This article maps how Brazilian social sciences have adopted the topic of Internet and politics by systematically analyzing conference papers from 2000 to 2011.
📚 What was examined: conference output from Brazil (2000–2011)
- Sample: 299 papers presented at 11 conferences.
- Disciplines covered: Sociology, Political Science, and Social Communication.
- Geographic focus: Brazil.
🔍 How the material was analyzed: systematic content mapping
- Method: content analysis to categorize and map papers.
- Elements mapped included:
- main authors and research centres
- political and technological objects of study
- theoretical approaches
- research methods and techniques
- topical coverage areas
📈 Key findings: growth, methods, and topical shifts
- A marked increase in the number of studies presented in the later years of the period.
- Research design mix: 40.5% of papers were based mainly on qualitative research.
- Thematic emphasis: 56.5% of papers emphasized the civil society strand.
- Longitudinal trends show a rise in empirical work and a growing tendency to study specific digital tools rather than the Internet in the abstract.
- Mapping also revealed which authors and centres are most prominent in the field.
🧭 Why it matters: mapping a maturing and uneven field
- The results reveal both expansion and change in Brazil’s Internet-and-politics scholarship: increasing empirical rigor and a move toward tool-specific study.
- These patterns point to evolving research agendas and disciplinary contributions, highlighting where gaps and concentrations of expertise exist for future study.
