Projects / Programmes
January 1, 2015
- December 31, 2018
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 5.03.00 |
Social sciences |
Sociology |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| S210 |
Social sciences |
Sociology |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 5.04 |
Social Sciences |
Sociology |
internet research, web surveys, e-social sciences, safe use of the Internet, digital inequality, internet services.
Researchers (20)
Organisations (1)
Abstract
Integration of the Internet into modern societies is an extremely important issue in contemporary social science research that is opening new prospects of innovative research methods. The proposed research programme covers both aspects: the Internet as a research object and the Internet as a tool for social science research.
THE INTERNET AS A RESEARCH OBJECT covers a broad research area in which information and communication technologies (ICTs) are discussed from various aspects, including the foundations of the Internet society, the socio-technological context, communication, education, human resources and marketing - New developments of social applications (e.g. e-learning, e-health, e-government, e-commerce, gamification) are also included here. Within this broad context, the research programme largely focuses on the following topics:
the Internet’s role in e-social sciences for the integration of virtual collaboration in all stages of the research process;
digital inequalities with an emphasis on overcoming the exclusion of the elderly, using an analysis of the digital divide based on the time distance methodology;
safer Internet and the prevention of illegal and harmful content on the Internet;
factors and consequences of (Internet-related) media multi-tasking associated with the use of ICTs in everyday life;
the adoption of advanced assistive and mobile technologies to improve the social inclusion and quality of life of various population groups; and
innovative applications of interactive online games in informal education.
With respect to the INTERNET AS A RESEARCH TOOL, the programme focuses on the advancement of innovative knowledge and methods related to Internet-mediated data collection:
researching the methodological determinants of data quality in web surveys;
new challenges of web survey applications (e.g. like online panels, mobile devices etc.);
integration of artificial intelligence and language technologies into questionnaire development and data collection;
refinement of usability methods for testing Internet services on multi-functional mobile devices based on the characteristics of the target populations; and
the use of paradata (digital footprints) for an in-depth analysis of the behavioural patterns of participants involved in Internet-mediated data collection.
The research group is well established in the international scientific community, as shown in its scientific and socio-economic achievements – both internationally (publications, citations, awards, editorial boards, involvement in international organisations, international projects and scientific collaboration, mentoring, the WebSM website, the 1KA web survey tool) and nationally (the RIS project, Web Survey Day, Safer Internet centre SAFE.SI and hotline SPLETNO-OKO). These all guarantee that the proposed programme will be successfully carried out, while developing global scientific excellence and transferring new knowledge into practice.
Significance for science
The proposed research programme presents a growth of research activities of the proposing team, which has been working almost two decades on both domains of Internet research: Internet as a research object and Internet as a research tool. The results of the proposed activities will present an original contribution to the development of social sciences in both, substantial and methodological aspects.
The programme will contribute new knowledge to SUBSTANTIAL SOCIAL SCIENCE TOPICS in the following ways:
By INTEGRATING INTERNET-BASED INFRASTRUCTURAL AND COMMUNICATION SERVICES WITHIN THE E-SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH APPROACH the research team will generate innovative theoretically informed solutions. The work will advance basic research by providing the conceptual outline to the understanding of the unified ICT-supported process in (empirical) social sciences. It will also address the corresponding barriers that prevent the convergence of online collaboration platforms with Internet-based data collection tools by cross-fertilizing HCI research with sociology of science and survey methodology.
With reference to the RESEARCH ON MEDIA MULTITASKING, DIGITAL INCLUSION AND ACTIVE AGEING the work of the research group will provide important conceptual contributions in two aspects. First, by advancing, integrating and reinforcing the knowledge base on the appropriation, hurdles and uses of the Internet and mobile services, it will have an important impact on the fields of ICT & society research, Internet studies, multitasking research, gerontechnology, and sociology of (active) ageing. Second, the work will address one of the most intriguing questions of Internet research related to social implications of the Internet and mobile technologies. The suggested application of multifaceted socio-technical perspectives will provide a better understanding of the consequences of media multitasking on the social and psychological characteristics of different population groups, as well as understanding of the intersection between ageing and (non-)use of various ICTs in terms of social inequalities and gerontechnology.
Using the existing experience from the Safe.si and Spletno Oko projects, the research team will try to advance the knowledge in two directions. It will study – in collaboration with external experts – legal, pedagogical and socio-psychological aspects of POTENTIAL HARMFUL BEHAVIOUR AND CONTENT to draw up new preventive strategies and educational programs for targeted risk groups (e.g. children, minorities). In addition, new integrative solutions will be sought to optimize the automated and human-executed actions for HATE-SPEECH DETECTION AND ITS AUTOMATIC ELIMINATION in online discussion domains. In this sense, we expect a further integration of sematic web which might not only lead to effective applied solutions but also feed theoretical knowledge in these areas.
