Comparing Fuzzy Things – An AoIR Satellite Event

Internet researchers often engage in the study of complex, multidimensional, and culturally sensitive ideas. Deploying such concepts in comparative research settings is critically important to knowledge advancement, yet challenging to implement in practice. This workshop is designed to engage members of the AoIR community in exploring the conceptualization and study of fuzzy concepts, such as trust, love, sharing, and happiness, in a comparative fashion. It will provide an opportunity to exchange ideas about how such comparative work can be conducted across disciplines.

The session will include brief framing presentations on a comparative research framework, with examples of how this might work when studying privacy. Breakout group sessions will augment these sessions and allow participants to explore the applicability of this framework to other, fuzzy concepts using a variety of methodological approaches.