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Doing Qualitative Research Online
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Doing Qualitative Research Online

  • Janet E. Salmons - Free-range Scholar, Vision2Lead and Research Community Manager at SAGE MethodSpace
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December 2015 | 240 pages | SAGE Publications Ltd
Qualitative researchers can now connect with participants online to collect deep, rich data and generate new understandings of contemporary research phenomena. Doing Qualitative Research Online gives students and researchers the practical and scholarly foundations needed to gain digital research literacies essential for designing and conducting studies based on qualitative data collected online. The book will take a broad view of methodologies, methods and ethics, covering:
  • Ethical issues in research design and ethical relationships with participants
  • Designing online qualitative studies
  • Collecting qualitative data online through interviews, observations, participatory and arts-based research and a wide range of posts and documents.
  • Analyzing data and reporting findings

Written by a scholar-practitioner in e-learning and online academia with 15 years’ experience, this book will help all those new to online research by providing a range of examples and illustrations from published research. The text and accompanying materials will offer discussion and assignment ideas for ease of adoption. 

Doing Qualitative Research Online 2nd Edition is now available!

 
Chapter 1: Using Qualitative Approaches for Research in a Data-Intensive World
 
SECTION I: DESIGNING ONLINE QUALITATIVE STUDIES
 
Chapter 2: Choosing Methodologies and Methods for Online Studies
 
Chapter 3: Choosing Information and Communications Technologies for Online Studies
 
SECTION II: BECOMING AN ETHICAL ONLINE RESEARCHER
 
Chapter 4: Designing an Ethical Online Study
 
Chapter 5: Conducting an Ethical Online Study
 
SECTION III: COLLECTING QUALITATIVE DATA ONLINE
 
Chapter 6: Preparing to Collect Data Online
 
Chapter 7: Collecting Extant Data Online
 
Chapter 8: Eliciting Data Online
 
Chapter 9: Using Enacted Methods Online
 
SECTION IV: ANALYZING DATA AND REPORTING FINDINGS
 
Chapter 10: Organizing, Analyzing and Interpreting Findings
 
Chapter 11: Writing, Reporting and Contributing to the Literature

A timely, well-structured textbook that will be of use to students, teachers and researchers. It provides a comprehensive overview of the range of online qualitative research methods. and offers readers step by step guidance and careful consideration of the key ethical, practical and quality issues involved in conducting qualitative research online. From online interviews to using social media data, this book is a welcome addition to our methods toolkit

Kandy Woodfield
Head of Social Sciences, The Higher Education Academy

Salmons' thorough and readable book brings a complex technical skill-set within the reach of any competent student or researcher. The companion website is loaded with useful resources. Together they will be invaluable for anyone considering or undertaking qualitative online research.

Dr Helen Kara
Director, We Research It Ltd

Salmons’ qualitative e-research framework is a highly anticipated extension of her expertise on online interviewing. She guides the reader across the entire research process – from selecting an overarching methodology to reporting the findings – while continually revisiting the importance of engaging in researcher reflexivity and ethical practices in online contexts. Salmons’ careful distinction between extant, elicited and enacted types of data and the utility of each is especially needed during this time of often vague talk about the place of “big data” in research.

Trena M. Paulus
Qualitative Research Program, University of Georgia

The book is written for students and for faculty. Each chapter has a summary, a referral to the companion website, and discussion questions and exercises for the reader. For lecturers/instructors, the companion website provides a sample syllabus, assignments, worksheets, and class activities. The author highlights understanding what qualitative research is and how to use online communications for data collection. The importance of ethical research is emphasized, as online research is often conducted through personal computers, and it is up to the researcher to continually assess if high ethical standards are met through each stage of the research process.
The book's strength is the author’s ability to relate the information to the reader in a concise and understandable way. Concepts are provided in layman’s terms. Second, the book is a good resource for educators, as it provides resources for teaching students about conducting qualitative research online. 

Donna Busarow, Walden University
Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

An excellent resource for students, this book is well written and presented to provide clear guidance to students in understanding the possibilities of online research. Particularly salient during this pandemic!

Miss Louise Stafford
Department of Education, Oxford Brookes University
January 25, 2021

An excellent book covering an under utilized data source. It deals well with all aspects of Research Online and as such, it should be read by those considering undertaking research in this domain.

Mr David Wooff
Faculty of Education, Edge Hill University
April 29, 2016

This is an excellent reference and guide book to help students conducting qualitative research using online tools and data sources.

Dr Jyoti Belur
Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science, University College London
March 8, 2016

1. clear structured: clearly defined and named methods
2. volume is well-written, in a style which makes it comprehensible also to persons not explicitly familiar with the field

Professor Kerstin Radde-Antweiler
Accounting , Institut für Religionswissenschaft & Religionspädgogik
March 8, 2016

Students undertaking tourism based research often adopt online approaches. This book enables students to identify strategies for effective data collection.

Mrs Angela K Midgley
BUSINESS MANAGEMENT AND IT, Weston College
April 26, 2016

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