Structure of the Presentation
1. State of Internet and Social Media Use;
2. Parameters and Objectives;
3. Contextualization;
4. Defining the Blogging Population;
5. Web-based Sampling Strategies;
6. Discussion.

State of Social Media Use
• Evolution and intensifying use of Web 2.0 tools;
• Reconfiguration of the political communication,
mobilization and persuasion environment in the last twenty
(20) years: Information:
 Production;
 “Coproduction”;
 Dissemination;
 Acquisition.
Social relations:
 Temporality;
 Directionality.
Public deliberation processes
Sources; Xenos and Foot, 2008; Kushin and Yamamoto, 2009; Foot and Schneider, 2006; Kushin, Kitchner et al., 2009; Bode, 2008.

State of Social Media Use
• Rising importance of the Internet:
2004: 88% of Web 2007: 78% of citizens December 2007: 74% of
users believed the Web are active Internet citizens are Internet
was part of their “daily users; users;
media routine”; 2008: “Important Low levels of Internet
December 2008: 74% of source for current penetration:
citizens went online for affairs and political Underdeveloped
various reasons information for digital infrastructure;
55% for political Canadians”. Web content
information and consumption
commentary; behaviour.
38% for information 2007: 28% used the
dissemination and Web for political
discussion information;
Sources; Small, 2008; Fallows, 2004; Madden, 2006; Jones and Fox, 2009; Smith, 2009; CEFRIO, 2008; ISQ, 2009; Clavet 2002;.

State of Social Media Use
• Enduring presence of a digital divide in many Western
countries;
• Impact of the upcoming “generational succession”:
 Growth of connectivity levels and Internet-related
knowledge;
 Diversification and potential intensification of online
politicking activities:
 Technologies provide “attractive ways” to
be politically-engaged;
 Rising importance of informal political
communication, mobilization and
persuasion ways.
Sources; Schlozman, Verba et al., 2009; Delli Carpini, 2000; Hargittai and Hinnant, 2008; Bennett, Wells et al., 2008.

State of Social Media Use
• “Meteoric” growth of social media platforms in the last five
(5) years:
 Blogs;
 Social networking “services” (SNS);
 Status updating (microblogging) tools.
• Production of an increasingly large body of scientific work:
 Social relations and identity formation;
 Education.
 Politically-oriented activities
• Social media platforms still an “understudied” phenomenon.
Sources; Gaines and Mondak, 2008; Ellison, Steinfeld et al., 2006; Kampitaki, Tambouris et al., 2009; Caverlee and Webb, 2008.

Parameters and Objectives
• Few studies on methodological challenges of studying Web-
based social media platforms;
• “Slow pace of academic publishing” not keeping up with
constantly-evolving objects of study.
Objectives of the presentation
1. Overview of the challenges of studying Web-based social
media platforms;
2. In-depth characterization of several concerns linked to
the constitution of representative research samples
through non-probabilistic, or decentralized, strategies;
3. Advantages and pitfalls of viral sampling.
Sources; Foot and Schneider, 2004; Kankowski and Van Selm, 2008; Karfp, 2009; Boyd and Ellison, 2007; Ahn, Han et al., 2007.

Parameters and Objectives
• Presentation based on previous work on Quebec-based
political bloggers;
• Politics-oriented blogs:
 Increasing importance since 2001:
 Dislike and discontent of conventional media;
 Decline of “institutionalized forms” of political
participation.
 Four (4) distinct functions on the political scene:
 Potential influence on agenda-setting processes;
 Source of original reporting;
 Arena of political discussion;
 Communication between citizens and
government.
Sources; Johnson and Kaye, 2004; Mariën, Hooghe et al., 2008, Sweetser and Kaid, 2008; Siapera,2008; Wallsten, 2007.

Contextualization
• Social media research situated within the broader Internet-
research framework;
• Development of new investigation techniques adapted to the
nature of the Web:
 Multidimensional;
Deep structural
 Deterritorialized;
transformations
 Constantly-evolving.
• Internet research “located in the interplays of online,
onground and technical research spheres”;
• Eclosion of an aphysical space for scholars to “rethink
assumptions and categories”
Sources; Dahlberg, 2004; Foot and Schneider, 2004; Maczewski, Storey et al., 2004; Baka and Scott, 2008; Morris and Ogan, 1996.

Contextualization
• Influences to conduct Internet research:
“Push factors”: “Pull factors”:
 Constant need  Novelty;
to redefine  Facility;
methodological  Flexibility;
approaches Researcher
 Accessibility;
 Etc.
Challenges:
 Development of mixed, or hybrid, approaches
(triangulation);
 Visualization of findings;
 Sampling processes.
Sources; Nancarrow, Pallister et al., 2001, Livingstone, 2004; Walther, Gay et al., 2005; Jankowski and Van Selm, 2008.

