A case study of Twitter as a research tool

Abstract

This paper documents the process of utilizing Twitter for a doctoral dissertation in rugby governance, and highlights the key benefits of using Twitter as a research tool. Research followed a case study approach to delve into the four major uses of Twitter: (1) a warning system for dramas or incidents relating to one's research field; (2) data collection; (3) finding and recruiting research subjects; and (4) building a personal research brand. The research design used a mixed method approach that combined qualitative and quantitative analysis methods. The findings serve as the basis for the pursuit of more detailed future research with Twitter as the principal medium in focus within the area of sport.

Social Sensing and Individual Brands in Sports: Lessons Learned from English-Language Reactions on Twitter to Pau Gasol’s Retirement Announcement

“…QSR NVivo software was used for quantitative analysis, as suggested in previous sportrelated research [44]. This software collects tweets through an add-on called NCapture.…”