Manuscript Under Review New Media & Society [Special Anniversary Issue, 2004] PLEASE DO NOT CIRCULATE OR CITE WITHOUT PERMISSION The Web as an Object of Study

The ongoing evolution of the Web poses challenges for scholars as they seek to develop methodological approaches permitting robust examination of Web phenomena. Some of these challenges stem from the nature of the Web, which is a unique mixture of the ephemeral and the permanent. Increasingly complex Web applications that are altering traditional relationships between media form and content challenge the adaptation of traditional approaches to social research on the Web. Web-based media require new methods of analyzing form and content, along with processes and patterns of production, distribution, usage and interpretation. We identify three sets of approaches that have been employed in Web-related research over the last decade. Distinguishing between these approaches helps establish the trajectory of Web studies; highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of each focuses attention on the methodological challenges associated with the field of Web studies