The scientific excellence in the field of SOCIAL SCIENCE METHODOLOGY will be pursued through the following research activities:
Development of methodologies for MEASURING MEDIA MULTITASKING, for developing integrative TIME DISTANCE BENCHMARKS, and for PARTICIPATORY USER-CENTRED DESIGN OF ICT APPLICATIONS will have an important impact on the methodological advances for studying Internet usage practices across various social settings. It will also foster utilisation of holistic approaches for benchmarking and monitoring Internet-related social issues, and for developing a multidisciplinary perspective on design, development, and evaluation of new ICT-based services.
Conceptual and empirical elaboration of DETERMINANTS OF DATA QUALITY IN WEB SURVEYS will substantially improve the understanding of interrelations between factors that affect the accuracy of collected data. A vast majority of current literature in the field focuses on individual factors within one specific survey implementation. The benefit of the proposed research for survey methodology will thus be especiall
Significance for the country
With respect to the INTERNET AS A RESEARCH TOOL, a continuous publishing of results on the global WebSM.org website will offer direct benefits to thousands of methodologists. In addition, the research results will be continuously implemented in the form of features of the open-source web survey tool 1KA , which will be directly benefit user segments in Slovenia:
GENERAL PUBLIC USERS will benefit from the democratisation of research by using web surveys. Besides the free use of 1KA to collect data, they will have access to the professional knowledge embedded there. We expect that more than 1.5 million web questionnaires in the Slovenian language alone will be completed each year.
PUBLIC SECTOR (INSTITUTES, ACADEMIA, STATISTICAL OFFICE) USERS will benefit from both WebSM and 1KA by improving their processes (e.g. evaluation forms) and by empowering their research. We expect more large public sector organisations to join the existing ones (e.g. the National Health Institute) in their use of 1KA. Users from the academic and education sector will be able to conduct even the most demanding survey projects. The excellent cooperation with the Statistical Office will also provide further benefits, especially in the area of mixed-mode surveys and web surveys of the general population.
COMMERCIAL SECTOR USERS can already install 1KA on their own systems and thereby join existing corporate users (e.g. Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia).
POTENTIALS FOR SPIN-OFFS exist with respect to hosting and user support for 1KA. Contacts with prospective partners and the university office for intellectual rights are continuously underway. Presentations at potential start-up events will also continue.
CONTRIBUTION TO THE SLOVENIAN LANGUAGE: Considerable attention is being paid to the development of Slovenian terminology in the 1KA tool and the field of web surveys; this will continue in the future.
In terms of the INTERNET AS A RESEARCH OBJECT, results will DIRECTLY contribute to the following:
DIGITAL DIVIDE MEASUREMENT AND PRESENTATION methodology results will enable an intuitive understanding of digital divides by various stakeholders. The Statistical Office has already considered this approach and its expanded use is foreseen via www.timedistance.org. The results are also highly relevant to and directly implementable in various EU initiatives that require benchmarking and monitoring.
PUBLIC SECTOR POLICIES will use the substantive results as the basis for governmental measures and initiatives in the areas of digital inclusion (enhanced and prolonged digital inclusion and active participation in society through the effective use of useful, affordable and usable ICTs), safer Internet (preventing harmful content/conduct and increased public awareness), ambient assisted living (lowering the burden on informal carers, the financial effect on the health and social security system), and the consequences of media multitasking (preventing negative impacts).
COMMERCIAL USERS: (a) Gamification-driven learning strategies will enable commercial users (e.g. telecommunication providers, software developers, VET institutions) to include this in their tailored services and learning programmes. (b) Online portals currently suffer from large resources needed to moderate users’ comments (e.g. hate speech) in their forums and will continuously benefit from new research findings.
The GENERAL PUBLIC will benefit from results that lead to improved measures ensuring Internet safety (via www.safe.si).
We can also list many INDIRECT impacts of the results on society.
NATIONAL and EU RESEARCH PRIORITIES that highly expose ICT are fully met with this programme. This is also true for NATIONAL and EU POLICY AGENDAS involving ICT aspects of combating social exclusion, ensuring a safer and better Internet, enhancing quality of life and ageing well.
THE PROMOTION OF SLOVENIAN SCIENCE will be achieved by strengthening the research and infrastructure of the team,
Most important scientific results
Annual report
2015,
2016,
2017,
final report
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Annual report
2015,
2016,
2017,
final report
