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Using the Online Medium for Discursive Research About People With Disabilities
Social Science Computer Review
Abstract
Online interviews are deemed an effective and appropriate approach for accessing discourse about the online experiences of people with disabilities. Some of the central arguments in support of conducting discursive research online, a type of qualitative approach, are delineated. Various practical benefits are considered for researchers, as well as participants-especially those with disabilities. Ethical issues surrounding access to, and the analysis of, readily available data in online communities are brought to the fore. In light of ethical dilemmas surrounding naturalistic data collection online, an alternative approach is offered, which utilizes online interviews with people with disabilities about their online experiences. A description of the data-collection process is given, including participants and recruitment, materials and procedures, rapport building, and security and ethics. Reflections on the process highlight how methodological pitfalls were managed and, in some cases, resolved.
... These authors state that three ethical problems may emerge: registering research participants, protecting participants from risk or harm, and interlinking public and private data sources. Bowker and Tuffin (2004) also defend that online data, constantly available, inevitably raises the need to reflect on ethical questions. Taking up this concern, Roberts (2015) identifies ethical questions associated with research into online communities as follows: (1) public/private spaces; (2) authorship versus research participants as human beings; (3) informed consent; (4) anonymity and pseudonyms; (5) confidential research; (6) false identities; and (7) the quality of the data obtained. ...
... There have been various research projects into the general ethics of online communities as well as how to carry out research in these communities (Flicker et al. 2004;Bowker and Tuffin 2004;Roberts 2015) and on the quality of the information collected (Wheeler 2017;Stvilia et al. 2019;Yeku 2020;Liu 2021). ...
... of information of online communities(Bowker and Tuffin 2004; Brady et al. 2016;De Hertogh 2018;Flicker et al. 2004;Germain et al. 2018; Gustafson and Woodworth 2014; Hair and Clark 2007; Kantanen and Manninen 2016; Liu 2021; Paechter 2013; Paris et al. 2013; Roberts 2015; Schultze and Mason 2012; Stvilia et al. 2019; Trevisan and Reilly 2014; Wheeler 2017; Yeku 2020) • Directives and guidelines are needed to guarantee ethical conduct in this type of research • Three situations in which ethical problems may emerge: (i) registering research participants, (ii) protecting participants from risk or harm, and (iii) interlinking public and private data sources • Ethical questions associated with research into online communities as follows: (i) public/private spaces; (ii) authorship versus research participants as human beings; (iii) informed consent; (iv) anonymity and pseudonyms; (v) confidential research; (vi) false identities; and (vii) the quality of the data obtained • Despite the growing utilisation of data from online communities, there is no standard set of ethics for carrying out ethnographic studies of the platforms used by these communities • Maintain that the fundamental question for ethics is guaranteeing the quality of information gathered on online communities Cluster 2 (N = 18) Virtual identities (Arfini et al. 2019; Baeva 2020; Blum-Ross and Livingstone 2017; Boyd and Crawford 2012; Breitsohl et al. 2022; Burnett and Burnett 2019; Caiani and Parenti 2009; Cheng and Yu 2021, 2022; Griffiths and Light 2008; Gummerus et al. 2017; Jones and Giles 2022; Kafai et al. 2019; O'Neil 2015; Pande 2017; Rawassizadeh 2012; Steinmetz 2012; Watanabe 2007) • Educate people in the difficulties in determining right and wrong, and how the right and wrong may be offset in relation to the new technologies between online and offline environments ...
The rapid growth in the widespread acceptance and usage of the Internet and the ease of creating online communities have brought advantages in terms of swift access to information alongside ethical problems interrelated with the dark side of the workings of these communities. Relevant research approaching ethics and the dark side of online communities has received widespread publication in a diverse set of journals with a wide variety of objectives and readers that has left its academic contribution broadly fragmented. To help shrink this gap in the literature, this study, through undertaking a systematic review, seeks to map the research on ethics and the dark side of online communities to grasp where the literature has come from and where it is going and, consequently, provide opportunities for future research. This study applied a bibliometric approach based on analysis of the bibliographic coupling with the manual coding of documents to examine the literature on the ethics and the dark side of online communities to set out a holistic framework of its different facets. The content and the thematic analysis of 53 studies identified four thematic groups: quality of the information in online communities, virtual identities, safety in online communities, and the content of online communities. The findings of this study also highlight the various shortcomings in the literature on the ethics and dark side of online communities and lead to some research questions that justify future academic research.
... that they can participate in an environment conducive to their needs (Bowker & Tuffin, 2004;Mann & Stewart, 2000). For some participants, the home environment may offer more privacy (McCoyd & Kerson, 2006). ...
... Nevertheless, for others a private space may be difficult to secure, potentially resulting in participants sharing less information. Additionally, some participants may be more comfortable in familiar settings and therefore be more prepared, or even better able, to talk about their experiences (Hanna, 2012;Orchard & Fullwood, 2010), as shown in studies with PWD (Bowker & Tuffin, 2004) and people with ABI (Egan et al., 2006). In order to minimize potential concentration and attention difficulties, as well as confidentiality breaches, guidance should be provided to the participant as to how to set up a suitable environment in preparation for the interview or focus group. ...
... Online platforms have the potential to record conversations, save data, and track locations and identities (Sullivan, 2012). Thus, it is more onerous on the researcher to investigate the platforms and take extra steps to ensure the platform and connection is secure and communicate risks with the participants (Bowker & Tuffin, 2004;Lobe et al., 2020;Moore et al., 2015;Williams et al., 2012). However, online environments compared to face-to-face can offer more privacy to PWD who would require assistance to leave the home but can participate at home without support (Liddiard et al., 2018). ...
Qualitative methodology is key to understanding the lived experience of people with acquired brain injury (ABI). However, as demonstrated during the global pandemic (COVID-19), face-to-face interviewing is not always viable. This lack of availability has been particularly relevant for people with disability who are at increased risk of contracting the virus and experiencing poorer outcomes. Fortunately, advancing technologies provide increasing opportunities for communicating online, thus it is plausible for qualitative disability researchers to adapt to remote interviewing. People with ABI often experience varying degrees of cognitive and communication impairments and therefore require specific considerations in the planning of research projects. In this paper, we examine learnings from existing literature around online qualitative research, specifically for videoconference, focus groups and email-interviewing methods. The key aim is to map out the practical, ethical and methodological considerations when adapting research to an online environment. As interviewing people with ABI online has received little attention in the literature, learnings from broader disability populations and the general population inform much of the considerations. Thus, the suggestions for practice are likely to be relevant to a broader population, but specific implications for people with ABI are discussed. Overall, we propose that it is viable, and sometimes preferable, to utilize online interview techniques but researchers must take care to consider the practical, ethical and methodological implications of doing so.
... Widespread internet access has allowed qualitative research to be conducted online. Compared with traditional in-person interviews and focus groups, online approaches have several advantages, including facilitation of recruitment, greater ease of access for patients with disabilities, greater convenience for participants, fewer logistical complexities and reduced travel costs and time [18,19]. Additionally, patients may be more willing to discuss sensitive issues online, leading to higher personal disclosure [17][18][19]. ...
... Compared with traditional in-person interviews and focus groups, online approaches have several advantages, including facilitation of recruitment, greater ease of access for patients with disabilities, greater convenience for participants, fewer logistical complexities and reduced travel costs and time [18,19]. Additionally, patients may be more willing to discuss sensitive issues online, leading to higher personal disclosure [17][18][19]. Thus, qualitative data collected with online methods is a promising alternative to face-to-face interviews [18]. ...
... This non-interventional, cross-sectional qualitative study (GSK study 208399) comprised semistructured, moderated online forums, online one-to-one questions and completion of PROs, conducted over a 2-week period for two cohorts (Cohort I: April 23-May 4, 2018; Cohort II: May [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]2018). No formal endpoints were set, with the study designed to explore key topics and themes (Fig. 1). ...
IntroductionPrimary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) is a complex, heterogenous autoimmune disease; no immunomodulatory drug has demonstrated efficacy, and no current treatments target the underlying cause. This study aimed to explore the disease and treatment experiences of patients with pSS.Methods
This qualitative study (208399) comprised moderated online forum discussions and online one-to-one questions conducted in the USA over a 2-week period. Participants were self-reported patients with pSS; physician confirmation of diagnosis was sought. Participants described disease and symptom severity and satisfaction with current pSS treatments. Qualitative data analysis was performed using inductive coding analysis via open coding.ResultsFifty-two participants entered the study, of whom 48 provided analysable data. Symptoms were described as highly unpredictable and variable, with fatigue rated as the most severe and burdensome. Participants discussed how their pSS symptoms and the frequent need for regular treatment impacted their daily activities, social life, career and finances. Many participants perceived a poor understanding of pSS amongst physicians, leading to emotional distress and difficulties obtaining a diagnosis. All participants stated that an ideal medication would address the cause of pSS and not just treat symptoms.Conclusion
New insights into patients’ perspectives of pSS were generated from online discussion forums, revealing the additional impact of unpredictable symptoms and multiple symptomatic treatments to the high disease burden. Improving physician education of pSS may help to alleviate frustrations and delays associated with diagnosis; the advent of novel effective treatments would be welcomed by patients with pSS.
... Alongside debates about its status, privacy is complex in terms of definition, as it can be approached through multiple components pertaining to multiple specifications. Acknowledging that the privatepublic dilemma is a continuum (rather than clearly distinct points in online spaces), communication and media scholars relate privacy to several factors (Bowker & Tuffin, 2004). First and foremost, scholars define privacy as a user-based issue. ...
... When dealing with traditional religious systems of meaning, terms like oppression, power, and resistance depend not only on the scholar's interpretation, but also on the lived experiences and testimonies of the investigated communities. Textual analysis in digital contexts must consider how one's interpretation of online texts reflects and connects to these lived experiences, particularly when conducting a critical discourse analysis (CDA, in Bowker & Tuffin, 2004). ...
... Answering this question depends on how we understand the researcher's roles and responsibilities, as well as how we understand online texts. Online texts, according to Bowker and Tuffin (2004), are lifelike descriptors of daily experiences set as accessible, unprompted data online. "Naturalistic data in textual format" they argue "occurs across a wide range of online settings, highlighting the medium's particular suitability for discourse analysis, which aims to analyze social experience in everyday, naturalistic contexts" (p. ...
The purpose of this article is to highlight important research‐related ethical issues and provide researchers with guiding questions for producing ethical research of digital contexts. We also suggest that research ethics can be understood as a bridge between the seemingly distinct subfields across digital media studies. The article discusses three empirical case studies that reflect three main subfields and three research methodologies—ethnography and cultural media studies, critical discourse analysis and digital humanities, and user experience (UX) methods and mobile media studies. These cases critically engage with three main ethical issues related to digital media research: privacy, ownership, and compensation. Based on the ethical dimensions discussed through the three case studies, the article inductively articulates a set of questions pertaining to research data and to the relationship between the researcher and the user/participant of digital media. These can help facilitate more scholarly collaborations and wider conversations between academic silos in the field of digital media studies, and lead an ethical internet research.
... Cette étude s'inscrit dans une approche qualitative (Anadon, 2011;Bowker & Tuffin, 2004;Merriam, 2002;Poisson, 1991) Ces données sont complétées par des informations pertinentes à ce propos recueillies dans la presse sénégalaise en ligne durant la même période. ...
