New Methods for Researching the Existence and Impact of Political Networks on the WWW

Web mining and data visualisation technologies will be employed in a new methodology for the study of online networks built by organisations (or any entity). The methodology will provide insights into the online networking behaviour of Australian political parties, producing information on how extensively parties are using the Web to connect with other groups, which parties use it most effectively and whether they form online political communities . The methodology will be embodied in an integrated software package that will be of use to researchers in academia, government and business, and hence of significant commercial potential.