Various schools of the interpretive, feminist, and posthuman turns have focused on the tensions and interplays of discourse and materiality, agency and structure. A key qualitative method that emerged from this debate is situational analysis (SA), proposed by Adele Clarke (2003; 2005) and further developed by other scholars (e.g. Clarke, Friese, and Washburn, 2015; Markham & Gammelby, 2018). SA proposes a series of methods for researchers to continuously and reflexively map situations. By centering situations, rather than restraining the analysis to particular pieces of text, situational analysis asks us to not only pay attention to, but repeatedly map, lay out, visualize, and connect relevant actors in a situation of concern. SA thus offers a useful toolset for interpretively considering how different agents interact, empowering researchers to systematically interpret complex situations.

This half-day pre-conference marks the anniversary of 20 years of SA by exploring and workshopping this valuable method for mapping and understanding information systems and the Internet across their varied human, more-than-human, and nonhuman interactions. The workshop will begin with a brief conceptual presentation of the core concepts and methods of SA. This will be followed by a showcase of three practical cases (health-related Facebook groups, TikTok's algorithm, and SA as a pedagogical tool), demonstrating SA in practice. Finally, a hands-on exercise will split workshop participants, giving time to experiment with and practice the techniques of SA.

This workshop offers a key opportunity for AoIR members to develop this method as a part of their practice and consider how it has helped to advance scientific practices in internet studies.

The program is as follows:

20 Years of Situational Analysis: Workshopping Methods for Mapping Complex Information Systems

Wednesday, 18/Oct/2023, 1pm to 4:30pm.

1—1:15 Welcome and brief introductions

1:15—2:00 Introduction to Situational Analysis by Annette Markham: "Situational mapping as a practical method for exploring invisible infrastructures"

2—2:15 Short break

2:15—2:40 Case 1: Sophie Toupin: "Situational Analysis in Practice: The Case of AI governance in Canada"

2:40—3:05 Case 2: Luke Heemsbergen & Anthony McCosker: "Situations of Mapping: The Ecosystems of COVID Apps & Digital Lives of Low Income Families”

3:05—3:15 Q&A

3:15—3:30 Short break

3:30—4:30 Hands-on Exercise on using Situational Analysis, led by Gabriel Pereira & Abel Guerra