@unpublished{6846,
  author = {Carsten Østerlund and Kevin Crowston and Corey Jackson},
  title = {The Hermeneutics of Trace Data: Building an Apparatus},
  abstract = {When people interact via information systems, data are captured by the systems as a side effect of the interaction. These data are increasingly available and interesting for research. In a sense, these systems form a kind of research apparatus, and like all advances in instrumentation, open up new areas of study with great potential for discovery. At first glance, such “big data” would seem to be most suitable for a quantitative research approach. However, we argue that interpretive research strategies are more useful to address the challenges associated with digital trace data. Merging insights from hermeneutics and sociomateriality, we argue that collecting and analyzing trace data analysis entails the building of a research apparatus. Hermeneutic principles play a key role in the functioning of this apparatus to enable researchers to make sense of the often partial traces left by online participants. Using longitudinal trace data from a study of citizen science practices, the paper illustrates the value of merging insights from hermeneutics with sociomaterial insights. The approach allows researchers to account for not only the material dynamics of digital trace data but also the temporal dimension of online practices.},
  year = {2016},
  language = {eng},
}