Aims of the research project

Drawing on a broad theoretical and empirical basis, the DIVSI research programme „Participation on the Net“ is intended to make a contribution to how the public at large perceives the opportunities for participation that the Internet offers – and what this requires. It lays a foundation for the fields of science, business and politics to conduct their own analyses and make independent decisions which in future will enhance the opportunities to participate on the Internet. In order to accommodate the complexity of the topic, the research programme will include a series of studies that gradually build on our understanding of participation on the Internet.

This study presents a first step in this undertaking. It provides insight into where research is today, and to do so collates current insight from a variety of disciplines. Therefore, it produces an overarching analysis of what research momentarily considers to be „participation on the Internet“, which aspects of this participation are eminently noteworthy and what challenges are viewed as particularly exigent.

The key questions upon which this study focussed were, in particular:

  • Is the Internet changing the opportunities that citizens have to participate in social decision-making processes?
  • Which forms of participation are currently undergoing analysis?
  • Which disciplines are involved in their research?
  • Which specific questions are tackled?
  • Is there a common understanding of what „participation“ and „digital worlds“ signify?
  • Is a new culture of participation evolving? Which constituent parts may it possess?

One of the most substantial contributions that the study will make is considered to be the clarification of terms, hence improving the accessibility of this area of research for social debate. Analysis reveals that a broad range of disciplines are involved in researching participation on the Net. It follows, therefore, that the terms applied to, and the understanding of, „participation“ and digital environments on the Net are equally diverse. Different areas focus on entirely different conditions or attribute varying repercussions to the question of participation. This prompts the necessity to illustrate common ground, to elaborate central insight, to sharpen the definition of terms and hence to prepare the field for further research into participation on the Net.

Defined in one sentence, this study is intended to serve interest into the following insight:

Which areas and forms of participation currently exist on the Net, what are their conditions and what their consequences?