... ). Cependant,Bowker et Tuffin (2004) soulignent des avantages dans les recherches menées par entrevue électronique auprès de personnes en si-tuation de handicap. Les entrevues en ligne sont efficaces pour accéder au discours des personnes en situation de handicap surtout quand celles-ci éprouvent des difficultés de communication. ...
... And previous researchers have also recruited solely from websites, and then conducted the entirety of their study online as well (Mohebati et al., 2012;Ramo et al., 2010;Siegel et al., 2011;Walker, 2014aWalker, , 2014bWalker, , 2017Walker, , 2020. Studies suggest that when researching sensitive topics, participants will reveal more information when they are not face-to-face with their interviewer (Bowker & Tuffin, 2004;Kim et al., 2003). Asynchronous email interviewing "protect[s] people who reveal sensitive personal experiences and events without them 'losing face'" (Ratislavová & Ratislav, 2014, p. 454). ...
... Thus, email interviewing increases participants' sense of anonymity. The anonymity the participants felt contributed to their willingness to participate (Bowker & Tuffin, 2004;Herring, 1996;Kim et al., 2003;Mann & Stewart, 2000;Matheson, 1992;Tidwell & Walther, 2002). ...
Sexual satisfaction is important to individual well-being and relationship satisfaction, making it a relevant research topic for researchers and relationship therapists. While ample research exists examining which factors affect sexual dysfunctions, there is much less research about sexual experiences circumventing functional or satisfactory sex and transcending into great and extraordinary sexual experiences; the current study adds to sexuality literature by asking participants questions about the factors involved in “great,” “good,” and “bad” sex, and the differences between those experiences. Through in-depth interviews, participants reported sexual skills (either their partner’s or combined skill), sexual responsiveness, and sexual mindfulness as characteristics of great sex. Women reported body image concerns thwarted their ability to remain present during sex. This study contributes to the scant existing literature on the components of great sex.
... And previous researchers have also recruited solely from websites, and then conducted the entirety of their study online as well (Mohebati et al., 2012;Ramo et al., 2010;Siegel et al., 2011;Walker, 2014aWalker, , b, 2017Walker, , 2020. Studies suggest that when researching sensitive topics, participants will reveal more information when they are not face-to-face with their interviewer (Bowker & Tuffin, 2004;Kim et al., 2003). Asynchronous email interviewing "protect[s] people who reveal sensitive personal experiences and events without them 'losing face'" (Ratislavová & Ratislav, 2014, p. 454). ...
... Thus, email interviewing increases participants' sense of anonymity. The anonymity the participants felt contributed to their willingness to participate (Bowker & Tuffin, 2004;Herring, 1996;Kim et al., 2003;Mann & Stewart, 2000;Matheson, 1992;Tidwell & Walther, 2002). ...
Sexual communication functions as an important relational process expediating satisfying sexual experiences (Sprecher & Hendrick, 2004). Much of the existing literature on sexual communication concerning sexual pleasure biases verbal communication (Babin, 2012). This study adds to the existing research regarding patterns of communication surrounding sex and during sex through qualitative analysis. Further, this inquiry focused on participants’ full histories, rather than their tendencies within any current relationship. We analyzed 78 qualitative interview transcripts from participants between the ages of 18 and 69. Participants reported a reluctance to communicate anything but pleasure, discomfort, or dislike during sex to avoid discouraging their partners. Though participants reported a perception that communicating pleasure served as encouragement and affirmation to their partners, most preferred to communicate pleasure nonverbally. Some participants reported a tendency to communicate pain or dislike verbally. Some preferred communication about sexual topics only before or after sexual activities. Participants shared that a high level of comfort with their partner increased sexual communication. How sexual partners communicate sex not only affects pleasure but can only affect intimacy between partners and health. This adds to the scant literature on nonverbal communication during sex and some people’s preference for that style (Blunt-Vinti et al., 2019).
... The flexibility of online qualitative methods could be advantageous for marginalized or vulnerable groups, such as people with disabilities, who may have difficulty travelling to an in-person interview (Gray et al., 2020;Neville et al., 2016;Ryan, 2013). For example, Bowker and Tuffin (2004) argue that online interviews are effective and appropriate for people with disabilities because of their flexibility, allowing participants to engage in research at their own pace. Further, online qualitative interviews can also allow for more reflective responses and can be a useful approach for asking sensitive questions (Madge & O'Connor, 2004;Seitz, 2016;Sipes et al., 2019). ...
... Online interviews can offer participants a safe and comfortable environment (i.e., within their own home or other preferred location) with potential for greater anonymity and perceived privacy (Deakin & Wakefield, 2014;Irani, 2019;Reisner et al., 2018). Some research shows that online qualitative methods could facilitate greater disclosure of personal information (Bowker & Tuffin, 2004). For example, Weller (2017) argues that physical separation between researchers and participants has the potential to increase rapport and may enable participants to share more than they otherwise would in an inperson interview. ...
Qualitative researchers are increasingly using online data collection methods, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. I compared the data quality (i.e., interview duration, average number of themes and sub-themes, and inaudible words) of 34 interviews (29 conducted by Zoom (16 with camera on, 13 camera off) and 5 conducted by phone) drawn from a study focusing on youth’s coping experiences during the pandemic. Findings showed that phone interviews had a longer duration compared to Zoom. However, phone interviews had a similar average word count to Zoom interviews (with the camera on). Zoom interviews conducted with the camera off were shorter in duration than interviews with the camera on. The number of themes was similar across the different interview formats but there were fewer sub-themes for Zoom interviews with the camera off. The findings suggest that Zoom interviews conducted with the camera off could affect the data quality. This research also emphasizes the importance of giving participants choice in the format of their interview to allow for optimal sharing of experiences while enhancing the equity, diversity and inclusion of the participants.
... Hershberger and Kavanaugh (2017) found that a sub-set of the participants not only preferred email interviews, but they may not have participated in the study if email interviews had not been offered. Furthermore, the flexibility of online email interviews probably aided participation for individuals with disabilities (whether experiencing challenges of physical coordination, mobility or speech), as the textual nature of online interaction affords people with diverse operating techniques the capacity to participate (Bowker and Tuffin 2004). According to Bowker and Tuffin (2004), using email interviews as an online medium may offer an ideal and equitable environment for conducting research with people with disabilities. ...
... Furthermore, the flexibility of online email interviews probably aided participation for individuals with disabilities (whether experiencing challenges of physical coordination, mobility or speech), as the textual nature of online interaction affords people with diverse operating techniques the capacity to participate (Bowker and Tuffin 2004). According to Bowker and Tuffin (2004), using email interviews as an online medium may offer an ideal and equitable environment for conducting research with people with disabilities. ...
Several international human rights conventions focus on ensuring access to justice for all. Based on their unique lived experiences, legal practitioners with disabilities have much to offer in terms of understanding – from an insider perspective – the accommodations that could be used in court. The aim of this study was to describe the perspectives of legal practitioners with disabilities on their own experience of participation in court (focusing on both barriers and facilitators), and to elicit their suggested accommodations for persons with severe communication disabilities. Online and telephonic interviews were conducted with seven legal practitioners with disabilities. In response to the questions, three themes were conceptualised: participation barriers that hinder access to justice; accommodations related to ensuring equality; and accommodations related to procedural fairness. The insider perspectives of legal practitioners with disabilities may assist other persons with disabilities to participate equally in court, thereby ensuring access to justice for all.
• Points of interest
• Law professionals with disabilities, for example lawyers and judges, have unique experiences of the court system, which means that they can offer a clearer understanding of what communication skills and strategies are needed to participate in court.
• Law professionals with disabilities can suggest effective communication methods and strategies that other persons with disabilities could use in court.
• There are certain barriers in court that make it difficult for persons with disabilities to participate in court, for example, policy barriers.
• There are also certain accommodations that can assist persons with disabilities to be treated with respect in court, in a fair and equal way.
• In the future, law professionals with disabilities should be involved when new laws, policies and guidelines are created that could assist persons with disabilities to participate in the court system in an equal way.
... The researcher must also juggle multiple participants, keeping one straight from another. The sense of anonymity granted the participant serves as another benefit of email interviewing (Bowker & Tuffin, 2004;Herring, 1996;Kim, Brenner, Liang, & Asay, 2003;Mann & Stewart, 2000;Matheson, 1992;Tidwell & Walther, 2002). For studies investigating closeted behaviors, this is an enormous benefit. ...
... Other researchers also recruited solely from websites, and then conducted the entirety of their study online (Mohebati et al., 2012;Ramo, Hall, & Prochaska, 2010;Siegel, DiLoreto, Johnson, Fortunato, & Dejong, 2011;. Previous research demonstrates that email interviewing permits participants to reveal more honest information than when they are interviewed faceto-face (Bowker & Tuffin, 2004;Kim et al., 2003). The men who participated in this study were eager to share their experiences and perceptions. ...
This book focuses on the meaning-making and experiences of men in the United States who purposefully sought out extramarital relationships onlineonline. These men did not fall into an affair due to opportunity. They created their own opportunities by logging on, creating a profile on Ashley Madison, and vettingvetting potential partners. For these men, ending their marriages was not an attractiveAttractive option, and living with unmet emotional needsemotional needs proved untenable. To avoid the hurt, financial challenges, stigma, and upset of a divorce, the men engaged in the Infidelity WorkaroundInfidelity Workaround, in an effort to outsourceoutsource the emotional aspect of their primary partnerships to a more enthusiastic third party.
... The researcher must also juggle multiple participants, keeping one straight from another. The sense of anonymity granted the participant serves as another benefit of email interviewing (Bowker & Tuffin, 2004;Herring, 1996;Kim, Brenner, Liang, & Asay, 2003;Mann & Stewart, 2000;Matheson, 1992;Tidwell & Walther, 2002). For studies investigating closeted behaviors, this is an enormous benefit. ...
... Other researchers also recruited solely from websites, and then conducted the entirety of their study online (Mohebati et al., 2012;Ramo, Hall, & Prochaska, 2010;Siegel, DiLoreto, Johnson, Fortunato, & Dejong, 2011;. Previous research demonstrates that email interviewing permits participants to reveal more honest information than when they are interviewed faceto-face (Bowker & Tuffin, 2004;Kim et al., 2003). The men who participated in this study were eager to share their experiences and perceptions. ...
This book analyzes men’s experiences and perceptions regarding their participation in infidelity and offers a glimpse into the inner workings of their most intimate relationships, as well as the ways men negotiate marriages that fall short of their expectations.
Using a sample collected from the online dating service Ashley Madison, this book finds that contrary to gendered social scripts, the men in this study described motivations for outside partnerships that were not rooted in the desire for sexual pleasure or variety. Rather, men described those relationships as an outlet to soothe their bruised egos, receive attention and validation from a romantic partner, and to fight their feelings of emasculation. These infidelities thus provide support and praise, and aid in the processing of complex emotions.
This in-depth analysis provides a unique insight into men’s experiences of sexuality and masculinity, and will be of keen interest to those seeking to understand male infidelity from a sociological perspective, across gender studies, psychology, counselling, and beyond.
... The lack of extra-linguistic cues available (e.g. tone of voice, facial expression, body language) could lead to ambiguities in the communication process (Bowker, Tuffi n, 2004), for example, or diffi culties in establishing good levels of rapport with participants (Strickland, Moloney, Dietrich, Myerburg, Cotsonis, & Johnson, 2003). The lack of extra-linguistic cues in online communication, compared with traditional face to face communication, however, is also associated with the heightened levels of anonymity and perceived privacy. ...
