Critical Discourse Studies and Social Media Data

This chapter outlines key theoretical and methodological aspects of critical discourse studies (CDS) and suggests how they may be applied to social media data. After a brief overview of the main features of CDS, there is a discussion of what makes data in digitally mediated contexts different and interesting for researchers who adopt a critical perspective to social phenomena. Eight methodological steps from one approach to CDS, the discourse-historical approach, are presented with specific reference to how they can be applied to social media data. In the final part of the chapter, a case study analysing some aspects of the ‘life of protest movements’ (Arab Spring, Occupy) on Web 2.0 is used by way of illustration.