Made, Contested, Invisible – A Critical Data Studies Perspective on Reimagining Methodology in a Datafied Communication Science

This paper explores how Critical Data Studies (CDS) and communication studies can enrich each other, particularly in the context of the current uptake of methodological approaches supported by large-scale data analytics and “AI.” First, the paper discusses the entanglement of Science and Technology Studies (STS) and CDS as a theoretical and methodological framework. Second, it highlights key assumptions of CDS: (1) the “made-ness” of data, which emphasizes that data are not neutral, but shaped by algorithms and practices; (2) the “interpretative sovereignty over data,” which addresses power relations and access barriers in data analysis; and (3) the “(in-)visibility of data,” which concerns the de- and recontextualization of data and their (in)visibility in research processes. Third, two methodological examples—data journeys and the walkthrough approach—illustrate how CDS approaches are applied in communication studies. The paper concludes by emphasizing the importance of cooperative collaboration between different scientific disciplines and paradigms to develop innovative and critical methodological approaches capable of addressing the challenges of future-oriented communication studies in a data-infused, algorithmically orchestrated society

Analytics · Big data · Data Analysis · Science communication · Computational and Text Analysis Methods · Ethics and Social Impacts of AI · Media Studies and Communication