Doing Qualitative Research Online

New to online research? This book will give you the foundation you need to confidently design and conduct a project using internet methods. First providing an overview of online qualitative research, it then provides how-to guidance for studying the ways we use diverse technologies to communicate with words and images. It covers a well-established methods, from document research to online interviews, as well as introducing new turns in qualitative research, such as big data. This second edition: Equips you with the skills to make good decisions about methodologies, methods and technologies at every stage of your project. Dedicates three chapters to being an ethical online researcher, covering vital aspects such as respecting partners in research and researcher positionality. Includes over 30 'Research Cameo' examples showing you how to put theory into practice. Written by a scholar-practitioner in e-learning and online academia with 20 years' experience, this book will help students and researchers across the social sciences looking to do qualitative research online. Accompanied by online resources including templates, exercises and further reading, this book will develop your digital literacy and enable you to take advantage of the possibilities of Internet research. New to online qualitative research? This book equips you with the skills to make good research choices so you can confidently conduct a project using internet methods. New to online research? This book will give you the foundation you need to confidently design and conduct a project using internet methods. First providing an overview of online qualitative research, it then provides how-to guidance for studying the ways we use diverse technologies to communicate with words and images. It covers a well-established methods, from document research to online interviews, as well as introducing new turns in qualitative research, such as big data. This second edition: Equips you with the skills to make good decisions about methodologies, methods and technologies at every stage of your project. Dedicates three chapters to being an ethical online researcher, covering vital aspects such as respecting partners in research and researcher positionality. Includes over 30 Research Cameo examples showing you how to put theory into practice. Written by a scholar-practitioner in e-learning and online academia with 20 years experience, this book will help students and researchers across the social sciences looking to do qualitative research online.Accompanied by online resources including templates, exercises and further reading, this book will develop your digital literacy and enable you to take advantage of the possibilities of Internet research "New to online research? This book will give you the foundation you need to confidently design and conduct a project using internet methods. First providing an overview of online qualitative research, it then provides how-to guidance for studying the ways we use diverse technologies to communicate with words and images. It covers a well-established methods, from document research to online interviews, as well as introducing new turns in qualitative research, such as big data. This second edition: Equips you with the skills to make good decisions about methodologies, methods and technologies at every stage of your project. Dedicates three chapters to being an ethical online researcher, covering vital aspects such as respecting partners in research and researcher positionality. Includes over 30 'Research Cameo' examples showing you how to put theory into practice. Accompanied by online resources including templates, exercises and further reading, this book will develop your digital literacy and enable you to take advantage of the possibilities of Internet research"-- Provided by publisher The ever-growing use of online communication and social media in professional and personal contexts—and the resulting Big Data—excites many contemporary researchers. The research on this kind of data is broad but shallow. Why did those users make the posts they did—and what did they not say on sites they know lack privacy? And what about the people who do not post on social networking sites? Their experiences are not represented. Within this world of Big Data we need to be able to dig below the surface and ask questions. We need to celebrate the personal voice of the individual, with unique perspectives and idiosyncratic understandings of the world.To do so qualitative researchers can use the full range of online communication and social media options to create deep exchanges with research participants—the humans on the other side of the monitor or device. Through in-depth interviews or observations we can connect with participants anywhere to collect deep, rich data that can generate new understandings of research phenomena.