Issue mapping online introduces a set of digital techniques for the detection, analysis and visualisation of topical affairs . The main purpose of this resource is to provide practical instructions and examples to guide social and cultural researchers in the use of these techniques. It also introduces the main principles that inform the wider methodology.
An interdisciplinary approach, issue mapping uses data analysis to answer questions like ‘is this topic an issue?’, ‘who are its actors?’ ‘what are its animating concerns?’, and ‘where are the issues happening (in which media, which field sites, which institutional locations)?’
Resisting the assumption that we already ‘know’ the answer to these basic questions, issue mapping online answers them by using techniques of network and textual analysis to detect issue formations in digital networked content.