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Stories on the Internet: Challenges for Qualitative Research and the Example of Ethics

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Computer Supported Qualitative Research (WCQR 2018)

Part of the book series: Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing ((AISC,volume 861))

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Abstract

The Internet is a huge repository of personal stories and ethnographic data. Why, as qualitative researchers in the social sciences, have we been so slow off the mark in studying the global social database that is the Internet? Our procedural and ethical guidelines for web research are in their infancy. The topics that we write about and online sites we study often are narrow in scope and stale-dated by the time they are published. Speaking as a qualitative researcher, early-adopting Internet user, and online researcher currently studying the blogosphere, I outline some of the challenges that contribute to the gap between the potential and current state of qualitative cyber research, reflect on the example of research ethics, and share an example from my research on blogs.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    As an example, at the 14th International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry in 2018, which is one of the largest annual qualitative research conferences in North America, only 19 sessions in the conference program subject index related to digital research, listed under the topics of “Technology” or “Digital Tools.” Therefore, out of 415 sessions at the conference in total, less than 5% had a significant focus on digital research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, T1K 3M4, Canada

    Judith C. Lapadat

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  1. Judith C. Lapadat
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Correspondence to Judith C. Lapadat .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Education and Psychology, Didactics and Technology in Teacher Education (CIDTFF) Research Centre, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal

    António Pedro Costa

  2. Informatics Engineering Department Faculty of Engineering LIACC Research Center, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Luís Paulo Reis

  3. Department of Education and Psychology, Didactics and Technology in Teacher Education (CIDTFF) Research Centre, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal

    António Moreira

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Lapadat, J.C. (2019). Stories on the Internet: Challenges for Qualitative Research and the Example of Ethics. In: Costa, A., Reis, L., Moreira, A. (eds) Computer Supported Qualitative Research. WCQR 2018. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 861. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01406-3_23

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01406-3_23

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-01405-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-01406-3

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