ABSTRACT
This chapter considers a widespread myth about algorithmic curation as a starting point. It discusses neither to confirm nor debunk the 'myth of enclaves' but instead to discuss the various methods applied to investigate the role of algorithmic curation in fragmenting, concentrating, or polarizing the public's exposure to content on the internet. The chapter outlines what 'algorithmic curation' covers. It analyzes the methodological strengths and weaknesses of four prototypical research designs for studying algorithmic curation. The empirical material used in simulation, manipulation, experimentation, and observation studies is so different that it renders direct comparisons between design types untenable. To make the analysis more concrete, the search engine Google and the social network site Facebook serve as cases of directed and undirected curation, respectively. The chapter focuses on the challenge personalization presents to empirical research on algorithmic curation. It discusses the methods for testing enclaves of myth, part of an explanation for these inconsistencies emerges.
