Social media and research methodologies adopted by social science researchers: Content analysis of selected Francophone journals

Abstract

Modern technology has contributed to the emergence of new research questions, particularly in the field of media and communication studies. The digital age in the late 20th and early 21st centuries gave rise to sophisticated research questions, especially with the emergence of online journalism and the proliferation of modern communication devices such as laptops, smartphones, and tablets. Subsequently, we began discussing social media, which has become a central focus of research projects for social scientists in general, and media and communication studies in particular. This prompted us to analyze the content of three academic journals that focused on social media in order to identify the research methodologies employed by the researchers. We also conducted several interviews with researchers from the Arab world, Europe, and America. Our findings confirmed that the researchers maintained the same research methodologies to address the research questions in their studies centered on social media.