1. The document discusses the Digital Methods Summer School held in Amsterdam in 2013 and introduces the Digital Methods Initiative tool database which contains a variety of tools for social and cultural research using digital methods. 2. It provides examples of using tool chains or sequences of tools to answer research questions such as analyzing the response of sources to Cablegate and mapping the Dutch blogosphere. 3. The document demonstrates how search can be used as a research method by formulating queries to analyze the nationalities of rights and issues across different countries and languages.

1. digital methods
tool medley
Digital Methods Summer School 2013, Amsterdam, 24 June - 5 July
Tomás Saraceno, galaxies forming along filaments, Venice Biennial 2009
anne helmond
www.digitalmethods.net

6. medley?
1. a diverse assortment or mixture
2. a musical composition made up of a series of songs or
short pieces
<a medley of snack foods available on the buffet table>

7. new methods and tools for
social and cultural research

8. digital methods initiative tool database:
tools.digitalmethods.net

9. digital methods initiative tool database:
tools.digitalmethods.net

10. research question -> operationalization &
method: often a chain of tools
cablegate

11. Question: Do the sources acknowledge cablegate?
The Response of the Source
1.Get all links for US embassy websites:
http://www.usembassy.gov/
2.Compile list of embassies mentioned in cables:
http://wikileaks.ch/cablegate.html
3.Compare lists
4.Query mentioned embassies for:
1. wikileaks
2. "Julian Assange"
3. Assange
4. cablegate
5.Get number of cables per embassy
6.Visualize output
https://wiki.digitalmethods.net/Dmi/ResponsesoftheSources

12. aim: get links

13. tool: link ripper

14. result: links!

15. repeat & paste in spreadsheet

16. tool: compare lists

17. aim: get #nr mentions

18. tool: googlescraper (Lippmannian Device)

19. result: tagclouds

20. aim: get most leaked embassy
tool: Google Docs build on leakfeed API

21. further analysis

22. digital methods
search as research
the nationality of rights types
Research project by the Digital Methods Initiative Summer School 09
https://wiki.digitalmethods.net/Dmi/NationalityofIssues

23. the point of departure of search as research, or
societal search, may be summarized as follows:
we look at Google results and see
society, instead of Google. That is to say,
including its ‘artifacts,’ engine results put much on
display – from source competition and standing
to longevity and commitment. (Rogers)
search as research
digital methods

24. Can the search engine be repurposed to
show which rights are specific per country?
research question

25. .nl (Dutch), .be (Dutch, French),
.com/.co.uk/.com.au/(English),
.it (Italian), .ro (Romanian),
.md (Moldavian), .ca (French, English),
.fr (French), .de/.at/.lu (German),
.fi (Finnish), .se (Swedish), .ee (Estonian),
.ru (Russian)

26. “Query design” is the practice of formulating a
query so the results can be interpreted as
indications and findings (however clue-like), as
opposed to mere information retrieved or
optimization and manipulation exposed (however
fascinating). (Rogers 2013, 111)
search as research
“query design”

27. Google.se with query“rattigheter”(13.07.09)
Google.fi with query“oikeudet”(13.07.09)
Google.ee with query“oigused”(15.07.09)
Google.lv with query“tiesibas”(16.07.09)
Google.co.uk with query“rights”(13.07.09)
Google.nl with query“rechten”(13.07.09)
Google.fr with query“droits”(14.07.09)
Google.pt with query“direitos”(14.07.09)
Google.es with query“derechos”(13.07.09)

28. the nationalities of issues
https://wiki.digitalmethods.net/Dmi/NationalityofIssues

31. mapping the dutch blogosphere
tool: issuecrawler
https://wiki.digitalmethods.net/Dmi/DutchBlogosphere2003

32. tool: issuecrawler

33. result: map IssueCrawler -> Gephi

34. the historical dutch blogosphere

35. tool: harvester

36. result: links!
the historical dutch blogosphere

37. NL Blogosphere
deceased blogs
tool: linkripper
tool: URL responder
(= Get HTTP response status codes from Censorship Explorer)

38. tool: wikipedia bot edits scraper
https://wiki.digitalmethods.net/Dmi/NetworkedContent

39. tool: wikipedia bot edits scraper
https://wiki.digitalmethods.net/Dmi/NetworkedContent

40. tool: wikipedia bot edits scraper
https://wiki.digitalmethods.net/Dmi/NetworkedContent

41. tool: censorship explorer
https://mappingiranonline.digitalmethods.net/

42. tool: censorship explorer
https://wiki.digitalmethods.net/Dmi/NetworkedContent

43. tool: censorship explorer &
tool: dorling map generator
https://mappingiranonline.digitalmethods.net/

44. tool: twitterscraper

45. tool:
TCAT

46. tool: netvizz

47. tool: tracker tracker

48. Tracker Tracker -> Gephi

49. bonus tools!
OpenRefine
A free, open source, power tool for working with messy data
http://openrefine.org/

50. bonus tools!

52. bonus tools!
tools from colleagues
http://tools.medialab.sciences-po.fr/

55. anne@digitalmethods.net
kthnxbai!
tool wizzard: erik borra
kthxbai!
www.digitalmethods.net
anne@digitalmethods.net
tool wizzard: erik borra