... Asynchronous approaches allow the participant to take part at a time convenient to themselves, and to potentially engage in greater levels of refl ectivity, refl exivity, and also to consult external documents or sources. However, a possible disadvantage of asynchronous approaches is that they may suffer from a breakdown in conversational "fl ow", due to the lack of continuity in the discussion over an extended timescale, and some authors have reported experiencing this effect (Bowker, Tuffi n, 2004;Murray, & Sixsmith, 1998). ...
Aim. Many people believe that the Internet may revolutionise several disciplines byallowing easier and faster data collection, larger and geographically diverse samples, andtherefore collecting more representative data. However, others are skeptical of its usabilityas well as its practical value. The paper’s aim is to highlight both positive and negativeoutcomes in the online research.Methods. The paper is based on the e-methodological approach by using exclusivelyonline data and online research methods: secondary data/articles with an open accessabout the topic in the literature review section; and online forum as an online researchmethod for the data collection.Results. As the most common advantages are recognised: quick access to information,wide geographical scope, a larger sample size leading to greater statistical power, reducedcost of conducting empirical research, support from online search engines and data bases,open data sources, no need for face-to-face interaction, no paper wasted. The most commondisadvantages appointed by the respondents are: the need of evaluation for the accuracyof the online sources, the need for Internet access, limited access or high costs of some databases, the contrast between fresh and redundant data available, irrelevant data, the needand knowledge for precise formulation of the key phrases/questions, users’ multiple accounts,AI involvement, low motivation of the targeted respondents, unreliable answers, etc.Conclusions. It is interesting that the narratives confi rm the already highlighted positiveand negative outcomes in the online research process as they are already elaboratedin the theoretical frame. This research proves that is possible to use the online forums forgathering data, especially in the kinds of networks, where the most important attribute ofthe respondents is known solely by the membership itself. Because the internet is widespread,easily available, low costing, it is important to open a wide discussion about overcomingshortcomings on online research approach, and come to the useful and improvedsolutions.
... Οι συνεντεύξεις μέσω ηλεκτρονικού ταχυδρομείου επιτρέπουν στις ερευνήτριες/στους ερευνητές να πάρουν συνέντευξη σε περισσότερες/ους από μία/έναν συμμετέχουσες/οντες ανά πάσα στιγμή, αφού μια λίστα ερωτήσεων μπορεί να σταλεί ξεχωριστά σε πολλές/ούς συμμετέχουσες/οντες ταυτόχρονα, ανεξάρτητα από τη γεωγραφική τους θέση, όπως προαναφέρθηκε, και κατ' επέκτασιν ανεξάρτητα από τη ζώνη ώρας (Meho, 2006). Μερικά επιπλέον στοιχεία, που χαρακτηρίζουν τις συνεντεύξεις μέσω ηλεκτρονικού ταχυδρομείου είναι το ότι δεν απαιτείται κανενός είδους μετακίνηση προκειμένου να πραγματοποιηθούν (Fontes & O'Mahony, 2008;Opdenakker, 2006) και δεν χρειάζεται καμιά/κανείς να συνδράμει στην απομαγνητοφώνησή τους αφού το κείμενο προς ανάλυση είναι αυτούσιο και έτοιμο στη μορφή που πρέπει (Bowker & Tuffin, 2004;Opdenakker, 2006). Ερευνήτριες/ητές, που ασχολήθηκαν με αυτού του είδους τις συνεντεύξεις αναφέρουν ότι ο γραπτός λόγος μπορεί να ενθαρρύνει ανθρώπους που ίσως αντιμετωπίζουν προβλήματα ακοής ή εκφοράς του λόγου (Tanis, 2007, στο Bowden & Galindo-Gonzalez, 2015 και ότι τα υποκείμενα, όταν απαντούν από τη ζέση του σπιτιού τους ή μια βολική για εκείνες/ους χρονική στιγμή ή περίοδο, είναι πολύ πιθανό να νιώσουν ασφαλέστερα αναφορικά με το να μοιραστούν προσωπικές εμπειρίες και να πάρουν περισσότερο χρόνο να σκεφθούν το πώς θα τις μοιραστούν (Bowker & Tuffin, 2004;Ratislavová & Ratislav, 2014;Opdenakker, 2006) . ...
... Μερικά επιπλέον στοιχεία, που χαρακτηρίζουν τις συνεντεύξεις μέσω ηλεκτρονικού ταχυδρομείου είναι το ότι δεν απαιτείται κανενός είδους μετακίνηση προκειμένου να πραγματοποιηθούν (Fontes & O'Mahony, 2008;Opdenakker, 2006) και δεν χρειάζεται καμιά/κανείς να συνδράμει στην απομαγνητοφώνησή τους αφού το κείμενο προς ανάλυση είναι αυτούσιο και έτοιμο στη μορφή που πρέπει (Bowker & Tuffin, 2004;Opdenakker, 2006). Ερευνήτριες/ητές, που ασχολήθηκαν με αυτού του είδους τις συνεντεύξεις αναφέρουν ότι ο γραπτός λόγος μπορεί να ενθαρρύνει ανθρώπους που ίσως αντιμετωπίζουν προβλήματα ακοής ή εκφοράς του λόγου (Tanis, 2007, στο Bowden & Galindo-Gonzalez, 2015 και ότι τα υποκείμενα, όταν απαντούν από τη ζέση του σπιτιού τους ή μια βολική για εκείνες/ους χρονική στιγμή ή περίοδο, είναι πολύ πιθανό να νιώσουν ασφαλέστερα αναφορικά με το να μοιραστούν προσωπικές εμπειρίες και να πάρουν περισσότερο χρόνο να σκεφθούν το πώς θα τις μοιραστούν (Bowker & Tuffin, 2004;Ratislavová & Ratislav, 2014;Opdenakker, 2006) . σε αυτές περιλαμβάνονται και οι ευαίσθητες εμπειρίες ή εμπειρίες που ίσως φέρνουν τα άτομα σε δύσκολη θέση (Deakin & Wakefield, 2014). ...
Στο άρθρο αυτό γίνεται προσπάθεια να παρουσιαστεί το τι σημαίνει και τι τελικά είναι η έρευνα και οι βασικοί λόγοι για τους οποίους επιλέγεται συγκεκριμένη μεθοδολογία έρευνας και λεπτομερέστερα η ποιοτική μέθοδος, βάσει διεθνούς και εγχώριας βιβλιογραφίας. Αποτιμώνται τα θετικά χαρακτηριστικά του εν λόγω είδους μεθόδου και οι κύριοι λόγοι για τους οποίους μια/ένας ερευνήτριας/ητής θα την υιοθετούσε. Έπειτα παρατίθενται διάφορα είδη-τύποι συνεντεύξεων (που αποτελούν κύριο εργαλείο της ποιοτικής μεθόδου) και οι διαφορές μεταξύ των ορισμών (ή της ονοματολογίας) που τους αποδίδονται ανάλογα με τις/τους ερευνήτριες/ητές που αναφέρονται σε αυτές. Γίνεται, επίσης, η παράθεση των στοιχείων εκείνων που πρέπει να έχει η/ο ερευνήτρια/ητής προκειμένου να διεξάγει έρευνα και να ακολουθήσει τη δεοντολογία και τη μεθοδολογία της. Στη συνέχεια επιχειρούμε να περιγράψουμε όσα έχουν γραφτεί και παρατεθεί για ένα καινοτόμο είδος συνεντεύξεων, αυτό των ηλεκτρονικών συνεντεύξεων. Ονομάζονται αλλιώς συνεντεύξεις μέσω διαδικτύου και επιχειρούμε να παρουσιάσουμε τα πλεονεκτήματα και τα μειονεκτήματά τους.
... Cette étude s'inscrit dans une approche qualitative (Anadon, 2011;Bowker & Tuffin, 2004;Merriam, 2002;Poisson, 1991) Ces données sont complétées par des informations pertinentes à ce propos recueillies dans la presse sénégalaise en ligne durant la même période. ...
... ). Cependant,Bowker et Tuffin (2004) soulignent des avantages dans les recherches menées par entrevue électronique auprès de personnes en si-tuation de handicap. Les entrevues en ligne sont efficaces pour accéder au discours des personnes en situation de handicap surtout quand celles-ci éprouvent des difficultés de communication. ...
Dakar, capitale sénégalaise, caractérisée par une forte densité démographique, une faible économie et des infrastructures rendant difficile la circulation des personnes en situation de handicap ne favorise guère l’accessibilité de ces dernières. Or, l’accessibilité semble un préalable à la participation sociale, substantielle à la ville inclusive. Suivant une approche qualitative à partir d’entrevues électroniques, les points de vue d’acteurs sociaux sur la question de savoir si Dakar est une ville inclusive ont été examinés en lien avec les notions d’inclusion, d’accessibilité et de participation sociale. Les résultats montrent que Dakar, à l’instar de métropoles africaines, vit le défi de favoriser la participation sociale des personnes en situation de handicap, notamment dans la mise en oeuvre de politique d’accessibilité des services sociaux de base. La question de la ville inclusive en Afrique semble une piste de recherche à explorer davantage pour mieux asseoir l’inclusion des personnes en situation de handicap.
Mots-clés : étude exploratoire, ville inclusive, inclusion, accessibilité, personnes en situation de handicap, Dakar
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Dakar, the Senegalese capital, characterized by high population density, a low economy and infra-structures making it difficult for people with disabilities to travel, does little to promote their accessibility. However, accessibility seems to be a prerequisite for substantial social participation in the inclusive city. Based on a qualitative approach based on electronic interviews, the views of social actors on whether Dakar is an inclusive city were examined by focusing on the notions of inclusion, accessibility and social participation. The results show that Dakar, like African metropolises, has challenges in promoting the social participation of people with disabilities, particularly in the implementation of accessibility policies for basic social services. The issue of the inclusive city in Africa seems to be a re-search path to be explored further to strengthen the inclusion of people with disabilities.
Keywords : exploratory study, inclusion, inclusive city, person with disability, accessibility, Dakar
... The Internet is also a platform upon which to build an identity of choice (Burch, 2016;Huffaker & Calvert, 2005): Bowker andTuffin (2002: 340 in Burch 2016: 8) suggest that this is because 'the power of the gaze becomes displaced by a textually oriented medium.' However, as in the 'RL world', ableism and disablismkey oppressions in the lives of disabled peopleare ever-present. ...
... Despite this, disability researchers have demarcated online or virtual research environments as being of significant value to existing and emerging disability research methodologies (Bowker and Tuffin, 2004;Carr, 2010;Liddiard, 2013;Seymour, 2001; see Obst and Stafurik, 2010)for myriad reasons. Firstly, they are often malleable to different embodiments, capabilities and bodily functions (although, as we suggest above, this has its exclusions). ...
In this article, we detail the politics and practicalities of co‐produced disability research with disabled young people with life‐limiting and life‐threatening impairments. We centre an ESRC‐funded arts‐informed co‐produced research project that has brought together a Co‐Researcher Collective of disabled young people. Co‐production is an established approach; however, our co‐researchers have led us to develop inclusive research practices that engage with online social research methods in innovative ways. As we detail our experiences, we aim to encourage disability studies researchers and others to adopt virtual environments when researching with and for the lives of disabled people.
... This paper makes a novel contribution by demonstrating that the online format of elite interviews can actually produce deep and unique insights into highly controversial topics. In concurrence with existing online methods research, I find that the online approach increases accessibility to interview participants (Bowker and Tuffin 2004;O'Connor et al. 2008). However, unlike the existing literature, I find that the online format increases data quality. ...
