Excited to announce the open access publication of our article with Global Networks. It’s a discussion of how we combine ‘big data’ research with ethnographic methods and feminist ethics with the aim of better understanding diaspora and digital media. It’s the product of an emotional and unique collaboration experience for us as authors, and is dedicated to the memory of the 4-year old Turkish-Dutch girl, Bade Cakir, whose tragic death sparked our interest in writing this paper. We are thankful to Bade’s immediate family, without the co-operation of whom this paper wouldn’t have been possible. Here’s the abstract:
There is a methodological tendency in work on diaspora and digital media for quantitative investigations to approach diaspora in static ways that contrast with theories of diaspora as a dynamic cultural formation. On the other hand, qualitative, ethnographic work tends not to engage with digital methods and quantitative data‐driven investigation. In this article, we sketch this methodological and disciplinary disconnect and address it by proposing a model for understanding digitally mediated formations of diaspora that combines digital methods techniques with a sensitivity to ethical and theoretical discussions of migration and diaspora. Drawing on interpretive epistemologies and feminist research ethics, we present a case study analysis of a locally informed, Turkish–Dutch issue. We argue for a method that produces ‘mattering maps’. This involves tracking and visualizing digital traces of an issue across web platforms (Google Search results, Facebook pages, and Instagram posts) and integrating this with an analysis of the face‐to‐face interview responses of a key issue actor.
Donya Alinejad 