Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR) Flashpoint symposium: Imagining and Co-creating Methods for Internet Research

In collaboration with Malmö Research Centre for Imagining and Co-Creating Futures, AoIR invites participants to its annual Flashpoint symposium.

Background and purpose

As technologies evolve, so do our interactions with the digital world. This development requires research methods that can adapt to new conditions. Methods shape what can be studied, how research reflects the world, and how the groups involved in or affected by research relate to academia.

Internet research faces challenges related to recruitment, data quality, practical constraints, and ethical considerations. These issues raise questions about sampling bias, data reliability, and other methodological concerns that call for innovative approaches. To address contemporary research needs, established methods may need to be questioned, revised, or complemented by alternative perspectives.

Creative research methods

Creative methods may include:

  • Forms of self-expression from participants or researchers, such as visual materials, text, sound, or physical artefacts.
  • Innovative uses of technology, including apps, mash‑ups, data visualisations, or API‑based tools.
  • Transformative and participatory approaches, such as speculative, artistic, worldbuilding, decolonising, activist, or community‑based research practices.
  • Mixed and hybrid methods that encourage researchers to reflect on their assumptions and explore new ways of generating knowledge.

These approaches can help reduce power imbalances and support the inclusion of diverse perspectives in research.

Invitation to participate and abstract submission

The symposium welcomes scholars interested in methodological discussions and in exploring how research methods can be imagined and co‑created for a new era of internet research. Participants are invited to submit an abstract of up to 300 words by 30 March 2026.

About the symposium and registration

Contact