Made, Contested, Invisible – A Critical Data Studies Perspective on Reimagining Methodology in a Datafied Communication Science

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Cover of Volume: M&K Medien & Kommunikationswissenschaft Volume 74 (2026), Issue 1
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M&K Medien & Kommunikationswissenschaft

Volume 74 (2026), Issue 1

Authors:
Publisher
Nomos, Baden-Baden
Copyright Year
2026
ISSN-Online
2942-3317
ISSN-Print
1615-634X

Chapter information

Open Access Full access

Volume 74 (2026), Issue 1

Made, Contested, Invisible – A Critical Data Studies Perspective on Reimagining Methodology in a Datafied Communication Science

Authors:
ISSN-Print
1615-634X
ISSN-Online
2942-3317
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This paper explores how Critical Data Studies (CDS) and communication studies can enrich each other, particularly in the context of the current uptake of methodological approaches supported by large-scale data analytics and “AI.” First, the paper discusses the entanglement of Science and Technology Studies (STS) and CDS as a theoretical and methodological framework. Second, it highlights key assumptions of CDS: (1) the “made-ness” of data, which emphasizes that data are not neutral, but shaped by algorithms and practices; (2) the “interpretative sovereignty over data,” which addresses power relations and access barriers in data analysis; and (3) the “(in-)visibility of data,” which concerns the de- and recontextualization of data and their (in)visibility in research processes. Third, two methodological examples—data journeys and the walkthrough approach—illustrate how CDS approaches are applied in communication studies. The paper concludes by emphasizing the importance of cooperative collaboration between different scientific disciplines and paradigms to develop innovative and critical methodological approaches capable of addressing the challenges of future-oriented communication studies in a data-infused, algorithmically orchestrated society.

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