Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-2021

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Source Publication

Social Media and Society

Source ISSN

2056-3051

Abstract

This article offers a systematic analysis of 727 manuscripts that used Reddit as a data source, published between 2010 and 2020. Our analysis reveals the increasing growth in use of Reddit as a data source, the range of disciplines this research is occurring in, how researchers are getting access to Reddit data, the characteristics of the datasets researchers are using, the subreddits and topics being studied, the kinds of analysis and methods researchers are engaging in, and the emerging ethical questions of research in this space. We discuss how researchers need to consider the impact of Reddit’s algorithms, affordances, and generalizability of the scientific knowledge produced using Reddit data, as well as the potential ethical dimensions of research that draws data from subreddits with potentially sensitive populations.

Comments

Publisher version. Social Media + Society, Vol. 7, No. 2 (April 2021). DOI. © 2021 SAGE Publications. Used with permission.

Download
zimmer_15023acc.docx (226 kB)
ADA Accessible Version

Share

COinS