Facebook for Researchers: FB is Fertile Ground for Social Science Research, Applications Should Play a Role

The New York Times reported today that academics across the nation are observing people’s behavior on Facebook. Some of the lines of inquiry include:

• How shared interests promote and reinforce friendships.
• How Facebook affects people’s perceptions of one another.
• How Facebook offers “weak links” that help students who are depressed or otherwise dissatisfied with life discover on new possibilities.
•  How young adults think about online privacy.

Obviously there are more, but those are just some of the research questions that caught my eye.

These researchers should consider investing in a Facebook application. Some researchers already are. Elle advice columnist E. Jean Carroll is writing a book about collegiate sex. She’s encouraging students to add her Fukbook application to aid in her data collection and find out whether they’ll “get laid” in the new year.

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