Trending #hijabfashion: Using Big Data to Study Religion at the Online–Urban Interface

Abstract

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“…The abundance of data, some have argued, has made theoretical induction obsolete (Savage and Burrows, 2007). This assertion, perhaps, can account for some of the resistance towards the use of internet-mined data in religious studies scholarship, where complexity and context are emphasized (Boy et al, 2018). In parallel, this type of datum, generally unstructured, does not readily lend itself to the previously established qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis (Boy et al, 2018).…”

“…This assertion, perhaps, can account for some of the resistance towards the use of internet-mined data in religious studies scholarship, where complexity and context are emphasized (Boy et al, 2018). In parallel, this type of datum, generally unstructured, does not readily lend itself to the previously established qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis (Boy et al, 2018). Given these obstacles, the scope of the applications leveraging these data for the scientific study of religion has remained limited (Cantwell and Rashid, 2015).…”

“…This limitation, requiring creativity in the treatment of the data, restricts the range of possible inductive conclusions. But, the creative matching of internet-mined data with other sources can lead to "serendipitous explorations" (Boy et al, 2018). Second, the spread of the internet is not yet universal and a "digital divide" exists in the internet access adoption and usage patterns across socioeconomic cleavages of any given population (Dilmaghani, 2018a).…”

“…The literature on the nexus between the internet and religious practice (or lack thereof) is widening in scope (Dawson and Cowan, 2013;Hojsgaard and Warburg, 2005;Campbell, 2013). Within this literature, a number of studies have focused on the effects of internet use on the community engagement of official organizations, as well as influential individuals (Boy et al, 2018). Internet-mediated interactions in general, and social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter in particular, mobilize the power of "weak ties" (Boy et al, 2018;Côté and Darling, 2018).…”

“…Within this literature, a number of studies have focused on the effects of internet use on the community engagement of official organizations, as well as influential individuals (Boy et al, 2018). Internet-mediated interactions in general, and social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter in particular, mobilize the power of "weak ties" (Boy et al, 2018;Côté and Darling, 2018). Weak ties generate social interactions without the existence of personal relationships between the parties.…”