Using Facebook as a Data Source and Platform for e-Researching Social Networks

Abstract

Social networking services (SNS) such as Facebook and Orkut enable new research into the role of individual characteristics in friendship patterns and the diffusion of tastes in social networks. This paper assesses the opportunities and challenges posed by SNSs for empirical research into online social networks. It is argued that SNSs may eventually provide platforms for delivering social network analysis e-Research tools, and a prototype tool built using the OpenSocial API is presented. MyExperiment has been described as "Facebook for scientists"; this paper contends that that SNSs such as Facebook may eventually be described as "GridSphere for e-Social Scientists". Show more