber culture” and the social uses of digital media. The main premise is that the different digital platforms made available by Internet 2.0 act as discursive contexts, that is, contexts of enunciation that are established in the human x algorithm interaction, with a strong performative character. These aspects outline the nature of the data, as well as the researcher-research participants relationship and must, therefore, be problematized.
Considering the stages of the research, we will discuss the concept of “fieldwork” and address the techniques most used in social research (observation and interviews), their changes, innovations and limits when applied in online environments. We will briefly address issues related to the extraction of qualitative data on social media on a small data scale and based on the notion of digital traces.
Finally, we will discuss the ethical aspects of research in a digital environment, with an emphasis on the confidentiality of identities and the preservation of sensitive information in a social space in which hypervisibility and “self-exposure” constitute important brands and capitals.
Practical and reflective activities will be applied in classes, including individual and group tasks.

Tuition

These prices include the application, enrolment, and attendance fee as well as the fee for a certificate in Portuguese.