Arguments in big social data analysis : uncovering the hidden rhetoric of sociological data science
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Authors
Lanius, Candice L.
Issue Date
2017-05
Type
Electronic thesis
Thesis
Thesis
Language
ENG
Keywords
Communication and rhetoric
Alternative Title
Abstract
My research revealed that the values of computer science, behavioral science, and mathematics are implemented unequally, revealing a community preference for building viable analytic technologies rather than producing valid sociological results. Using Kuhn’s idea of the scientific paradigm, the relationship between various values from divergent epistemic communities are explored as they appear in the conference proceedings. The rhetorical concepts of agency, audience, exigency, genre, and invention are explored in relation to how the analysts in the ASONAM community design and implement their research objectives as a communication strategy. While the analysts buy into the conviction that “data speaks for itself,” this dissertation reveals how and when the analyst makes interpretive decisions that constrain and shape the final possibilities for results. The work concludes with recommendations for peer-review questions that recognize the role of interpretation in big social data research and rebalance the importance of fidelity to the original problem being addressed with the need to create analytical technologies that are efficient and productive.
Description
May 2017
School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
Full Citation
Publisher
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY