今日人們使用行動裝置與社交媒體的時間大幅增加，使用行為與傳播內容愈加分殊化，這對傳播研究造成極大挑戰。新媒體研究開始與資訊科學結合，在思維與研究面向產生「向運算轉」（computational turn），利用資訊技術大量收集與分析使用者留下的數位足跡，藉此找出使用者真實的數位傳播活動。本文從方法論的角度出發，透過批判性的文獻檢閱與實際的個案研究經驗，說明鉅量資料分析取徑對於傳播研究方法帶來的契機與挑戰。

As digital technologies penetrate deeper into our lives, mobile devices and social media occupy more and more of our time, user behavior and communication content increasingly diversify. Following this communication shift, methods derived from traditional social sciences become seriously challenged. To identify digital communication activities conducted by users, new media research turn to information science for new ally. Digital technologies are employed to collect large amounts of data and to trace digital footprints of users. Driven by the Big-Data approach, this computational turn is currently taking place in communication research with its impacts and implications. Based on a critical review of literature and case-study experiences, this paper addresses issues concerning the Big-Data approach used in new media studies from a methodological perspective. New possibilities are identified and explained along with challenges.