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Robert W. Gehl

@rra and I have a new, #OpenAccess article out: "Shifting your research from X to Mastodon? Here's what you need to know"

cell.com/action/showPdf?pii=S2

This article is an opinion piece in which we argue that social scientists cannot simply port their work from X to #Mastodon or the rest of the #fediverse. There are key differences in culture, expectations of privacy, and of course topology to consider.

@commodon @academicchatter

12 January at 16:32 | Open on aoir.social
11 comments
Leigh Silvester

@rwg @rra
Hi
I would have liked that as a web page.

I am wary of downloading and opening PDF files from people and places I don't know.

Not sure if you have covered it (I didn't open it), however my main perception of people who do well on fediverse are the ones who engage.

People who just like places to dump their thoughts and articles without engaging tend to get little traction.

12 January at 16:37 | Open on mastodonapp.uk
Robert W. Gehl

@leighms @rra No problem! cell.com/patterns/fulltext/S26

That's an HTML version.

I agree regarding engagement (and I think Roel does, as well). That's why I've decided on using participant observation and interview methods -- with a heavy focus on informed consent.

12 January at 16:39 | Open on aoir.social
Boud

@rwg

s/design queues/design cues/ ? Looks like CellPress proofreaders missed that. :P

@leighms @rra

12 January at 16:58 | Open on framapiaf.org
Robert W. Gehl

@rra @commodon @academicchatter

Our conclusion:

"While Mastodon and the fediverse are quite distinct from Twitter/X and other corporate social media, and while these systems present new challenges to researchers, the benefits for both researchers and for the fediverse can be tremendous. If researchers work with instance admins to produce useful knowledge, that work can be adopted by the fediverse, helping to improve a rapidly growing network."

12 January at 16:42 | Open on aoir.social
soaproot

@rwg @rra @commodon @academicchatter Oh oh, this is about people who study social networks, not merely those who use social networks to do/publicize research on other topics. Interesting stuff and definitely makes me think that the moment when Twitter was especially easy to study was an unusual time, without super close analogues before or since.

12 January at 17:31 | Open on sfba.social
Robert W. Gehl

@soaproot @rra @commodon @academicchatter

Yeah, I agree. The issue I see is that the easy period lasted long enough, and fueled enough careers, that folks will see the fedi and say, "we can do that there, as well", without reflecting on the differences.

12 January at 18:32 | Open on aoir.social
Tim Chambers
Leigh Silvester

@rwg @rra @commodon @academicchatter

Presumably this is it in webpage format....
cell.com/patterns/fulltext/S26

Very thorough and insightful. A lot of #journalists could do with reading this.

The lack of privacy is not an issue because almost no information is retained. No phone number, date of birth, address etc which you do mention.

Worth noting that researchers might find communities that they are unlikely to come across elsewhere. Gaining trust with them might be a challenge.

@rwg @rra @commodon @academicchatter

Presumably this is it in webpage format....
cell.com/patterns/fulltext/S26

Very thorough and insightful. A lot of #journalists could do with reading this.

The lack of privacy is not an issue because almost no information is retained. No phone number, date of birth, address etc which you do mention.

12 January at 18:15 | Open on mastodonapp.uk
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