#CeDEM13 Day 2 afternoon, Reflections, Main Hall, Chair: Morten Meyerhoff Nielsen

1. Researching Politicians Online
Identifying Research Directions
Anders O. Larsson
University of Oslo
a.o.larsson@media.uio.no
Jakob Svensson
Karlstad University
jakob.svensson@kau.se

2. Researching Politicians Online
Identifying Research Directions
- For more than a decade scholars have shown interest in
politicians uses of the Internet
-In this reflection paper we have gauged literature on this topic and
have identified four (two) research opportunities for interested
scholars

3. Researching Politicians Online
Identifying Research Directions
1) Research should attempt to move beyond dichotomization
2) Research should focus on everyday practices
3) Research should focus on the micro level of study
4) Research should adopt integrative approaches

4. Researching Politicians Online
Identifying Research Directions
1) Research should attempt to move beyond dichotomization
Internet optimism vs pessimism
Equalization vs normalization
Techno-determinism vs Cultural determinism
Deliberation vs in-group polarization
2) Research should focus on everyday practices
Focus on election periods at the expense of everyday political life
Life-politics (Giddens)
Sub-politics (Beck)
Mundane citizenship (Bakardjieva)

5. Researching Politicians Online
Identifying Research Directions
3) Research should focus on the micro level of study
Go beyond individual country systems (comparisons and cases)
Beyond administrative, usability and accessibility studies
4) Research should adopt integrative approaches
Methods (Quant & Qual / Big data collections & (n)ethnographies
Media (study online (offline) repertoires)
Mundane citizenship (Bakardjieva)

6. Thank You for
Listening !