Relevant data on sensitive and politicised political processes might be difficult to obtain and issometimes even purposely hidden from the public domain. Policy elite interviews constitutecrucial sources of information in policy research. However, there are significant challengesassociated with ‘researching up’ which sets elite interviews apart from other interviewmethods. Although there is a great deal of literature concerning interviews conducted viaphone or audio-visual computer programs, the implications of conducting policy elite inter-views online have received surprisingly little attention. This paper discusses how going onlinecan mediate the main challenges associated with policy elite interviews. These challenges includebarriers to gaining access, dealing with biased information, and problems concerning posi-tionality. Based on a least likely case to access relevant data, this paper reflects on personalexperience from 20 online interviews with European Commission representatives on policyresponses to the 2015 migration crisis. The paper concludes that the online format facilitatedunique insights into a highly controversial issue area.
... Another verification strategy was based on the idea of giving the students the right to determine the pace of the data-generating process. This strategy was guided by two motives: (1) to facilitate participation as a motivational measure, and (2) to empower the participants, meaning that they were given control of when, where, and how to respond (Bowker & Tuffin, 2004). This strategy was also regarded as a measure to increase motivation. ...
Pedagogical research on experiences of learning among students with severe speech and physical impairment (SSPI) is sparse. This may be due to a lack of research-on-research methodology literature about students with SSPI, as they are difficult to find and there are barriers to their participation in mainstream research. Hence, method development is especially important regarding these students, who cannot participate when traditional inquiry methods are used. This article’s objective is therefore to advance method development by means of a retrospective investigation. The empirical findings consist of documented experiences from a previous study of students with SSPI (henceforth, “literacy study”). A computer-assisted email dialogue technique was developed in the literacy study’s pilot study and eventually used in the main study, to investigate the students’ experiences of their literacy development. The aim of this study is to retrospectively and critically examine the scientific trustworthiness of a methodological research approach based on an email dialogue technique used exploratively in the literacy study, to investigate the literacy development among the students grounded in their own experiences, and to contribute methodological experiences gained from that study regarding the relationship between the use of verification strategies and checking techniques. The computer-assisted email dialogue approach was necessary because the few participants were spread over great geographical distances. The approach was developed as an explorative and flexible inclusive research design and was used within the tradition of participatory research. The students in both the pilot and main studies (8–16 years of age) were treated as collaborators rather than research subjects. Both the verification strategies and techniques regarding trustworthiness criteria were found to be important for trustworthiness. The main conclusion, based on our experiences in this retrospective investigation, is that it is necessary to continuously and thoroughly focus on trustworthiness issues throughout the research process to obtain trustworthy findings.
... In addition, interviews by email are shifting the control of the interviews from the researcher to the participants. This power shift is valuable as it may lead to detailed and unexpected participant responses (Bowker & Tuffin, 2004). ...
This paper explores English teachers’ perception of the effectiveness of employing remote online exams during the COVID-19 pandemic after many universities and colleges worldwide moved most of their activities online. The transition to online learning has enabled numerous higher education institutions (HEIs) to utilise options they were previously hesitant to employ due to concerns regarding how they would affect academic integrity. Eight English teachers from a university in Oman were interviewed by email to share their experiences and thoughts on the effectiveness of remote online exams (ROEs). In addition, pre-COVID-19 students' scoresheets were analysed to determine whether students' performance was consistent across face-to-face and remote online exams. The results indicate significant differences in students' scores between the two types of exams, which is attributable to factors such as invigilation issues, students' academic misconduct, and exam security. Finally, the eight interviewed teachers recommended making improvements to online exams as they believe ROEs will continue to be used in the future.
... And many previous studies have also recruited from websites, and then conducted the entirety of their study online as well (Mohebati et al., 2012;Ramo et al., 2010;Siegel et al., 2011;Walker, 2014aWalker, , 2014bWalker, , 2017Walker, , 2020bWalker & Kuperberg, 2022). Studies suggest that when researching sensitive topics, like sexual experiences, participants will reveal more information when they are not face-to-face with their interviewer (Bowker & Tuffin, 2004;Kim et al., 2003). Thus, email interviewing permitted the participants in this study to share more freely. ...
Sexual satisfaction is important to individual well-being and relationship satisfaction, making it a research topic relevant for sex clinicians and relationship therapists. The current study adds to sexuality literature by asking participants questions about the factors involved in “great sex.” We conducted 78 interviews via email or phone with participants ranging in age from 18 to 69. The sample included a diverse range of sexual orientations and identities, and various relationship statuses. Three primary themes emerged regarding great sex: orgasm, an emotional component, and chemistry/connection. Though some participants equated an emotional aspect as love; most participants made clear the difference between love and emotional elements in sex. Many participants shared their belief that a man only invests in his female partner’s orgasm when he also invests in her emotionally. Thus, some women explained that the emotional component helped them be present enough to orgasm. Others explained the emotional component as trust and affection. Participants also elaborated to define chemistry, which they regarded as out of one’s control and impossible to manufacture. A smaller number of participants stated unequivocally the lack of necessity of an emotional aspect to great sex; they stated instead that physical connection trumped an emotional component.
... ِ E-mail interviews give the interviewees comfort to answer all interview questions. Several studies showed that participants felt a degree of confirmation for their engagement when online connection was extended during long time (Tuffin & Bowker, 2004). E-mail interviews minimize, if not remove, some of the issues linked with face-to-face or telephone interviews, such as the effects of interviewer/interviewee that may arise from visual or nonverbal signals or a difference in status between the two, such as shyness, race, age, and so on. ...
Teaching is a difficult profession that sometimes leads to the burnout of teachers, and is a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment. There are symptoms of burnout that can impact learners and teachers' behaviour and psychology to enhanced turnover, affecting learners and schools. Teacher burnout is regarded to be one of the most psychological issues that can gradually exhaust teachers. Teachers burnout can influence teaching objectives and educational environment, which make practitioners experience an indifference that can lead to health issues, absence of work, and the intention to leave the profession. Within the professional field, teachers reported higher burnout rates when compared to other occupations (Fisher, 2011). Several studies concluded that the occupational environment had a distinct correlation to an individual’s behaviours. Teacher’s perceptions of the work environment affected their physical and emotional well-being (Baran, 2012; Fernet et al. 2012; Lavian, 2012; Ortner, 2012). The multidimensional role of the teacher has been the focus of numerous studies. Teachers tend to have many roles including mentor, counselor, parent and disciplinarian. These extra roles, which go hand in hand with teaching, have displayed negative consequences including taking the focus off of teaching (Fernet, 2012; Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2009) thereby, affecting a teacher’s personal self-efficacy. Many studies show rising rates of employee turnover, absence, and sick leave of teachers at different instructional levels in latest decades, combined with a growing incidence of mental health issues influencing teachers (Carlotto & Palazzo, 2006). Researchers have tried to define factors that could be related to burnout syndrome (Gasparini et al., 2005; Yaegashi et al., 2009). As per the essence of a teacher's job and the environment in which these practitioners work, there are a variety of stressors that, if constant, may contribute to burn-out syndrome, undermining the career, social and emotional life of the teacher. The concept of burnout connected with life dissatisfaction and workplace depression (Hakanen & Ahola, 2012; Schaufeli & Hakanen, 2012; Biron & Toker, 2012) as the reason for the disability of workers raises important issues for practitioners, which have extensive implications for employees (including teachers), clients, employers and insurance providers (Hall et al., & Connor, 2016). There is a need for a better understanding of the risk factors, the protective factors against the development of burnout, and the different underlying mechanisms. Many researches mentioned that there are many issues could lead to burnout among mathematics teachers in Saudi Arabia, such as curriculum, students, teachers, supervisors, and administrative problems (Ali & Abdulhakim, 2013; Naser, 2010; Alrasi & Noor 2014). This study tries to understand the main sources that cause burnout of mathematics teachers using qualitative method.
... Nie zawsze jednak ustawienie relacji w badaniu online na wzór jej odpowiednika offline ma sens, jak argumentują bowiem Crispin Thurlow, Laura Lengel i Alice Tomic (2004), kultura online, rządząc się innymi prawami, pozwala na bardziej bezpośrednie pytania (o dane demograficzne, dochody) niż tradycyjna rozmowa. Wymiana asynchroniczna potencjalnie oferuje szansę na pozyskanie bogatszych i bardziej osobistych danych (Bowker, Tuffin 2004). Badania prowadzone przez internet nie przezwyciężają wszystkich przeszkód, bo nie docierają chociażby do osób wykluczonych technologicznie, ale zdają się pokonywać więcej barier, niż generują (Bowker, Tuffin 2004). ...
Celem artykułu jest opisanie doświadczeń i wniosków płynących z zastosowania technik asynchronicznych w jakościowym badaniu podłużnym prowadzonym w trakcie pandemii COVID-19. Opracowanie ukazuje korzyści i ograniczenia oraz szanse i zagrożenia podejścia metodologicznego wykorzystującego wymianę asynchroniczną i dzienniczki. Perspektywa temporalna pozwoliła uchwycić dynamikę zmian związaną z pandemią, determinującą ewolucję technik asynchronicznych. Wyzwaniem pozostało zachowanie równowagi między elastycznością i spójnością metodologii oraz standardów etycznych mających na względzie dobro osób zaangażowanych w badanie.
... Furthermore, due to geographical and time constraints, all interviews in this research were conducted on Wechat, a Chinese social media. This type of interview potentially protects the interviewee since the interviewee's personal or social characteristics are not transparent to the researcher (Bowker and Tuffin, 2004). ...
In China, live streaming has grown rapidly in recent years, with gift-giving, a unique business model in live streaming, driving the development of many industries. This article explores the association between gift-giving behavior in game live streaming and viewers' live streaming experience. Specifically, this study aims to explore the correlation between Para-social Relationships, Social Presence, and gift-giving in the context of China. Based on the survey and interview of the viewer on Douyu, a Chinese live streaming platform, this study found that there is only a weak to a medium correlation between para-social relationships and viewers' gift-giving behavior. The correlation between social presence and gift-giving was even weaker. Although the conclusion of this study may be affected by the sample size limitation, it can still provide a reference for the current research on gift-giving on Chinese live streaming platforms.
... Until the needs of persons with disability become a regular, ongoing consideration at the root of software and hardware development, our research approach development focuses on being a fully accessible, agile and efficient link with the digital space. Bowker and Tuffin (27) found the flexibility of online media provided control over people with disability's disclosure of impairment, an opportunity not typically available in real world social interactions. They could communicate through online media, without the element of their disability becoming disclosed, and without it becoming an element in interaction and communications. ...
We have designed a platform to aid people with motor disabilities to be part of digital environments, in order to create digitally and socially inclusive activities that promote their quality of life. To evaluate in depth the impact of the platform on social inclusion indicators across patients with various motor disabilities, we constructed a questionnaire in which the following indicators were assessed: (i) Well Being, (ii) Empowerment, (iii) Participation, (iv) Social Capital, (v) Education, and (vi) Employment. In total 30 participants (10 with Neuromuscular Disorders-NMD, 10 with Spinal Cord Injury-SCI, and 10 with Parkinson's Disease-PD) used the platform for ~1 month, and its impact on social inclusion indicators was measured before and after the usage. Moreover, monitoring mechanisms were used to track computer usage as well as an online social activity. Finally, testimonials and experimenter input were collected to enrich the study with qualitative understanding. All participants were favorable to use the suggested platform, while they would prefer it for longer periods of time in order to become “re-awakened” to possibilities of expanded connection and inclusion, while it became clear that the platform has to offer them further the option to use it in a reclining position. The present study has clearly shown that the challenge of social inclusion cannot be tackled solely with technology and it needs to integrate persuasive design elements that foster experimentation and discovery.
