Week 5: Technologies for Online Research

Orientation

This is rather a catch-all description because the word ‘technology’ covers so many diverse descriptions that we immediately need to supply further details. In the present context, we really mean educational technology (i.e. technology that can be used for educational purposes) but even here the field is large. The golden rule is that the purpose of the educational activity should take precedence over the selection of technology. The choice of technology use should not come before the educational interaction, so you need to decide what you would like to learn and then select the technology to achieve this. In the digital world, this often requires an engagement through the internet, but not necessarily. Having downloaded an app, there may be more flexible options to work offline, for example the automated software Otterhttps://otter.ai can be downloaded to a smart phone and used both to record interviews and to produce a simultaneous transcription of the conversation. There are various videoconferencing technologies that are becoming more commonly used in recent months, and again these have diverse additional functions such as the ability to record the interactions, to vote on decisions, to structure conferences with break-out rooms and focus group meetings, and so on. All of these functions can be used to conduct research online. Additionally, the results of these digital interactions that are produced during the research, can also have possibilities for creating further educational and research opportunities. 

• • Hawkins, J. E. (2018). The practical utility and suitability of email interviews in qualitative research. The Qualitative Report, 23(2).
  • Saleh, A., & Bista, K. (2017). Examining factors impacting online survey response rates in educational research: Perceptions of graduate students. Online Submission, 13(2), 63-74.
  • Aydin, S. (2012). A review of research on Facebook as an educational environment. Educational Technology research and development, 60(6), 1093-1106.
  • Gaiser, T. J., & Schreiner, A. E. (2011). Chapter 6: Survey research on the internet. In A guide to conducting online research (pp. 68-81). SAGE Publications Ltd. 
  • Gaiser, T. J., & Schreiner, A. E. (2011). Chapter 9: Analyzing the data. In A guide to conducting online research (pp. 113-130). SAGE Publications Ltd. 

The following readings are not required; however, they are excellent examples of how technologies help to conduct online research. Read and take notes on the procedures and noticeable considerations when applying technologies into online research.

• • Gaiser, T. J., & Schreiner, A. E. (2011). Chapter 4: Using email for data collection. In A guide to conducting online research (pp. 37-60). SAGE Publications Ltd. 
  • Gaiser, T. J., & Schreiner, A. E. (2011). Chapter 5: Researching using instant messaging and chat. In A guide to conducting online research (pp. 61-67). SAGE Publications Ltd.
  • Gaiser, T. J., & Schreiner, A. E. (2011). Chapter 8: Accessing and using web-based data. In A guide to conducting online research (pp. 93-112). SAGE Publications Ltd.
  • Podcast: Using Skype in qualitative interviews with young people – Susie Weller

Email Interviews in Qualitative Research: An Innovative Approach to Data Collection 

Qualitative Methods in Social Media Research