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Investigative approaches to researching information technology companies
Author(s) -
Carter Daniel,
Acker Amelia,
Sholler Dan
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of the association for information science and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.903
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 2330-1643
pISSN - 2330-1635
DOI - 10.1002/asi.24446
Subject(s) - agency (philosophy) , value (mathematics) , accountability , sociology , power (physics) , position (finance) , engineering ethics , work (physics) , public relations , process (computing) , epistemology , political science , knowledge management , computer science , social science , business , law , mechanical engineering , philosophy , physics , finance , quantum mechanics , machine learning , engineering , operating system
Recent events reveal the potential for information technologies to threaten democratic participation and destabilize knowledge institutions. These are core concerns for researchers working within the area of critical information studies—yet these companies have also demonstrated novel tactics for obscuring their operations, reducing the ability of scholars to speak about how harms are perpetuated or to link them to larger systems. While scholars' methods and ethical conventions have historically privileged the agency of research participants, the current landscape suggests the value of exploring methods that would reveal actions that are purposefully hidden. We propose investigation as a model for critical information studies and review the methods and epistemological conventions of investigative journalists as a provocative example, noting that their orientation toward those in power enables them to discuss societal harms in ways that academic researchers often cannot. We conclude by discussing key topics, such as process accountability and institutional norms, that should feature in discussions of how academic researchers might position investigation in relation to their own work.