... Ethical checklist obtained from Liverpool John Moores University was completed where the study was qualified as no risk. No ethical approval was required as information collected in this study was already in the public domain [26]. Nonetheless, anonymity was ensured in all threads where each thread was given a number and any users' data that indicated identity/nicknames were removed. ...
Background
According to the World Drug Report, cocaine is the second most used drug globally after cannabis. Online discussion forums enable the understanding of authentic drug users’ experience as it is anonymous. Therefore, this study determined the uses, effects and toxicity of cocaine from the perspectives’ of e-psychonauts.
Methods
A qualitative study was conducted using six popular discussion forums. From these discussion forums, 1229 posts from 50 threads were subject to thematic analysis. Hence, the information from these threads were examined carefully for patterns and codes among the data. The codes were then collated into subthemes and themes.
Results
The four main themes emerging from the study were related to cocaine characteristics and use, e-psychonauts’ knowledge and experience, desired effects and adverse events. The main characteristic associated with cocaine use was purity that was highest in the US being nearest to the source. The most common cutting agent encountered in cocaine samples was levamisole that increased the chances of immunosuppression and cardiovascular toxicity. Purity depended on the source of purchase that included street dealers, dark web and surface web. Hence, e-psychonauts recommended purchase of cocaine from known dealers rather than websites with unknown sources. E-psychonauts mainly used cocaine in social context and parties or to self-medicate against anxiety and depression. Effects desired from cocaine use were mainly euphoria and increased energy. However, tachycardia and myocardial infarction were the main adverse events. It is noteworthy to mention that myocardial infarction was idiosyncratic and was often lethal. Myocardial infarction was more often reported when cocaine was combined with alcohol due to the production of cocaethylene. Social harm was also reported as a consequence for the use of cocaine that resulted in homelessness and broken relationships.
Conclusion
Online discussion forums allowed the understanding of e-psychonauts’ experience with cocaine use. Not only it informed about the sources and modalities of use of cocaine but also about the adverse events and social harm associated with cocaine use. The present findings serve as useful information for practitioners and healthcare professionals dealing with cocaine users.
... This was considered acceptable as interview participants are often more focused during email interviews (Ratislová & Ratsilov, 2014). These may have led to richer and more personal data than would have been possible otherwise with these individuals (Bowker & Tuffin, 2004). Another two candidates requested to take part in the interviews (using English) together rather than one-on-one. ...
English is used extensively in intercultural communication as a global lingua franca (ELF). However, English language teaching (ELT) often neglects intercultural aspects and instead focuses on standards’ of ‘native’ English speaker models and the simplistic national bounding of language use and culture in communication. This approach can be widely seen in contexts of ELT in Japan. In preparing learners for intercultural communication in global contexts, seen as significant in Japanese higher education policy, it may be more effective to go beyond nationally derived conceptions of language and culture by acknowledging the multilingual and multicultural contexts of ELF use in communication. International student exchanges feature in this policy to promote English language and intercultural skills and these are now made a priority in Japan with most universities offering short-term programmes. These programmes are likely to engage participants in ELF communication as they take place in settings where participants may interact more with other ‘non-native’ English speakers, often in ‘non-native’ English speaking locations. In these settings, taking traditional ‘norms’ and ‘standards’ of ‘native’ English speaker normative use as the authentic guide may not lead to successful intercultural communication interactions since these interactions tend to require individuals to be more flexible in their English use, not strictly adhering to fixed norms. Intercultural awareness (ICA) provides a relevant model for intercultural communication which accounts for the complexity and diversity of communication through ELF. ICA is, therefore, potentially of more significance for exchange participants than alternative models which do not refer to ELF in communication. Within this framing, this study examines three main areas. Firstly, it looks at perspectives and experiences of ELT in Japan in relation to intercultural learning on short-term exchange programmes. From this, it examines the impact of these exchanges on perspectives towards English language use in intercultural communication and how any changes in perspective were reported. Finally, it looks at the extent to which short-term exchanges contribute to the Ii development of ICA. The study utilises a longitudinal qualitative interview and focus group design to explore reports of the learning experiences and perspectives of fifteen exchange participants taking part in programmes in diverse locations. Data were collected via pre-sojourn interviews, two post-sojourn interviews, and post-sojourn focus groups. A thematic analysis of the participants’ accounts revealed that these short programmes can contribute to awareness and acceptance of ELF use among diverse English users. However, the participants’ intercultural communication experiences were characterised by national descriptions of English use, the continued association of 'authenticity' solely with 'native’ English speakers from Anglophone settings, and culturally essentialist observations. The research concluded that positive developments may be influenced by particular conditions on exchange programmes, including opportunities to engage with linguacultural diversity and opportunities for independence. However, developments may be limited by essentialist target culture approaches which were seen to characterise some experiences in this research. An illustrative model of the intercultural development processes captured by this research is provided. More development may occur following principled intercultural pre-departure support taking a Global Englishes orientation and using the ICA model to guide any intervention. This would expose students to diversity in English use and among users to reflect communication experiences on these programmes and beyond. An intercultural pedagogical intervention was developed as a result of this research and is now in use in the research setting, details of which are provided within this thesis. This intervention is an example of how these relevant themes can be used in teaching practice to provide important learning opportunities to prepare students for intercultural communication on student exchanges. Within the context of efforts to promote intercultural skills in Japan and rising interest in student exchanges as a means to achieve this, the research may provide interesting insight.
... E-mail interviewing allows participants to construct their own experiences with their own dialogue and interaction with the researcher. This technique additionally empowers the participants because it essentially allows them to be in control of the flow of the interview (Bowker & Tuffin 2004), enabling them to answer at their convenience and in any manner they feel suitable. However, it is also important to note that in e-mail interviewing, it is always possible that some participants may not be as effective writers as they are speakers (Karchmer 2001), hence some meaningful information may be missed. ...
... Interestingly, our participants took the opportunity to think and talk about information regarding collaborative teacher leadership that might otherwise have continued to be silent and imperceptible. We, therefore, argue that email interviews were potentially enabling because they allowed participants to be in control of where, how and when they wanted to respond to the questions (Bowker & Tuffin, 2004). On the other hand, email interviews may equally be regarded as frustrating for researchers because of a lack of power over the sequential course of interviews. ...
The development of the literature on teacher leadership in the academic realm has been exponential, but the quest for more leadership knowledge seems to be inexhaustible. The purpose of this paper is to analyze teachers’ perceptions with respect to their leadership abilities. Email interviews were conducted with nine teachers from two primary and two secondary schools to obtain their views regarding teacher leadership, whilst affording them opportunities to make suggestions for collaborative teacher leadership development. Having employed a phenomenological approach and thematic analysis as method, this paper proposes a collaborative teacher leadership development framework (CTLDF). Significant about the CTLDF is that teacher leaders should consider ausgang as a way of opening the door for collaboration, homo economicus as a collaborative act and parrhesia as autonomy towards collaborative teacher leadership. The findings reveal that teacher leaders should cultivate a readiness to create opportunities for collaborative leadership development. The study recommends that teacher leaders should first have to be cognizant about their own individual strengths, whilst slowly starting initiatives to collaborate in order to sustain improvements in teacher leadership practices.
... A number of questions were sent to the chairman's personal email address, and the responses were returned. In this case, the number of interviews questions was reduced, since Bowker and Tuffin (2004) have shown that e-interviews need to be shorter than face-to-face contact to restrict the number of topics discussed in order to minimize participants' misunderstanding. ...
This article explores the management conditions that seem responsible for the survival of the last large Australian dairy products manufacturing cooperative. A theoretical framework is presented as a mechanism to understand cooperative sustainability in a competitive sense considering the relationship of two organizational paradigms. The qualitative methods applied in this paper focus on the perceptions of the cooperative’s board of directors about dynamic capability and institutional legitimacy and the decisions they made as a consequence. The data were based on interviews and document analysis. First, the results suggest that it is possible to reduce opposing institutional pressures through efficient management processes. Second, product differentiation as a marketing policy, business diversification, and a commercially oriented strategy have been the backbone of establishing legitimacy at the organizational level, generating conditions for survival of the cooperative.
... Concerning e-mail interviewing, many writers have exalted the fact that these interviews (which are included in asynchronous communication schemes) have access to participants all over the world at the time and Journal of Education and Practice www.iiste.org ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online) Vol.12, No.29, 2021 place that is convenient to them (Bampton & Cowton, 2002;Bowker & Tuffin, 2004;Coomber, 1997;Fritz & Vandermause, 2018). Not to mention that e-mail interviews reduce cost (Fontes & O'Mahony, 2008;Gibson, 2010), present more concrete answers (Kazmer & Xie, 2008;Synnot, Hill, Summers, & Taylor, 2014),participants may even feel authors of their own lives and get excited about it- (Gander et al., 2013;Gibson, 2010) and help participants talk about personal and more intimate issues (Deakin & Wakefield, 2014); apart from offering them time to re-contemplate their answer and, moreover, the most appropriate "environmental" conditions (James, 2016;Opdenakker, 2006). ...
Within the context of educational science it is necessary to deal with ways of making the transmission of knowledge to individuals more effective. In trying to find out which is the best way of teaching K-12 curriculum (that is how publicly supported education from kindergarten to High school is called in most countries), we asked our samples, which consists of eighteen (18) nursery (or pre-education) teachers, twenty five (25) primary teachers, fourteen (14) IT (or Computing) teachers and nine (9) secondary teachers, one simple question "Which is the most suitable way of teaching according to your opinion?". The research background consists of educators' efforts to comprehend ways of effective and functional teaching through the years. The method of our research is qualitative and the tools we use adopt elements from semi-structured e-mail interviews and discourse analysis. Expressing themselves in various ways, teachers ended up stating that the most suitable way of teaching is Group collaborative teaching/learning. We could claim that all teachers participating in our research try to match their teaching method to pupils' needs and that is an essential and strong element. What makes the topic significant is the fact that how to teach is an issue that concerns educators (and not only) worldwide and since aspects are numerous and not always conclusive, it is interesting to highlight them and constantly study educational reality.
... The reason why these forums are the focus is that they are accessible to a diverse context in a safe and anonymous environment. Thus, the learners have the opportunity to interact, reflect and contribute their ideas for a longer period of time and of their own volition (Bowker & Tuffin, 2004). Moreover, as they are independent in terms of time and place in an asynchronous discussion forum, they may respond more deeply and friendlier than in synchronous discussions (Hara, Bonk, & Angeli, 2000). ...
... Taking a closer look at experiences of email interviewing, researchers have illustrated how email interviewing can capture the complexity of social practice on the internet (James, 2016) and how the responses from participants can result in well-written, rich and informative accounts (Bowker & Tuffin, 2004;Gibson, 2010;James, 2007;Mann, 2016) that are carefully formulated (Ratislavová & Ratislav, 2014). In asynchronous interviewing, the timeline offers the participant both an opportunity to reflect over the questions asked and give them a better chance of owning their narratives (Pell et al., 2020). ...
