What Are Digital Methods, Where Have They Come from, and How/Why Are They Important?

Abstract

In this blog, the first of a series to come from our digital methods workshop, we attempt to highlight how developments in digital methods offer new opportunities for social science, and research on household sustainability in particular. We believe that many social scientists are unfamiliar with developments in digital methods and hope to encourage greater appreciation of them. Indeed, we conclude our piece with some reasons why social scientists should engage with debates around digital methods and consider using them. Before doing so, we provide some background about what digital methods are and how they have evolved.

Keywords: Digital Methods, Social Sciences, Research Methods