Center for the Study of Law and Society
Miniseries in Empirical Research Methods
Using Old and New Media as Data Sources
Friday, March 5, 2010, 9 a.m. – 12 noon. Lunch to follow.
JSP Seminar Room, 2240 Piedmont Avenue, Berkeley
Jennifer S. Earl
Associate Professor of Sociology and
Director of the PhD Emphasis in Technology and Society, University of California, Santa Barbara
Older media (e.g., newspapers) and new media (e.g., websites) offer a wide array of information to socio-legal scholars as they report on, record, and archive activities and actors. But, using these media sources requires sensitivity to the production dynamics of specific media, which can affect how the source records, represents, and archives social life. This presentation will trace the structure of a major older media (newspapers) and a major new media (websites) and examine production dynamics that should be considered in research designs. The goal will be to highlight how and when socio-legal scholars can responsibly and productively use these data sources.
Additional Conference materials:
• Powerpoint Lecture
• Handouts