As scholars in social sciences and humanities explore new methods for studying increasingly digitized societies, electronic research methods—such as email interviews—have moved from marginal complementary activities to, depending on the purpose of the study, potentially becoming primary methods. However, while there is no lack of discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of such methods, there is little guidance in the literature in terms of how electronic methods can be used effectively and productively in qualitative research. This article adds to the existing body of literature by outlining a strategy for email interviews. The argument of the article is that email interviewing can be fruitfully combined with explorative interviewing, offering the researcher a way to strategically work with the extended time frame that asynchronous interviewing brings with it. This gives the researcher an opportunity to work with open-ended introductory questions, follow-up questions, and cross-fertilization of multiple interviews carried out simultaneously. The article brings forward the argument that a methodological strategy that combines email interviews and explorative interviewing can help the researcher draw the moment of surprise closer together with the moment of analysis and thereby challenge existing theories and knowledge of the study object. The argument is illustrated through examples from an ethnographic study with no in-person elements. Additionally, the article acknowledges that email interviewing is necessary for some significant research tasks and in some cases even a more suitable option than traditional in-person methods due to the study’s objective and the nature of its participants.
... In an information age where new social technologies are rapidly (re)shaping human communication, online spaces can proffer new forms of inquiry. Importantly, disability researchers have demarcated online or virtual research environments as being of significant value to existing and emerging disability research methodologies for a myriad of reasons (Bowker and Tuffin, 2004;Carr, 2010;Liddiard, 2013;Seymour, 2001;see Obst and Stafurik, 2010). Firstly, online and virtual environments can be malleable to different embodiments, capabilities and bodily functions (although this has its exclusions, as we explain below). ...
... In an information age where new social technologies are rapidly (re)shaping human communication, online spaces can proffer new forms of inquiry. Importantly, disability researchers have demarcated online or virtual research environments as being of significant value to existing and emerging disability research methodologies for a myriad of reasons (Bowker and Tuffin, 2004;Carr, 2010;Liddiard, 2013;Seymour, 2001;see Obst and Stafurik, 2010). Firstly, online and virtual environments can be malleable to different embodiments, capabilities and bodily functions (although this has its exclusions, as we explain below). ...
In this explorative study we aimed to give children with disabilities a voice and explored non traditional child-friendly research methods which take family, poverty, cultural conceptions of disability, and the concept of ‘obuntu bulamu’ into account. The children and families showed us the importance of belonging to a family, having a parent who cares, and communicated how friendship and ‘obuntu bulamu’ make life worthwhile amidst poverty and absence of health and social services. The children's and parents narratives offer a positive starting point to make inclusion for all possible whilst showing the daily struggles of parents and children with disabilities in the Global South.
... Questionnaires in qualitative research are best suited for studies that investigate and interpret complex relationships and interactions. These studies often lead with research questions pertaining to "why," "how,", and "what", and participants that may be difficult or impossible to reach (Bowker & Tuffin, 2004;Karchmer, 2001). Hibakusha fulfills this particular demographic, as most were in their 70s and late 80s, were scattered across Japan, and many suffered from memory or sensory difficulties. ...
As world leaders strengthen their nuclear arsenals, and fears of global nuclear proliferation increase, social studies teachers must be prepared to help learners investigate the devastating consequences on human life and property associated with their use. This manuscript presents an ethnological study of six atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. Participants completed a qualitative questionnaire describing their experiences during World War II, and making recommendations to U.S. social studies teachers when teaching about the dropping of the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. Data was analyzed to identify patterns and themes, and two categories emerged related to our research question. Findings suggest participants support U.S. teachers imparting global perspectives that speak directly to the destructive power of the atomic bomb and its impact on humans and the environment for years to come. This includes a movement away from using the social studies curriculum to point fingers of historic blame in the use of atomic weapons, and towards empowering learners to become agents of change in actualizing a nuclear free and peaceful world. We discuss the implications of this study’s findings in social studies and global education.
... The main advantage of using email for interviews is that it can save travel time where distance is an issue. Moreover, participants in email interviews can provide answers at their own convenience with more time to reflect on the question in order to give more detailed answers (Bowker & Tuffin, 2004;Cooper, 2009;Opdenakker, 2006). ...
The study examines twenty-eight Thai undergraduate hotel interns’ attitudes towards the use of English as a lingua franca (ELF) in terms of its varieties of spoken English. Drawing upon the questionnaire, semi-structured interview, and verbal-guise test based on the eleven recorded voices whose accents obtained were from native and non-native speakers, the findings reveal that the students reflected the most positive attitudes towards American and Hong Kong accents while the Korean one was rated rather negatively. However, the students were well aware of the lingua franca status of their spoken English; and thus, the non-native accents were tentatively accepted. This study suggests that Thai leaners’ awareness and positive attitude towards varieties of English must be promoted in both English classes and on-the-job training. English teachers and trainers of hotel staff should also be aware of the significance of exposure to accents and introduce undergraduate interns to varieties of English in order to enhance mutual intelligibility for effective ELF communication at work.
... Additionally they sat comfortably within my feminist values as a researcherthey could offer more control to participants over their level of participation (Hawkins 2018) for example. Bowker and Tuffin (2004) note as well the empowering possibility of email interviewing through the way they offer participants control regarding when, where and how they respond. Such elements might also in turn produce more thoughtful, relevant data (Bowden andGalindo-Gonzalez 2015, Hawkins 2018). ...
This thesis examines the construction and maintenance of punk identities by ageing, or older, (punk) women. Recent scholarship on post-youth subcultural involvement demonstrates some evidence of exploring the interplay between age, gender and subculture yet still lacks any research which solely focuses on the experiences of older punk women. Historically, women have been marginalised in subcultural scholarship and this has been more so the case for ageing, or older, women. In line with the feminist research values, this thesis therefore gives voice to a previously marginalised sample. The research utilised a methodology informed by a feminist and inductive approach. Data was analysed from 16 semi-structured interviews (one paired) and 5 e-mail interviews. A set of common punk values were raised by the research participants which in turn informed, not determined, their relationship with dress, music and gigs. These punk values were also important for how the women negotiated punk identities as they aged. A career model is proposed for understanding how ageing women construct and maintain punk identities. This demonstrates the emergence of three main identity categories across the research sample: the 'toner downs', the 'consistent punks' and the 'never massively outrageous'. Reflecting on punk in their lives 'then' and 'now', the women demonstrated tensions between agency/structure with gender and social ageing highlighted as potential constraints on their construction and maintenance of punk identities. 3
... We also encountered difficulties in trying to motivate the respondents to concentrate on the online interview, and hence two of the interviews had to be finished via e-mail. Although e-mail interviews have been criticized for a lack of spontaneity in the responses received (Bampton & Cowton, 2002), they have also been praised for empowering participants (Bowker & Tuffin, 2004). Considering the fact that email interviews gave our respondents an opportunity to control the flow of the interviews, we believed email interviews to be the best solution for receiving carefully considered reflective replies from interviewees who were pressed for time. ...
The article indicates some main trends in the field of intergenerational communication in new media environments, while exploring how new technological possibilities have been introduced and rooted inside the family. The aim of the study was to investigate the reasons and motivations for why the representatives of three different generations belonging to the same family made use of different web-based communication platforms for everyday family interaction. Furthermore, we also aimed to understand to what extent the family members helped to mediate and shape each other's online practices. The findings of semi-structured interviews (N=13) with the members of three Estonian families indicate that new media play an enormous role in supporting and, partly, also re-establishing intergenerational communication. Not only are such web-based communication platforms as Skype, instant messenger and Facebook used by family members who are physically apart, but also by family members living under the same roof. Using similar online environments gives family members an opportunity to share their values and attitudes, and to strengthen the ties between generations, all of which is particularly important for older family members.
... The current study aims to discursively explore how a group of students, who were learning online, psychologically processed assessment feedback online, by analysing stage 1 students' discussion posts about their first assessment feedback. Discourse analysis was used because it provides direct access to the construction of people's online experience (Bowker & Tuffin, 2009). ...
Identifying how students can manage the psychological complexity of receiving assessment feedback is important to gain maximum learning and for teachers to facilitate empowering online learning environments. This study discursively explores how a group of students, learning online, psychologically process assessment feedback. Data comprised 29 posts from a student-initiated asynchronous discussion in a first-year undergraduate online distance psychology course. Posts centre around different ways of managing loss over lower-than-expected assessment feedback involving three repertoires: distress, discord and review; facing the difficulties; and ways forward comprising three resources: acknowledgement and solutions, lessons learnt, and accommodating challenges. The psychological loss arising from the removal of a psychological attachment to a grade aspiration is theorised. Findings show how students’ discourse functioned to (legitimately) challenge the teacher’s power while also creating constructive solutions, including exercising agency over one’s online learning. Teaching strategies for managing the psychology of receiving assessment feedback online are shared.
... The current technological landscape also influenced the public's expectations. As cameras become cheaper, lighter, more ubiquitous, and multifunctional (Ahonen, 2017), the opportunity to widely broadcast what they record or to use them surreptitiously also increases; this can influence people's privacy expectations (Bazarova & Choi, 2014;Bowker & Tuffin, 2004). For example, the White retired K-12 school administrator told me, Older people have different expectations of privacy. ...
Visual journalism is a curious form of interaction usually involving strangers who have their private lives transformed—wittingly or not—into public objects of attention. Sometimes the interaction between journalist and subject is extended and in-depth, sometimes it is brief and shallow, and sometimes it is nonexistent. People are often reactive to cameras, and tension can exist between the idealized ways people want to be depicted and the ways journalists visually render them. Considering that visual media are “complex reflections of a relationship between maker and subject in which both play roles in shaping their character and content,” scholars have called for more research on journalists’ subjects and how they behave in front of the visual news media. This work answers that call and provides one of the first empirical glimpses into how people regard the experience of being photographed and video-recorded by journalists. As a primary arc of the work is concerned with the nature of experience, it adopts a phenomenological approach and seeks to identify (a) the expectations that news media subjects have of visual journalists, (b) how journalists’ subjects perceive the experience of being photographed and video-recorded in a news media context, and (c) how the subject’s identities and representational aspirations affect their perception of the imaging event. These questions are explored through a four-pronged approach: (a) nonparticipant observations, (b) word association exercises, (c) in-depth interviews, and (d) photo-elicitations. The findings suggest that subjects are more outcome- rather than process-focused; that technological changes and resulting behavior shifts are altering the nature of reality and experience, which has implications for privacy and consent; and that perception is quite fluid and can be affected by identity, habituation, and emotionally valenced experiences.
... The current study aims to discursively explore how a group of students, who were learning online, psychologically processed assessment feedback online, by analysing stage 1 students' discussion posts about their first assessment feedback. Discourse analysis was used because it provides direct access to the construction of people's online experience (Bowker & Tuffin, 2009). ...
... In the same way, social desirability effects may also have been reduced (e.g., Joinson, 1999). Though there was potential for ambiguities to arise on account of the lack of extralinguistic cues (Bowker & Tuffin, 2004), care was taken to note, within the data set, judgments made in respect of ambiguous posts. Data were stored on password-protected computer directories (Kraut et al., 2004). ...
The aim of the current study was to explore young people’s experiences of and adjustment to romantic relationship breakup by reference to the Dual Processing Model of Coping and Bereavement (DPM; Stroebe & Schut, 1999 Stroebe, M. S., & Schut, H. (1999). The dual process model of coping with bereavement: Rationale and description. Death Studies, 23, 1–28. doi:10.1080/074811899201046[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar]). Participants were 31 registered forum users and 10 forum moderators. Findings were based on thematic analyses of messages posted on an internet-mediated discussion forum over a 12-month period. Coping responses include availing of emotional support, self-expression, distraction, and indulgence in substance use or changes in eating behaviours. There appeared to be a re-prioritisation of values and opportunities for personal development and engagement in new and fulfilling relationships. The themes identified in the analysis broadly map onto the main elements of the DPM.
