SAGE Publishing relaunches MethodSpace with New Big Data Hub

Los Angeles, CA. SAGE Publishing announces the relaunch of its popular MethodSpace website, a free-entry online community with over 20,000 registered social and behavioral science researchers. The revamped site includes a hub focused on how social science research is using big data.

Since 2009 MethodSpace has been a convening place for academics and practitioners across all traditions of social science methodology – qualitative, quantitative and combinations of those approaches. The new Big Data Hub is an extension of MethodSpace’s aim and mission, and reflects discussions on the methodological advances being made in computational social science, focused on helping scholars stay up-to-date.

“Having a handle on your methodology has never been as important as it is today as we focus on research transparency and replication,” commented Michael Todd, SAGE Community Manager for MethodSpace. “But it’s not always easy to find a friend, a mentor or a resource that answers your needs. And so having an even-better site that provides that, and that’s still free and still pushes the innovation envelope, is a bonanza for the entire community.” 

The transition includes improved aesthetics and taxonomy to help community members find the information and ideas necessary for their research, together with new features and content, including blog series Methods in Action or the Learning to Research and Illuminating Methods collections from SAGE author and Walden University faculty member Janet Salmons. In addition to an extensive set of links to other resources in the methods arena, it posts calls for academic papers, job opportunities and how-to’s, as well as comprehensive global events listings.

Ziyad Marar, SAGE’s President of Global Publishing explains, “our aim at SAGE, as methods continue to evolve, is to provide the expert guidance, the publishing innovations, in form and content, which will help researchers of the future to be equipped with the skills they will need to flourish. And in the end to make knowledge claims and educate students in ways today only glimpsed at. We have designed MethodSpace to be a companion for that journey.”

SAGE has been a publisher of research methodology content since launching its first social science research methods journal in 1972 and the Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences series (“little green books”) soon after. Its methods portfolio has since grown to include a comprehensive library of methods reference content and a suite of born-digital products such as video, case studies, and statistical databases to support scholars and practitioners.

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For more information on the relaunched site, visit MethodSpace and visit its new Big Data Hub to learn about the advancement of Big Data Analysis and to join the discussion. You may also be interested in signing up for SAGE’s monthly Big Data newsletter here – bigdataresearch@sagepub.com

For more information on SAGE’s research methods portfolio and born digital resources, visit methods.sagepub.com

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Sara Miller McCune founded SAGE Publishing in 1965 to support the dissemination of usable knowledge and educate a global community. SAGE is a leading international provider of innovative, high-quality content publishing more than 1,000 journals and over 800 new books each year, spanning a wide range of subject areas. Our growing selection of library products includes archives, data, case studies and video. SAGE remains majority owned by our founder and after her lifetime will become owned by a charitable trust that secures the company’s continued independence. Principal offices are located in Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore, Washington DC and Melbourne. www.sagepublishing.com 

MethodSpace is a multidimensional online network for the community of researchers, from students to professors, engaged in research methods. Sponsored by SAGE Publishing, a leading publisher of books and journals in research methods, the site is created for students and researchers to network and share research, resources and debates. MethodSpace users have free access to selected journal articles, book chapters, etc. which highlight emerging topics in the field. www.methodspace.com