Social media data can be vast and understanding which data source works best for a research project, as well as the ethical considerations it requires and how to go about extracting and analysing this data, is fundamental for students to grasp. Working with social media data requires a specific set of knowledge and skills and this Fix answers questions such as:

• Can social media data meet my research needs?
• How do I gather and use social media data ethically?
• What social media data do I need to gather?
• How do I build an effective social media sampling strategy?
• How do I extract data from social media platforms?
• What steps should I take to plan my data collection?

Students need help over hurdles at every stage of their research project. They want simple, powerful, accessible tools that deliver results fast. They need to meet interim assessment deadlines and prove that they have successfully passed through multiple stages of their project, or need to master a stage of understanding in a learning cascade before they can proceed to the next week in their methods module.

Their supervisors are increasingly unable to help, but will still be assessing results. Students need more than YouTube.

Titles in the Little Quick Fix series offer:

- Visual, design-led learning

- Clear, structured, useful pedagogy

- A hand-holding, step-by-step approach for students who are less able, or less academically prepared by school so far

- Effective self-directed learning with DIY progress tracking

- A stand-in for the busy/unavailable supervisor