Week 1: Introduction
Orientation
This module comprises 10 weeks. The first week gives you an introduction to conducting online research, offers an overview of the current position, suggests relevant considerations in respect of different kinds of projects, and highlights some of the challenges and dilemmas that online researchers face.
On Successful Completion of this Session, Students will be Able to:
You will be able to understand the purpose and structure of this module. You can achieve this by engaging with the materials recommended here and by identifying and engaging with other similar and related materials. You should familiarise yourself with the structure of the module and begin to engage with the tasks associated with each session, engage with the materials presented and look at the weekly task.
Reading Resources
Read the following chapters to have an overview of online research methods. While reading, take notes of some key points, considerations, and current trends on the topic.
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- Hooley, T., Wellens, J., & Marriott, J. (2012). Chapter 1: Introduction. In What is Online research?: Using the Internet for social science research (pp. 1-6). A&C Black.
- Gaiser, T. J., & Schreiner, A. E. (2011). Chapter 12: Some additional challenges for online researchers. In A guide to conducting online research (pp. 153-159). SAGE Publications Ltd
Supplementary Resources
Here is a typical example of online qualitative educational research. You can highlight some key points on how it is conducted online, the process of collecting and analyzing data on blogs:
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- Harricharan, M., & Bhopal, K. (2014). Using blogs in qualitative educational research: An exploration of method. International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 37(3), 324-343.
This Snippet gives you some valuable advice on research using the Internet:
In this video, Christine Hine briefly but critically shares her own hands-on experience on online research methods. You will find good points from this practical sharing.
