You are invited to GigaNet’s 2022 workshop about Internet Standard-Setting Research Methods on 12 January 2022, from 12:00 to 17:30 UTC. Website here.  

This workshop will showcase the broad range of research methods used by Internet governance scholars from multiple disciplines to study Internet standard-setting bodies, such as the IETF, IEEE, W3C, WHATWG, 3GPP, ITU-T, ITU-R. The workshop is also open to the study of “de-facto standardisation” that takes place outside of formal organisations and processes (Musiani and Ermoshina, 2019).

The workshop aims to provide an opportunity for scholars and researchers to:

  • Explore and perhaps discover qualitative and quantitative methods applicable to standard setting for information networks;
  • Share open research questions and work-in-progress on methods;
  • Discuss the feasibility of applying specific methods;
  • Improve the understanding of specific methods;
  • Receive feedback to improve the methodological approaches;
  • Identify new and existing data sources; and 
  • Outline novel topics of interest arising from these various methods for the general study of standardisation and Internet governance broadly construed.

The workshop will focus on the following methods for studying standardisation: 

  • Network analysis; 
  • Computational methods;
  • Discourse analysis; 
  • Ethnography;
  • Mixed Methods.

Additionally, we will also consider what lessons can be drawn from studying non-Internet standard-setting bodies and how researchers can acquire the relevant data for their research (including but not limited to standards, patents, conversations, and other standardisation documents and resources).

The workshop will include brief presentations of the authors and group discussion delving into their methods (and findings) and we are excited to have Professor Jorge L. Contreras as a keynote speaker. 

We will share the full program  in due course. In the meantime, you can email us with questions at: intgovworkshop@protonmail.com and encourage you to share the workshop with your networks. 

Reference

Ermoshina, Ksenia, and Francesca Musiani. “‘Standardising by Running Code’: The Signal Protocol and de Facto Standardisation in End-to-End Encrypted Messaging.” Internet Histories 3, no. 3–4 (October 2, 2019): 343–63. https://doi.org/10.1080/24701475.2019.1654697

Full program

7:00 EST / 12:00 UTC / 13:00 CET
Opening Corinne Cath and Niels ten Oever

7:15 – 8:15 EST / 12:15 – 13:15 UTC
Qualitative SDO analysis
Panelists: Jorge Contreras, Riccardo Nanni, Julien Rossi, Ashwin Mathew, Zuno Verghese
Chair: Corinne Cath
Discussant: Niels ten Oever

8:15 – 8:30 EST / 13:15 – 13:30 UTC
Break

8:30 – 9:30 EST / 13:30 – 14:30 UTC
Quantitative SDO analysis
Panlelists: Justus Baron, Christoph Becker, Olia Kanevskaia, Nick Doty, Brad Biddle, Margaret Ng Chair: Riccardo Nanni
Discussant: Julien Rossi

9:30 – 10:00 EST / 14:30 – 15:00 UTC / 15:30 – 16:00 CET
Keynote by Jorge Contreras
Chair: Farzaneh Badii

10:00 – 10:30 EST / 15:00 – 15:30 UTC
Break

10:30 – 11:30 EST / 15:30 – 16:30 UTC
Internet Governance analysis
Panelists: Albert Garrich Alabarce, Alison Gillwald, Freya Vandenboom, Kapil Goyal
Chair: Julien Rossi
Discussant: Farzaneh Badii

11:30 – 12:00 EST / 16:30 – 17:00 UTC / 17:30 – 18:00 CET
Closing remarks by Farzaneh Badii

Addition details here.