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Introduction to Monitoring Online Discourse

To help you get started and better navigate the research landscape of social media monitoring (SMM) and monitoring of online discourse more broadly, we’ve collected a first set of chapters that aim to provide orientation and guidance to researchers and practitioners exploring various options and dimensions of social media monitoring. We welcome additional content and have added a selection of chapters below that would make for great contributions.

Ethical Framework for Social Media Monitoring & Data Sharing: This chapter critically examines the ethical challenges inherent in social media monitoring and data sharing practices. Drawing on the Open Knowledge Foundation’s (OKFN) extensive experience in data ethics, it outlines a set of standards rooted in principles such as privacy, transparency, and accountability. The emphasis is placed on the significance of a privacy-centric design approach to promote ethical data management.

Legal Context of Analyzing Social Media Platforms: This chapter provides an overview of the legal parameters that govern the monitoring of social media platforms. By presenting a clear outline of the legal context and incorporating relevant IT considerations, it provides a starting point for researchers and practitioners to ensure lawful engagement with these platforms.

Literature Overview: This chapter offers an academic synthesis of the current scientific discourse around social media monitoring. By combining insights from journals, publications, and key policy documents, it helps you read up on foundational references and get a sense of the academic landscape in this field.

How and When to Access Data for Social Media Monitoring: This chapter provides an introduction to accessing data for social media monitoring through the lens of platform regulations and policies.

Open for contributions

We welcome contributions on a rolling basis. At the moment, we particularly welcome chapters dealing with the following questions

  • How to deal with "dark socials"?
  • Data access rights beyond the European Union and the U.S.