This article discusses students’ experiences with visual impairment in virtual physical education (PE) learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. In-depth interviews were utilized in this interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to explore the participants’ lived experiences using a particular approach during the pandemic. Cool and warm analyses were used to categorize and thematize each participant’s responses. This article concluded that the lived experiences of visually impaired students in virtual PE include challenges, coping mechanisms, support, and the need for differentiated instruction. This study may aid the PE teachers in responding to the challenges and concerns of visually impaired students in virtual PE learning. Also, this article may serve as a basis for the stakeholders to formulate appropriate and suitable guidelines for implementing virtual PE learning for students with visual impairment.
To date, feminist criminology has somewhat ignored the significance of disability within research and theorisation, and more generally, autistic women have been underrepresented in qualitative research. Whilst available research shows that autistic women face elevated risk of victimisation, there is a lack of understanding surrounding this issue and their actual experiences and providing adequate support to this group. This chapter reflects upon a postgraduate study methodology which set out to address this gap in the literature by exploring the experiences of support services for autistic women who have been victimised in Scotland. Based on growth in digital technologies and online communication, new and different possibilities have transpired for conducting qualitative social science research. With this, email interviewing as an online research method has gained traction. This study used email interviews to inclusively engage with autistic women to facilitate deep reflective accounts of their experiences of support, and this chapter will reflect on this method. In doing so, it will outline the background to the research and the process of email interviewing in practice. It will then discuss the potential benefits and limitations of email interviewing in the context of autism research, offering methodological insights to inform future research practice.
bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Introduction:
Recently, the exponential rise of mobile health applications (mHealth apps) has drawn the attention of healthcare practitioners worldwide. This case study investigates Nepalese healthcare practitioners’ perceptions and use of mHealth tools designed in the Global North (GN). The study also explores strategies for fostering inclusivity and accessibility of these tools within Global South (GS) healthcare settings.
About the case:
Healthcare practitioners in Nepal widely use GN mHealth apps, such as Medscape, for diverse purposes, including aiding health-related decisions and accessing pharmaceutical and disease information. Apps like Medscape offer valuable information on diseases, conditions, and medical procedures, proving highly beneficial for treating patients in critical care situations in GS countries like Nepal.
Situating the case:
mHealth apps have significantly transformed healthcare delivery in resource-limited, low-income GS countries such as Nepal, enhancing accessibility and efficiency in medical services. However, research in the technical and professional communication (TPC) field regarding how GS healthcare practitioners perceive and interact with emerging digital health technologies within resource-constrained healthcare contexts is scarce.
Methods:
To gather data, 12 Nepalese healthcare practitioners were interviewed about their perception and use of GN mHealth apps, with a particular focus on Medscape.
Results:
In addition to the potential benefits of using the case app, participants indicated the need for designing culturally sensitive and context-appropriate mHealth technology. Moreover, results suggest that GN mHealth tools should be tailored to the diverse needs of underserved and underrepresented GS users to promote inclusivity and self-efficacy.
Conclusion:
Adopting justice-oriented localized user-experience design approaches that value diversity, equity, and social justice can help build a more inclusive form of health communication.
This paper reviews the challenges faced by a team at the Grace Eyre Foundation in running a coproduced oral history project during the pandemic. It examines the benefits and challenges of working online, comparing this to face‐to‐face approaches.
For over 100 years, the Grace Eyre Foundation has provided support to people with learning disabilities and/or autism across Sussex. Its founder, Grace Eyre Woodhead, was a pioneer—from around 1896 until her death in 1936, she advocated supporting people with learning disabilities in the community rather than in large, isolated institutions.
With Heritage Lottery funding awarded in 2019, ‘Sharing Our Voices’ set out to:
create a digital, oral history collection of people who had lived in Shared Lives arrangements since the 1950s.
create a digital archive of the life and work of Grace Eyre Woodhead.
devise a play inspired by the experience of exploring these histories, to be performed as part of the Brighton Fringe Festival 2021.
This article:
Describes how the Project Team adapted to continue the project during the 2020–2021 lockdowns.
Discusses the opportunities, and limitations, of training people using online technologies.
Demonstrates the opportunities, and limitations, of conducting oral history interviews online.
Concludes that while online technologies are useful, enabling oral history work to continue under restrictions, there are limits to what can be achieved. We set out some of our learning here but it is hard to see how working online could ever fully replace the benefits of meeting face to face.
I interviewed forty-six men who generously shared their stories about participation in outside partnerships and how that affected their primary partnerships. Semi-structured email interviews provided opportunities to probe participant responses for meaning and clarity. This overwhelmingly White, married, predominantly middle-class group of men provided insight into the qualities of outside partnerships formed purposefully from online profiles for extramarital affairs. The narratives in this study illustrate men’s meaning-making of their experiences seeking out and participating in outside partnerships concurrent to their primary partnerships. The existing literature on infidelity suggests distinct gender differences in approaching and navigating outside partnerships. The sample presented here challenges previous understandings of men’s participation in infidelity, as well as assumptions that infidelity participation functions as gendered.
This chapter examines online collaboration in a distributed e-learning environment. The authors describe the emerging technology of Web-based automated essay grading that provides extensive real-time data for monitoring and enhancing e-learning activities. They examine data from student use of this software service in a large introductory social science class. Using information routinely collected by the system, the authors find that students take advantage of this learning environment to revise and resubmit essays, dramatically improving their final grade by an average of 20% or two letter grades. They conclude the essential components of this learning environment that makes it so successful are its ability to provide detailed, personalized feedback to students immediately after they submit their work along with the opportunity to revise and resubmit. This transforms an automated assessment tool into a powerful collaborative learning environment. Instead of waiting days or weeks for instructor comments, that feedback is time-shifted to occur at the time it can be most effective for students. Changing the timing of feedback creates a powerful teachable moment when students have motivation, information, opportunity, and feedback. They are motivated to improve their grade, they are told what they did right or wrong while the relevant information is fresh in their minds, and they have the opportunity to revise and resubmit. The chapter ends with consideration of how those same elements can be, and sometimes already are, used in other instructional strategies such as podcasting to create effective learning environments that take advantage of the teachable moment.
Objective To determine the appropriateness of an online forum compared with face-to-face interviews as a source of data for qualitative research on adherence to secondary prevention medications after stroke. Design A comparison of attributes of two data sources, interviews and a forum, using realistic evaluation; a comparison of themes around adherence according to the Perceptions and Practicalities Approach (PAPA) framework. Setting Interviews were conducted in UK GP practices in 2013 and 2014; Online posts were written by UK stroke survivors and family members taking part in the online forum of the Stroke Association between 2004 and 2011. Participants 42 interview participants: 28 stroke survivors (age range 61-92yrs), 14 caregivers (85% spouses). 84 online forum participants: 49 stroke survivors (age range 32-72yrs), 33 caregivers (60% sons/daughters). Results 10 attributes were identified within the two data sources, and categorised under 3 domains (Context, Mechanisms and Outcomes). Participants’ characteristics of forum users were often missing. Most forum participants had experienced a stroke within the previous 12 months, while interviewees had done so one to five years previously. All interview themes could be matched with corresponding themes from the forum.The forum yielded three additional themes: influence of bad press on taking statins, criticisms of clinicians’ prescribing practices, and caregiver burden in assisting with medications and being advocates for survivors with healthcare professionals. Conclusions An online forum is an appropriate source of data for qualitative research on patients’ and caregivers’ issues with adherence to secondary prevention stroke medications and may offer additional insights compared to interviews, which can be attributed to differences in the approach to data collection.
Objective
To determine the appropriateness of an online forum compared with face-to-face interviews as a source of data for qualitative research on adherence to secondary prevention medications after stroke.
Design
A comparison of attributes of two data sources, interviews and a forum, using realistic evaluation; a comparison of themes around adherence according to the Perceptions and Practicalities Approach (PAPA) framework.
Setting
Interviews were conducted in UK GP practices in 2013 and 2014; online posts were written by UK stroke survivors and family members taking part in the online forum of the Stroke Association between 2004 and 2011.
Participants
42 interview participants: 28 stroke survivors (age range 61–92 years) and 14 caregivers (85% spouses). 84 online forum participants: 49 stroke survivors (age range 32–72 years) and 33 caregivers (60% sons/daughters).
Results
10 attributes were identified within the two data sources and categorised under three domains (context, mechanisms and outcomes). Participants’ characteristics of forum users were often missing. Most forum participants had experienced a stroke within the previous 12 months, while interviewees had done so 1–5 years previously. All interview themes could be matched with corresponding themes from the forum. The forum yielded three additional themes: influence of bad press on taking statins, criticisms of clinicians’ prescribing practices and caregiver burden in assisting with medications and being advocates for survivors with healthcare professionals.
Conclusions
An online forum is an appropriate source of data for qualitative research on patients’ and caregivers’ issues with adherence to secondary prevention stroke medications and may offer additional insights compared with interviews, which can be attributed to differences in the approach to data collection.
Previous research on the interpersonal effects of computer-mediated communication (CMC) reveals inconsistencies. In some cases CMC has been found to be impersonal, task-oriented, and hostile. Other reports show warm personal relations, and still others show gradual adjustments in interpersonal relations over time. The past research results are also difficult to compare, as their research methods reveal inconsistent approaches. These inconsistencies include the treatment of time limits on group development, the neglect of nonverbal behavior in face-to-face, comparison groups, and other measurement issues. Each of these factors may obscure our understanding of the way CMC partners get to know and come to relate to each other through CMC. The present study attempts to address some of these concerns. This study explored the effects of computer conferencing on the interpersonal messages with which people define their relationships, known as relational communication. Observers rated the relational communication from transcripts of CMC conversations or from videotapes of face-to-face three-person groups who had worked in several sessions. Analyses showed that CMC groups achieved more positive levels on several dimensions of interpersonal communication than did face-to-face groups. On other dimensions, no differences between conditions were found. In no case did CMC groups express less intimacy or more task-orientation than face-to-face groups. Implications are drawn suggesting that under certain conditions, CMC may promote positive relational effects in ways that previous theories have not considered, and in some ways superior to more traditional media.
This study examined the effects of time restriction on social interaction in computer-mediated communication through a meta-analysis of applicable research. Time was defined as whether subjects were restricted or unrestricted in their opportunity to exchange messages. Studies were included that assessed either of two outcome variables: socially oriented (as opposed to task-oriented) communication, and negative / uninhibited communication. Hypotheses were derived from Walther's social information processing perspective. Meta-analytic tests supported the hypotheses on social communication. Although no effects were found on negative / uninhibited communication, a reexamination of original studies suggests caution regarding previous findings.