Defining the Blogging
Population
• Structural characteristics of the blogosphere:
 Identification of political blogs:
Political blogs Personal blogs
Blogosphere Celebrity blogs
Different formats;
Different objectives.
“Blawgs”
Blogging refers “[...] to a wide range of
disparate activities that are
problematically grouped together”
Sources; Karpf, 2008; Sweetser, Golan et al., 2008, Trammell, Williams et al., 2006; Hookway, 2008; Sweetser and Kaid, 2006.

Defining the Blogging
Population
• Structural characteristics of the blogosphere:
 Identification of political blogs:
Quantitative keyword Bloggers’ assessment of
analysis of their content their publications
Fatally flawed?
Other techniques:
 Consideration of formal and informal public
directories;
 Exploration of political blogs’ blogrolls;
 Content analysis of conventional media’s coverage.
Sources; Wallsten, 2005; 2007; Giasson, Raynauld et al., 2009; Park, 2009; Hargittai, Gallo et al., 2009; Gruszczynski, 2009.

Defining the Blogging
Population
• Structural characteristics of the blogosphere:
 Constant restructuration of the political blogosphere:
 Rapid expansion since 2004;
 Blogs’ level of activity;
Certain social media platforms are
plagued by poor levels of retention.
Difficulty to produce comprehensive and up-to-
date repertoire of the political blogosphere
 Potentially geographically-specific nature of projects.
Sources; Gruszczynski, 2009, Schmidt, 2007; Martin, 2009; Wallsten, 2005; Perseus, 2004; Halavais, 2002; Hargittai, Gallo et al., 2008.

Defining the Blogging
Population
• Quebec-based French-speaking political bloggers:
• Consideration of two (2) unscientific indexes of
political blogs;
• Approximately 125 Quebec-based political bloggers in
April 2008.
Sources; Giasson, Raynauld et al., 2008; 2009.

Web-Based Sampling
Strategies
• Methodologically- questionable sampling techniques used by
researchers:
 “Tentative”;
Random identification and
 “Not lacking creativity”. selection processes:
“After browsing blogspace
for a while”;
“randomly [...] selected
weblogs”.
• Probability sampling highly problematic (“if not
impossible”):
Problem with the identification of the population.
Sources; Bar-Ilan, 2005; Calvert and Huffaker, 2005; Wallsten, 2005; Gruszczynski, 2009; McKenna and Pole, 2008; Munger, 2008.

Web-Based Sampling
Strategies
• Non-probabilistic sampling techniques are the only
“feasible” or “appropriate”:
 Avoid “small and isolated clusters”;
 Other strategies do not adequately portray the
decentralized and unpredictable nature of Web-based
social flows;
 Extensively used for weblog research.
 Difficult to produce a truly representative research
sample of bloggers;
• Impact of data-gathering techniques (Web-based surveys):
• Easy to circulate;
• Low costs (printing, shipping, etc.);
• Data collected can be easily managed.
Sources; Johnson, Kaye et al., 2008; Porter, Sweetser et al., 2008; Ahn, Han et al., 2007; Herring and Paolillo, 2006; Wallsten, 2005.

Web-Based Sampling
Strategies
• Quebec-based French-speaking political bloggers:
 Online survey available from April 15th 2008 to May 1st
2008 inclusively;
 58 questions unevenly distributed in seven sections:
 Constitution of the research sample was twofold:
 Selection of 22 A-list political bloggers;
 Non-probabilistic viral dissemination
Research sample approach for the circulation of the
 56 respondents; survey:
 73% of A-list  Through A-list bloggers;
bloggers  Through conventional
responded; media representatives
 71% recruited (journalists).
through the viral
procedure.
Sources; Vergeer and Hermanns, 2008; Jankowski and Van Selm, 2008; Scheidt, 2008; Wallsten, 2008; Sweetser, 2008.

Web-Based Sampling
Strategies
• Possible detrimental impact of viral sampling strategies:
 Fragmentation of the online political audience;
 Politically-homogenous and highly partisan nature of
online socio-political networks;
 Potential research agenda of respondents;
• Sampling as possible research results:
• Indicator of the socio-political behavioural profile of
certain Web-based political communities.
Sources; Johnson, Kaye et al., 2008; Porter, Sweetser et al., 2008; Ahn, Han et al., 2007; Herring and Paolillo, 2006; Wallsten, 2005.

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS