However, this has led to a narrow interpretation of observations, involving watching images and texts on a computer screen rather than watching people in offline environments. As an ethnographer, the author has routinely gathered information in-person that is quite similar to machine-collected transactional information (Freelon, 2014).
5) Do the authors present recommendations for future research and studies that build on the topics addressed in this article?
Yes, the author has presented recommendations for future research on the topic addressed in this article. He recommends that more data are not useful to educational scientists or policy makers, unless they are examined and modified to generate knowledge and information. Knowing the variations between kinds of trace data, and how they correspond with techniques of analysis should be the first step toward creating kinds of analysis that maximize on the features of these new data sets. Future studies on this topic must integrate...
In case the attempts are effective, they could be the stepping-stone of any interdisciplinary area that would be well placed to deal with the research and policy difficulties of the electronic age (Freelon, 2014).
6) What does the author do well in this article?
One area that the writer does well is concerning the statistical representativeness of social media users among the population and the moral use of content. The author reveals that even though the percentage of the population using social networking is regularly improving, users of Facebook or Twitter cannot be considered representatives of the whole population.
Reference
Freelon, D. (2014). On the Interpretation of Digital Trace Data in Communication and Social Computing Research. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 58(1), 59-75. doi:10.1080/08838151.2013.875018
