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Update Bachelor of Digital Society authored by Rantanen, Aarni (Stud. FdR)'s avatar Rantanen, Aarni (Stud. FdR)
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......@@ -8,11 +8,13 @@ Summaries provided by Monika Barget (History), based on the sources cited.
### Why we need theories & concepts
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A bachelor's thesis is longer and more complex than any other essay you have written so far. While most papers you write for BA DS courses are essentially extended literature reviews (in which you discuss existing publications), the thesis requires you to gather your own sources or data and to conduct an independent analysis. Therefore, your thesis needs to have several additional elements.
A bachelor's thesis is longer and more complex than any other essay you have written so far. While most papers you write for BA DS courses are essentially extended literature reviews (in which you discuss existing publications), the thesis requires you to gather your own sources or data and to conduct an independent analysis. Therefore, your thesis needs to have several additional elements.
One of them is a **conceptual or theoretical (sometimes also called "analytical") framework** to explain why you are analyzing sources or data (e.g. interviews or survey responses) in a certain way, and this "point of view" has to be rooted in **concepts** (abstract ideas relevant to a certain field of research) or a proper theory. A **theory** is a more elaborate scientific framework (often developed & refined by more than one person) that explains patterns and developments. Ideally, a theory is applicable to different case studies and helps you phrase a hypothesis about how society works. Theories also help researchers streamline and focus their analysis.
Our 3rd-year students often struggle with the conceptual or theoretical framework and are sometimes not aware of what concepts and theories have actively been addressed throughout the BA DS programme. This is why this section, with theories and concepts covered in various courses, may help you to remember and find a suitable approach for your thesis.
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......@@ -93,11 +95,11 @@ Mejias, U. A. & Couldry, N. (2019). [Datafication](https://doi.org/10.14763/2019
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Theoretical approaches concerning the "**death of data**" were a tutorial topic in the BA DS course "Making Your Own Online Presence". On the one hand, "death of data" relates to data loss or deletion motivated by infrastructural change, political decisions, or individual users' "**right to be forgotten**" (Fichtelman, 2018). On the other hand, "death of data" is a concept in positivist versus poststructuralist debates on what data are in the first place and who has the power or the right to create them. In these debates, researchers discuss whether the existence of data depends on specific infrastructures or a theory that “acknowledges them as data” ([St. Pierre & Adams](https://journals-sagepub-com.mu.idm.oclc.org/doi/10.1177/1532708613487882#bibr25-1532708613487882), 2011, p. 621).
Theoretical approaches concerning the "**death of data**" were a tutorial topic in the BA DS course "Making Your Own Online Presence". On the one hand, "death of data" relates to data loss or deletion motivated by infrastructural change, political decisions, or individual users' "**right to be forgotten**" (Fichtelman, 2018). On the other hand, "death of data" is a concept in positivist versus poststructuralist debates on what data are in the first place and who has the power or the right to create them. In these debates, researchers discuss whether the existence of data depends on specific infrastructures or a theory that “acknowledges them as data” ([St. Pierre & Adams](https://worldcat.org/en/title/919307958), 2011, p. 621).
Fichtelman, C. A. (2018). [_Right to be forgotten: a legal research guide_](https://worldcat.org/en/title/1047651215) (Ser. Legal research guides, volume 73). William S. Hein & Co. \[Book\]
Koro-Ljungberg, M., MacLure, M., & Denzin, N. K. (2013). [“the death of data?”](https://doi.org/10.1177/1532708613487882) Cultural Studies \<-\> Critical Methodologies, 13(4), 353–356.
Koro-Ljungberg, M., MacLure, M., & Denzin, N. K. (2013). [“the death of data?”](https://journals-sagepub-com.mu.idm.oclc.org/doi/10.1177/1532708613487882#bibr25-1532708613487882) Cultural Studies \<-\> Critical Methodologies, 13(4), 353–356.
St. Pierre, Adams E. (2011). “[Post qualitative research: The critique and the coming after](https://worldcat.org/en/title/919307958).” In Denzin N. K., Lincoln Y. S. (Eds.), _Handbook of qualitative research_, 4/e (pp. 611-626). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. \[Book\]
......@@ -255,13 +257,10 @@ Social sciences approaches to **(artificial) intelligence** were at the heart of
The BA DS course "Making Knowledge and Manufacturing Doubt" discussed **theories of knowledge**. This course addressed knowledge practices, knowledge dissemination and utilisation, and **post-truth**. **Agnotology** is a field of research that examines the cultural creation and maintenance of knowledge, ignorance and doubt. Crucial authors of the sociology of knowledge are Peter Buke and Robert King Merton.
Burke, P. (2012). [_A social history of knowledge_](https://worldcat.org/en/title/841207949) (Vol. II, from the Encyclopédie to Wikipedia). Polity. \[Book\]
Burke, P. (2016). [_What is the history of knowledge?_](https://worldcat.org/en/title/910802476) (Ser. What is history? series). Polity. \[Book\]
Merton, R. K. (1937). [The sociology of knowledge](https://doi.org/10.1086/347276). Isis, 27, 493–503.
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