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Unfolding Complexity: A Critical (Un)Making Approach for Digital Inquiry
Malmö University, Faculty of Health and Society (HS), Department for Police Work (IPA). (Centrum för polisforskning och prevention)ORCID iD: 0000-0002-2033-2550
2026 (English)In: Imagining and Co-Creating Methods for Internet Research: Book of Abstracts / [ed] Pille Pruulmann Vengerfeldt, Malmö: Association of Internet Researchers , 2026Conference paper, Oral presentation with published abstract (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

As digital technologies evolve and connectivity intensifies, selecting appropriate methods for researching digital environments has become increasingly complex. Responding to this challenge, this reflective and somewhat speculative study—grounded in Alvén Sjöberg’s dissertation on critical (un)making and guided by an exploratory, participatory methodological stance—seeks to contribute to the imagining and co-creation of a new approach to internet research. It does so by reflecting on four key dimensions through which critical (un)making can inform research for digital inquiry. First, the approach shifts attention away from technological determinism and toward participatory, explorative, and playful practices. These practices support deeper inquiry into social phenomena, past experiences, and underlying assumptions, regardless of the setting in which they emerge. Second, critical (un)making emphasizes the productive value of interpretative diversity. Rather than viewing differences as obstacles, it treats them as generative resources that open new pathways for unfolding complexity and understanding across individual, organizational, and societal levels. This diversity enriches the co-creation of knowledge, whether the focus is on communication, inclusion, or exclusion. Third, the framework highlights the importance of exposing and examining power dynamics within collaborative and communicative processes. By creating conditions in which researchers and participants can interact on a more equal footing, critical (un)making encourages more inclusive forms of understanding social engagement or disengagement across digital environments. Finally, the approach supports sensemaking amid digital complexity by inviting openness to ambiguity. It highlights ongoing, social, and plausible interpretations over definitive conclusions, especially within participatory and exploratory phases of data collection. Taken together, these four dimensions position critical (un)making as a flexible, reflexive, and participatory methodological framework capable of addressing the layered complexities of digitally mediated life and societal concerns.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Malmö: Association of Internet Researchers , 2026.
National Category
Media and Communication Studies
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-87636OAI: oai:DiVA.org:mau-87636DiVA, id: diva2:2097043
Conference
2026 Flashpoint Symposium: Imagining and Co-creating Methods for Internet Research, 11-12 August 2026, Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden.
Available from: 2026-08-31 Created: 2026-08-31 Last updated: 2026-09-01Bibliographically approved

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Alvén Sjöberg, Jens

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Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
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  • de-DE
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  • en-US
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Output format
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