New computer-based communications technologies make possible new or expanded forms of group work. Although earlier researchers suggest that scant social information in these technologies might cause status equalization in groups, no experimental test of this phenomenon has been made. In a laboratory experiment, we compared face-to-face communication with electronic mail in decision-making groups whose members differed in social status. We examined status in two ways: by varying the external status of group members, and by varying the decision task to manipulate expertise. When the groups made decisions in face-to-face meetings, the high-status member dominated discussions with the three low-status members. Also, the high-status member more often was a 'first advocate' in the face-to-face discussions, and first advocates were more influential than later advocates. These status inequalities in face-to-face decision making were pronounced just when the high-status member's expertise was relevant to the decision task. When the same groups made comparable decisions using electronic mail, status and expertise inequalities in participation were reduced. A striking and unexpected result was that 'first' advocacy was shared by high- and low-status members in discussions using electronic mail. This behavior resulted in increased equality of influence across status and expertise. We discuss the implications of these results for research and for design of new communication technologies.
While computer-mediated communication use and research are proliferating rapidly, findings offer contrasting images regarding the interpersonal character of this technology. Research trends over the history of these media are reviewed with observations across trends suggested so as to provide integrative principles with which to apply media to different circumstances. First, the notion that the media reduce personal influences—their impersonal effects—is reviewed. Newer theories and research are noted explaining normative “interpersonal” uses of the media. From this vantage point, recognizing that impersonal communication is sometimes advantageous, strategies for the intentional depersonalization of media use are inferred, with implications for Group Decision Support Systems effects. Additionally, recognizing that media sometimes facilitate communication that surpasses normal interpersonal levels, a new perspective on “hyperpersonal” communication is introduced. Subprocesses are discussed pertaining to receivers, senders, channels, and feedback elements in computer-mediated communication that may enhance impressions and interpersonal relations.
Examined the extent to which computer-mediated (CM) communication instilled a state of deindividuation (low private and low public self-awareness [SA]) vs a state of high private and low public SA among 55 Ss with previous computer experience. Ss participated in face-to-face (FTF) or CM problem-solving discussions and completed self-report measures of private and public SA. The CM group reported significantly higher levels of private SA and marginally lower levels of public SA, suggesting that CM Ss were not deindividuated. CM Ss with low public SA were more likely to evaluate the social context negatively. The social evaluations of FTF Ss were not related to their levels of SA. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
in this chapter we intend to illustrate the approach to lay explanations taken by discourse analysts
we will attempt, in particular, to demonstrate the value of interpretative repertoires as a basic analytic unit
firstly, however, let us situate this methodological approach within broad developments in both social psychology and modern theories of discourse
empirical example: the construction of 'race' relations (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This study involved an experiment of the effects of time and communication channel—asynchronous computer conferencing versus face-to-face meetings—on relational communication in groups. Prior research on the relational aspects of computer-mediated communication has suggested strong depersonalizing effects of the medium due to the absence of nonverbal cues. Past research is criticized for failing to incorporate temporal and developmental perspectives on information processing and relational development. In this study, data were collected from 96 subjects assigned to computer conferencing or face-to-face zero-history groups of 3, who completed three tasks over several weeks’time. Results showed that computer-mediated groups increased in several relational dimensions to more positive levels and that these subsequent levels approximated those of face-to-face groups. Boundaries on the predominant theories of computer-mediated communication are recommended, and principles from uncertainty reduction and social penetration are discussed.
Communication researchers and social scientists are quickly discovering the value of data that exists in the postings of members of Internet e-mail, Usenet, and real-time groups. The ability to communicate with one's peers, no matter how esoteric the interests, is causing an explosion in the number of new virtual communities. The interpersonal dynamics of these groups are increasingly coming under the scrutiny of academic research. The publicly available archived records of Internet virtual communities are being analyzed for a wide variety of research interests. The ability to do naturalistic observations of group dynamics, as they are exhibited in these exchanges of text, has captured the attention of many researchers. The institutional review boards of major universities are granting researchers exempt or expedited (exempt from full review) status for this work, due to the public nature of the notes being analyzed. These studies often involve the lack of informed consent, where the group members under study are unaware they are being monitored. There is a potential for psychological harm to the members of these groups, depending on the way results are reported. This article explores the ethical considerations that must be taken into account to protect cyberspace participants. The guidelines proposed are based on the American Psychological Association ethical guidelines for use of human subjects in research. An explanation is offered as to how such guidelines can best be applied to the study of Internet communities. The constructs of Group Accessibility (the public/private nature of the actual cyberspace occupied by a group) and Perceived Privacy (the level of privacy that group members assume they have) are defined and proposed as two dimensions by which individual Internet communities may be evaluated in order to assure the ethical reporting of research findings.
Beneficial effects of the online medium have been reported for disabled people in terms of providing a 'levelling ground' where they can be treated on their merits as a person, rather than as a disabled person. If this occurs because impairment is invisible online, how then are disabled people managing disability disclosure within this social context? This paper addresses this issue discursively. Participants were recruited from various disability organisations in New Zealand and were invited to take part in an online interview. A 'choice to disclose' repertoire was identified and was organised around three key resources: relevance, anonymity and normality. Embedded within each resource is the idea that the presence or absence of impairment is constructed as a feature controlled by the individual. Positioning identity within a subjectivity removed from impairment was made possible through these resources and was valued by participants. Political implications associated with the absence of impairment are discussed.
Modernism/Modernity 4.3 (1997) 1-18
The original motivation for this paper was bathetic in the extreme. I wanted to explain to myself a single small detail in Cézanne's late painting of bathers in the National Gallery, London, known as The Large Bathers, 1894-1905, V.721 (fig. 1): the half-described, half-connected foot of the figure lying on its stomach at the right that constitutes the nearest object to the picture plane. What besets me, like many other spectators no doubt, is the sheer incorrigibility of its awkwardness. I have tried, as I imagine Cézanne must have done, and I have looked at this painting over and over again, but each time it's the same. I pull on this loose end, meaning to tidy things up a bit, and there's that dreadful sinking feeling as the whole painting starts to unravel in my hands. This time perhaps it will be different. I will try to be more careful.
I open this paper, therefore, with two interrelated conjectures. I claim no originality for either of them. If this paper has a contribution to make it is simply in putting them to work in tandem on the art of Cézanne. I shall not attempt to argue for the conjectures themselves. I shall assume that their power to focus attention on some aesthetic properties of Cézanne's paintings may be taken as a relevant test of their validity.
The first conjecture goes like this. As regards the first phase of what we have come to think of as modernism in its artistic form, say from the early 1860s onward for about fifty years, the problem of how women look may be thought of as a significant factor driving change in painting. I do not mean to suggest that the only paintings that matter are those that represent women as being looked at, or that represent women looking, or that represent women looking self-conscious as a result of being looked at, though it is certainly true that a highly informative -- and no doubt controversial -- exhibition could be constructed along such lines. My contention is rather that a problem-ridden involvement with the representation of women may be connected at some level to those changes in the conceptualization of the painted surface that we have learned to identify with modernism. Foremost among these are changes in the character and functions of figure-ground effects. These changes are telling, for the effects in question are the principal means by which objects of attention are represented as such within pictorial contexts. They are crucial deciders of significance in painting. The important point, then, is this: though these changes may be most easily explained by reference to pictures of women, and though they may have been first practiced in such pictures, once initiated and seen at work they have consequences that are determining upon conditions of aesthetic success and failure in paintings other than those in which women are pictured. Another way to put this would be to say that implementation of the changes in question becomes a condition of modernism in painting generally. And as these consequences are confronted in landscape and still life, feedback from work in these other genres comes in turn to change the perceived character of the problem field, though the problem itself does not cease to be besetting. It is a symptom of this state of affairs, clear from the work of Manet, of Degas and of Cézanne himself, that the genre of the nude offers no secure refuge from the modern problems of picturing women. On the contrary, as the decorum of the classical breaks down, the unclothed woman returns disturbingly to the present.
I'll try to clarify these points by means of a familiar comparison. The figures in Bouguereau's Bathers (Art Institute of Chicago) stand out clearly against the depth of the pictorial ground on which the painter locates them (fig. 2). Much of the painting's effect depends upon the isolated solidity of these figures in their contrast with the surrounding illusory space. In endowing his women with the appearance of self-consciousness, Bouguereau...
This paper explores identity and interaction with reference to Internet home pages. All home pages reveal identity, whether or not that is the intention of their authors. Identity statements can take categorical, relational, or narrative forms. A survey of home page owners reveals that some home pages are created to maintain relationships formed apart from the Internet (extrinsic pages) and some are created to contact the denizens of the Internet (intrinsic pages). The different motives for creation do not affect home page design and contents, but do relate to differences in overall Internet use and in authors' conceptualizations of the Internet. Both intrinsic and extrinsic pages are analyzed in light of charges that the Internet self is postmodern, transitory, deceptive, and fragmented. The charge of postmodernity is found to be overstated, however, because while the Internet shapes identity statements, it does not determine their form or usage.
Advances in computing and telecommunications technology are changing how people can meet and make group decisions. Technological changes help people cross physical, social, and psychological boundaries, and have secondary effects on group behavior and decision making. Experiments show that, compared with a face-to-face meeting, a computer-mediated discussion leads to delays; more explicit and outspoken advocacy; “flaming;” more equal participation among group members; and more extreme, unconventional, or risky decisions. Technological and social psychological variables that cause these effects in laboratory groups do not scale at equal rates. Technological change in organizational group decision making can lead to outcomes not seen in the laboratory, which makes it essential to do field research. Three phenomena observed in field studies are redistributions of work time, relative advantages in participation for peripheral workers, and increases in complexity of group organization. Experimental and field studies on these technology effects are useful not just as an “impact statement” for those considering technological change; this research also can put a new light on basic processes in which we have always had an interest.
The visual anonymity associated with online interaction offers people with disabilities the potential to participate in social interaction beyond the stigma of a disabled identity. In problematizing traditional notions of reality, however, the online medium also has the potential to become a deceptive social space where people with disabilities become victims of malevolent acts. Considering the dilemma surrounding the choice to participate, this study investigates how people with disabilities are managing issues of deception and harm in online contexts. A discursive psychology framework is utilized. The research was conducted in New Zealand where 21 participants with physical and sensory disabilities volunteered to participate in an online interview. Two different repertoires enabled people with disabilities to manage the dilemma of engaging in a medium where there is potential for benefit and harm. A keeping safe repertoire deployed three safety strategies to protect participants from deceptive acts. Data from several participants was also categorized under a qualified deception repertoire. This allowed participants to access new subjective experiences outside of a disabled identity and to extend their online engagement beyond keeping safe. Both repertoires maintained participants' integrity as online users.
This paper argues that causation theory has a role in discussions about knowledge in the virtual context. Drawing on cultural studies, it suggests that the fragmentation of rational knowledge in the postmodern world has produced a focus on information that is unaware of its history. A knowledge gap has been produced that needs careful consideration by those people and institutions advocating the use of virtual technologies. Virtuality is about a politics of convenience, where contemporary knowledge is characterized by two modes of action: mathematics and marketing. The paper suggests that contemporary capitalism fits well with this type of knowledge. It argues that other ways of conceptualizing causal relationships between information-knowledge are necessary in the virtual world.
The study of social worlds built by people on computer networks challenges the classical dimensions of sociological research. CMC scholars are prompted to exploit the possibilities offered by new, powerful, and flexible analytic tools for inexpensively collecting, organizing, and exploring digital data. Such tools could be used within a Weberian perspective, to aid in systematic examination of logs and messages taken from the actual life of a virtual community. A proposal can then be made for a longitudinal strategy of research which systematically compares specific aspects of virtual communities over different periods of time and different socio-geographical contexts. The article summarizes a case study on an Italian computer conference, and concludes with a short outline of the new graphical CMC environments and their consequences for the rise of a multimedia cyber-anthropology.