Call for papers and participation NEW RESEARCH FOR NEW MEDIA: INNOVATIVE RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES Second edition - September 30th to October 2nd 2004 Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona (Catalonia, Spain) Abstract submission deadline: April 15, 2004 Participant application deadline: June 15, 2004 Info and application form: http://www.inms.umn.edu/convenings/newresearch_2004/main.htm Organizers: Institute for New Media Studies at the University of Minnesota Communication Department of the Universitat Rovira i Virgili ================================== Dear colleagues, We invite you to submit papers on research methodology and new media to this Symposium, a workshop-approach multidiscilpinar meeting. Appologies for cross-posting. Please, forward to colleagues who might be interested! Best regards, Nora Paul & David Domingo Co-organizers npaul@umn.edu dds@correu.urv.es ================================== DETAILED INFO New media offer both new research techniques and new communication arenas to be studied. This Symposium will bring together researchers who a) use new media technologies to further their existing research methodologies or b) use innovative research methodologies (or rethink traditional methods) to further their research into any aspect of new media. Perspectives from around the world and from several disciplines will meet in a dialog with the goal of sharing experiences. The Institute for New Media Studies at the University of Minnesota and the Communication Department of the Universitat Rovira i Virgili have joined efforts to offer researchers an engaging environment in which to reflect on the craft of new media research. Invited chair persons will summarize the state of the art and selected papers will be presented describing the methodological procedures of actual research projects. Symposium participants will serve as discussants, elevating the examination of these techniques and their implications for research. After a successful and exciting first edition at the University of Minnesota, USA, the Symposium moves to Europe with the aim of broadening the research traditions sharing experiences. The goal is to provide an examination of current practices and an opportunity for reflection on future directions new media research methods might take. Panel participants will be selected based on current research they have conducted. Symposium participants will be selected through application to the event. We will look for a mix of highly credentialed as well as promising new voices in the area of new media research to participate in the workshop. The dynamics of the Symposium will avoid the traditional paper presentations format. Papers will be distributed to all the participants prior to the conference so everyone will be familiar with the research methods that will be discussed. Sessions will be organized in discussion groups, coordinated by a chair person invited by the organizers. Participants will work in small groups to discuss the implications of the research methods presented in terms of ethics, logistics, impact on results, and other open questions about application of this type of research. The reports from the small group discussions will be an important part of the symposium’s outcomes. Participants are expected to join all the discussion sessions in order to enrich the debate with his/her own methodological and disciplinary perspective. PANELS *Ethnographic research: Using ethnographic and new research techniques for the study of new media organizations and populations. While ethnographic research means the investigator goes into the field, instead of bringing the field to the investigator, what are the techniques that have been used to identify and study organizations and populations? Use of chat rooms or instant messaging, ways of contacting individuals in populations, technological monitoring techniques for observation of work processes, etc. *Content and Discourse Analysis: Examination of new media messages, communication, web content, etc. Papers could cover different programs or technological aids used in conducting content and discourse analyses as well as the challenges of capturing the "moving target" of online content and communication. *Research Ethics and Issues: New or unusual ethical issues raised in conducting new media research, methods for dealing with human subject concerns, confidentiality and privacy issues, sampling and verifying issues. *Historical Research: Research focused on examination of the evolution of new media. Techniques used to find and analyze earlier forms, methods for anticipating and capturing current media for future examination and comparison. Issues of access to archives of materials. *Quantitative Research: Development of lab experimentation into new media effects, surveying techniques, and other methods for gathering and analyzing quantitively the impact of new media. CALL FOR PAPERS The call for papers for the Symposium is open to any researcher interested in writing a paper on the research method/s used for an actual research project on new media he/she is conducting or has conducted. These papers will focus on the methodology used rather than the outcome of the research. The papers will discuss in depth the methodology, how they came to decide to use that method, challenges faced in the application of the method, and questions they have about effective use of the method. Papers should be 5 to 7 pages long. 20 lines abstracts along with a brief research interests profile should be sent before April 15, 2004 through this webform: http://www.inms.umn.edu/convenings/newresearch_2004/application.htm Notification of acceptance is due by May 1st. Full papers, 5 to 7 pages long, will be delivered before June 15th 2004, once they have been accepted. Approaches from any discipline are welcomed, and diversity will be a criteria in the selection. Communication, socio-technical, psychological, cultural, linguistic, anthropological, sociological and gender studies are examples of possible areas of new media research suitable to be selected. Each of the panels will have a chair person who will select the most insightful papers and will write up a summary of the research status, concerns and challenges of that methodological area. Papers will not be strictly presented at the sessions, which will be focused on discussion. Papers submitted but not assigned to a panel will be able to be presented in a poster session if the paper’s writer chooses. CALL FOR PARTICIPATION Participation is open to any researcher interested in being part of the discussion, submission of a paper is not necessary. In the interest of creating a dynamic discussion atmosphere, the total number of participants will be limited to 50. Participation applications can be sent before June 15th 2004 through this webform: http://www.inms.umn.edu/convenings/newresearch_2004/application.htm The work language of the Symposium will be English. REGISTRATION FEE 100 euros, includes coffee breaks, lunches and official dinner. People whose papers are selected for the panels will have registration fee waived.