Recording of presentation introducing narrative analysis, outlining what it is, why it can be a useful approach, how to do it and where to find out more. Presentation given at methods@manchester seminar at University of Manchester on 4 March 2010.

What is Narrative Analysis

Part I: AN INTRODUCTION TO INQUIRY. 1. Human Inquiry and Science. 2. Paradigms, Theory, and Research. 3. The Ethics and Politics of Social Research. Part II: THE STRUCTURING OF INQUIRY: QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE. 4. Research Design. 5. Conceptualization, Operationalization, and Measurement. 6. Indexes, Scales, and Typologies. 7. The Logic of Sampling. Part III: MODES OF OBSERVATION: QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE. 8. Experiments. 9. Survey Research. 10. Qualitative Field Research. 11. Unobtrusive Research. 12. Evaluation Research. Part IV: ANALYSIS OF DATA:QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE . 13. Qualitative Data Analysis. 14. Quantitative Data Analysis. 15. Reading and Writing Social Research. Appendix A. Using the Library. Appendix B. Random Numbers. Appendix C. Distribution of Chi Square. Appendix D. Normal Curve Areas. Appendix E. Estimated Sampling Error.

社会研究方法基础 = The Basics of Social Research

The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom by Evgeny Morozov New York: Public Affairs, 2011 409 pages $16.99 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In January 2010, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a highly touted speech on Internet freedom in which she stated, "The freedom to connect is like the freedom of assembly, only in cyberspace. It allows individuals to get online, come together, and hopefully cooperate. Once you're on the Internet, you don't need to be a tycoon or a rock star to have a huge impact on society." Evgeny Morozov, in his book The Net Delusion, takes great issue with the implication, however, that the so-called "Arab Spring" and "Twitter Revolution" were caused by unfettered access to the Internet. Instead, Morozov, a research academic, provides a cautionary tale about what he argues is any attempt to establish a monocausal relationship to meaningful political change (especially when that single focus is information technology). The book opens with a discussion of cyber-utopianism and Internet-centrism--mind-sets that focus on the positive "emancipatory" aspects of Internet communication while ignoring the downsides. The argument throughout centers on nation-state policy, or lack thereof, that attacks the "wicked" problem of authoritarianism by, as a colleague of mine has dubbed it, "wiring the world." Morozov, expectantly, but importantly, cites the hedonistic world portrayed by Huxley and the "Big Brother" world of Orwell to consider both the proactive and reactive approaches to Internet freedom by authoritarian regimes. Interestingly, he notes that there is often a mix of both. Such regimes certainly use the anonymity and openness of the Internet to spy on their people and shutdown undesirable sites. But there is also a subtle approach that belies the jackboot on the keyboard methodology. While China may be known more for suppressing the Internet and for employing the masses to counter antiregime rhetoric, Russia imposes no formal Internet censorship. It relies on entertainment (porn is specifically cited) to soothe the masses, assuming that given options for political discourse and anything else, most opt for "anything else." Hitler would understand. And in nations where freedom is not widely understood from a western perspective, any bit of additional mindless diversion may be viewed as liberty by the populace. Perhaps most importantly, Morozov rails against social media determinism as driving the end of authoritarianism, labeling it "an intellectually impoverished, lazy way to study the past, understand the present, and predict the future." He does not dismiss the value of Facebook and Twitter to quickly mobilize like-minded individuals. He notes as well that the development of that very like-mindedness is complex and potentially can be manipulated by authoritarian governments using the same Internet freedom. …

The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom

Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People

The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social and Political Movements

The primary objective of this article is to investigate the contribution of social media to the success of two significant social movements in Indonesia, i.e. ‘Coins for Prita’ and ‘Support Bibit-Chandra’. To this end, discursive opportunity structure was adopted as the main theoretical framework. In addition, in-depth interviews with key Indonesian journalists, social media activists and media scholars were conducted to examine the issue. The results of this study suggest that diffusion of the movements' messages into the public sphere, along with the politicians' supportive resonance towards the cases, were the main factors influencing the success of these two movements. Importantly, this article argues that while the most important role in this process was played by the vast and positive mainstream media coverage of the cases, social media also played a key role given they initiated the movement discourse and directed it towards mainstream media.

Discursive opportunity structure and the contribution of social media to the success of social movements in Indonesia

Religious affiliation and intercultural sensitivity: Interculturality between Shia & Sunni Muslims in Iran

This paper aims to investigate the level of civility of Indonesians' political discussions on Facebook. Civility, which has always been an important concept in online political discussion, is particularly significant when there is diversity of opinions and disputation. While previous studies have focused more upon factors such as anonymity's role and its relevance to civility, this paper proposes two further important factors: (1) diversity of opinion and disagreement in discussion and (2) the cultural context of the country and how it determines civility and politeness in online debate. Qualitative content analysis of Indonesians' political discussions on Facebook revealed that polarized political views and the people's politeness culture were two significant factors underpinning the high level of civility in political discussion.

The prospect of civility in Indonesians' online polarized political discussions

Because of their participatory nature, social media can facilitate and accelerate social relationships, but their functions may vary from one cultural context to another. This article aims to investigate whether social media usage affects social relations and a sense of community in Indonesia, a country dominated by a collectivist culture. Based on a qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with Indonesian journalists, social media experts, and media scholars, the author concludes that social media enhance social relationships in Indonesia in two different ways: first, by facilitating and extending social relationships within the existing offline networks of friends; and, second, by contributing to the spirit of togetherness and solidarity among the members of a community.

Social Media Usage, Social Relations, and a Sense of Community in Indonesia

The Internet and social media have played a significant role in contemporarypolitical sphere of Indonesia. In particular, they have been widely usedfor political activism and discussion; but whether the discussions areconstructive is another issue. Constructive political discussion requiresseveral preconditions; one of the most important requirements is rationalreasoning. Citizens must be equipped with some degree of politicalknowledge and competency to provide reasonable arguments andjustifications in discussions. The primary objective of this paper is to examinethe level of political knowledge of Indonesian Facebookers regardingcorruption which is currently a serious issue in Indonesia. An online surveywas conducted among the most active users of an anti-corruption Facebookgroup of Indonesians. The results of the study generally suggested that theparticipants were well informed about the current affairs of their societyand showed a high level of political knowledge in terms of the CorruptionEradication Commission and also the incumbent politicians; however, theresults indicated a low level of knowledge regarding laws and regulationssurrounding corruption as well as the issues related to the former politicians.

https://jcss.ut.ac.ir/article_59873_327d406fd039e5599a645fb05c98b2f4.pdf

Hamideh Molaei

Papers

Discursive opportunity structure and the contribution of social media to the success of social movements in Indonesia

Religious affiliation and intercultural sensitivity: Interculturality between Shia & Sunni Muslims in Iran

The prospect of civility in Indonesians' online polarized political discussions

Social Media Usage, Social Relations, and a Sense of Community in Indonesia

Social Media and Politics: Examining Indonesians’ Political Knowledge on Facebook