Researching online populations: the use of online focus groups for social research Export

@article{citeulike:2795158, abstract = {The survivability of traditional' methods within computer-mediated settings is dependent upon their capacity to be utilized and adapted to the technology that mediates human interaction online. This article addresses the established focus group method and evaluates its success in online applications, using as examples two quite different research projects. The first, drawn from research into the employment experiences of inflammatory bowel disease sufferers exemplifies the use of asynchronous online focus groups, identifying key practical issues such as online moderation and the analysis of digital data. In contrast the second study, into deviance within online communities, provides an example of how synchronous forms of online focus groups, held within 3D graphical environments, create further challenges for the researcher, highlighting unique ethical considerations of conducting fieldwork in cyberspace. The article draws together the authors' experiences of applying the method to offer insights into the viability and practicability of online focus groups. 10.1177/1468794105056916}, author = {Stewart, Kate and Williams, Matthew}, citeulike-article-id = {2795158}, citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1468794105056916}, citeulike-linkout-1 = {http://qrj.sagepub.com/content/5/4/395.abstract}, citeulike-linkout-2 = {http://qrj.sagepub.com/content/5/4/395.full.pdf}, citeulike-linkout-3 = {http://qrj.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/5/4/395}, day = {1}, doi = {10.1177/1468794105056916}, journal = {Qualitative Research}, keywords = {focus\_group, online}, month = {November}, number = {4}, pages = {395--416}, posted-at = {2009-10-22 10:52:58}, priority = {2}, title = {Researching online populations: the use of online focus groups for social research}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1468794105056916}, volume = {5}, year = {2005} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:2795158 L3 - citeulike-article-id:2795158 N2 - The survivability of traditional' methods within computer-mediated settings is dependent upon their capacity to be utilized and adapted to the technology that mediates human interaction online. This article addresses the established focus group method and evaluates its success in online applications, using as examples two quite different research projects. The first, drawn from research into the employment experiences of inflammatory bowel disease sufferers exemplifies the use of asynchronous online focus groups, identifying key practical issues such as online moderation and the analysis of digital data. In contrast the second study, into deviance within online communities, provides an example of how synchronous forms of online focus groups, held within 3D graphical environments, create further challenges for the researcher, highlighting unique ethical considerations of conducting fieldwork in cyberspace. The article draws together the authors' experiences of applying the method to offer insights into the viability and practicability of online focus groups. 10.1177/1468794105056916 IS - 4 JF - Qualitative Research EP - 416 TI - Researching online populations: the use of online focus groups for social research VL - 5 SP - 395 KW - focus_group KW - online AU - Stewart, Kate AU - Williams, Matthew PY - 2005/11/01/ UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1468794105056916 ER -