Government on the Web

Collective action taking place on Internet platforms leaves a digital imprint which may be harvested to better understand the dynamics of mobilization. This ‘big data’ offers social science researchers the potential for new forms of analysis, using real-time transactional data based on entire populations, rather than sample-based surveys of what people think they did or might do. This paper uses a big data approach to track the growth of about 20,000 petitions to the UK Government over two years, analyzing the rate of growth and the outreach mechanism.

The Internet has been ascribed a prominent role in collective action, particularly with widespread use of social media. But most mobilisations fail. We investigate the characteristics of those few mobilisations that succeed and hypothesise that the presence of ‘starters’ with low thresholds for joining will determine whether a mobilisation achieves success, as suggested by threshold models. We use experimental data from public good games to identify personality types associated with willingness to start in collective action.

Now that so much of collective action takes place online, web-generated data can further understanding of the mechanics of Internet-based mobilization. This 'big data' offers social science researchers the potential for new forms of analysis, using real-time transactional data based on entire populations, rather than sample-based surveys of what people think they did or might do. This paper uses a 'big data' approach to track the growth of over 8,000 petitions to the UK Government on the No.

We are excited to announce an open position for a Big Data Research Officer, who will contribute to three exciting Big Data projects at the OII (Leaders and Followers in Online Activism, Big Data: Demonstrating the Value of the UK Web Domain Dataset for Social Science Research, and The Internet, Political Science and Public Policy). We are looking for an individual with strong computer science skills and an interest in the social aspects of online technologies.

Applications close 16 March, and further information, contact details, and application information are available on the University of Oxford's Job Search website.