The Handbook of Emergent Technologies in Social Research

New technologies are breaking the boundaries of how social researchers practice their craft, and it has become clear these changes are dramatically altering research design from the way data is collected to what is considered data. Bringing together all the emerging social science research technologies in one place, this handbook offers comprehensive and up-to-date thinking on emerging technologies and addresses their impact on research methods, and in turn how new technologies lead to new research questions and areas of inquiry. The book is organized into five sections, covering internet technologies, emergent data-collection methods, audio/visual, mobile, and geospatial technologies, and technology's impact on studying social life in natural settings, all after taking a look at emergent technologies from a broad, social-research context. Many of the twenty-nine chapters provide a commentary on and summary of specific technologies, like global surveys on the internet, mobile phones, data mining, and remote sensing, with a central focus on the most effective ways to use them. Others discuss the ethical and moral implications, especially issues of privacy and confidentiality, and collaborations across disciplines and outside the academy. The Handbook of Emergent Technologies in Social Research is indispensable for any social researcher looking to incorporate emerging technologies into their methods and practice.

Sharlene Nagy Hesse-Biber is Professor of Sociology at Boston College. She is the author or editor of numerous books, including The Cult of Thinness, Working Women in America: Split Dreams, Feminist Perspectives in Social Research, Approaches to Qualitative Research, and Feminist Approaches to Theory and Methodology. She is co-developer of HyperRESEARCH, a software tool for analyzing qualitative data, and a transcription software tool, HyperTranscribe (www.researchware.com).