IAMCR 2022 pre-conference (hybrid) - Big Data in Communication Research: A contextual turn? Organized by University of Copenahgen and Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU), in collaboration with the Computational Methods Division, the International Communication Association. Description: Recent advances in communication studies have seen much greater attention paid to the development, appropriation, and reflection on computational methods for analyzing large and heterogeneous data. Despite its considerable contributions, big data analytics has been criticized for the lack of contextual consideration for a long time. In other words, scholarships with computational methods may suffer from the pitfall of not unpacking, recognizing, and theorizing the richness of associated contextual elements in (big) data. This preconference aims to address such issues by advancing a context-aware approach in computational methods and by articulating an interrogation of contextual elements in using computational methods. A context-aware approach in computational methods is particularly valuable to IAMCR as a worldwide professional organization in the field of media and communication research, as this approach recognizes a reality where people communicate in diverse ways against different contexts. We thereby invite original and rigorous contributions and reflections based on big data and contextual analysis. We hope to engage with opportunities and challenges of advancing context-aware approaches in computational methods. The submissions can be theoretical or based on empirical studies, but would also include innovative suggestions to overcome research challenges like the lack of contextual consideration. Date and time: Friday 8 July 2022: | 09:00 – 17:00 Beijing time (UTC+8)| Location: A hybrid conference at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) in Suzhou and online. Submission and deadlines 1 April 2022: Submit individual paper abstracts or panel proposals to iamcr.compmeth@gmail.com<mailto:iamcr.compmeth@gmail.com>. An individual paper abstract should be between 200 and 300 English words, stating the title, argument, theoretical framework, and, where applicable, methodology and results. Please also attach a 100-word bibliography for each author to the abstract. Panel proposals should consist of individual abstracts for each paper combinined with a panel rationale (no more than 500 words). The abstract of each paper shall be no more than 300 words, plus a 100-word bibliography for each author. 20 April 2022: notification of acceptance. Information on registration and the programme will be communicated to all participants in due time. For inquiries, please email: iamcr.compmeth@gmail.com<mailto:iamcr.compmeth@gmail.com> best, Jun Jun Liu, Ph.D., Associate Professor Department of Communication, University of Copenhagen Karen Blixens Plads 8, DK-2300 Copenhagen S Denmark ORCID: 0000-0001-6066-4130 The Danish Independent Research Fund’s Research Leader 2021, https://dff.dk/en/grants/research-leaders-2021/researchleader-2 ********************************************************** *New publications* Liu, J. (2020). Shifting Dynamics of Contention in the Digital Age. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Liu, N. & Liu, J. (online first). Leading with Hearts and Minds: Emotion contagion in China’s online activism, Social Movement Studies, https://doi.org/10.1080/14742837.2021.2011716 Liu, J. (2021). Technology for Activism: Toward a Relational Framework. Computer Supported Cooperative Work, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10606-021-09400-9 Liu, J. & Su, C. (2021). Comparative communication studies within and beyond Great China (Speical Issue "Comparative communication studies within and beyond Great China"), International Communication Gazette, 83/5, https://doi.org/10.1177/17480485211029018 **********************************************************