Research Projects

Current Projects

  • Social Media and Journalism

    Identifying patterns and trends in journalism transformation, caused by the development of the Web 2.0 generation Internet-services.

    Since the mid 2000-s social Internet platforms (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube) have a major impact on the work practices of mass media. The increased creative activity of a general public as well as blogosphere development have become a serious challenge for journalism. That is the reason why traditional creative and economic approaches should be reconsidered. At the same time web 2.0 services have enabled new opportunities for information gathering, content distribution and feedback from the audience.

    Comprehensive analysis of role of mass media in journalism transformation of Belarussian information field is included in research works in Department of Medialogy at Belarussian State University.

     

    Research priorities

    1. The role, function and development trends of social media in the information space of Belarus;

    2. Professional blogging phenomenon, the problem of active embedding blogosphere authors into the media system;

    3. Effective strategies to collect and verify the content from the social media, the format of its application in the creative activity of media outlets;

    4. The strategies of media content distribution in social media;

    5. The criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of operation on social media platforms (KPI);

    6. Methods and tools for analysis of social media.

     

    The results of investigations became dissertation research on the topic: «Social media in the transformation processes of journalism in Belarus» (2017), as well as a number of scientific publications, reference and analytical documents.

    The collected theoretical and empirical material was summarized in textbooks and became the basis for courses «Social Media Editor» , «Foreign Social Media» and other disciplines for students of specialty «Journalism (Web Journalism)».

Completed Projects

  • Open Government Data

    Creating a road map towards the development of Open Data projects in Belarus for strengthening feedback between the authorities and the citizens, for IT industry stimulation and knowledge economy development.

    The research which was carried out in 2014–2015 within the framework of the youth think tank «Smart Networks», allowed us to estimate the demand for Open Data projects in Belarus and to identify priority areas of work for their implementation.

    During the project in September 2014, an expert survey was conducted, which was attended by about 50 respondents – analysts, journalists, IT-specialists. The study found that more than 80% of respondents had difficulty accessing to the information of the Belarusian state authorities for organizational, legal, technical reasons. Nine out of ten survey participants were in favor of the creation of a national strategy for open government data.

    Priority steps for the development of Open Data in Belarus

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    At the same time, the analysis of international experience has shown that the work on the disclosure of data is labor-intensive and should be comprehensive. Non-governmental organizations and IT-activists have enough strength for the implementation of individual technical solutions, but for strategic decision-making process the government must be envolved.

     

    The demand for open data sets in Belarus

     

     

     

     

     

    The result of the study was a draft program of «Open Government Data» and a suggested plan for its implementation, presented in December 2015.

     

    Publications based on the results of the project:

    The Open Government Data Program (in Russian)

    Open Data in Belarus: Which Government Data Are to Open Primarily and How to Do It (in Russian)

    Why Open Data Are Important for Informatization of Belarus (in Russian)

  • Media Ecology

    Researching of present-day informational environment and developmental characteristics of media ecosystems.

    Media ecology is the interdisciplinary scientific approach, considering the problems of interaction between people and their media environment. With help of the scientific and methodological apparatus of media ecology it is possible to analyze the specific features of the environment, formed by the «new media», to explore the journalist’s role and the place of traditional media in this ecosystem, evaluate the impact of new communication technologies on the individual, social and cultural processes in the society.

    Within the framework of the studies at the Department of Sociology of Journalism at BSU led by V.P. Vorobyov in 2010–2011 there were identified and systematized the main features of the approach. It’s approbation as a paradigm of the Belarusian information space research was also performed.

    Within the project a special course «Media Ecology» for students of the Institute of journalism of the BSU (2011) was developed and tested. Anonymous survey showed that nine out of ten special course trainees were «generally satisfied» with the new course.

    In 2010–2011 the thematic blog «Media Ecology in Belarus» functioned, which was filled with scientific and methodological materials, translations, student’s thematic publications etc. During the active work of the Internet resource about 50 materials were placed on it.

    The results of studies are summarized in scientific articles and conference proceedings, and in the thesis for the degree of Master of Philology «Ecology of the Person in the Media System», which was successfully defended in 2011.

     

    Publications based on the results of the project:

    Problem Field of Media Ecology: the Experience of the Research Area Demarcation (in Russian)

    Sustainable Development of Information Ecosystems as a Goal of Media Ecology (in Russian)