Aims of session
Jane Wellens, University of Leicester

Slides

Exploring the internet as a medium for research: web-based questionnaires and synchronous virtual interviews
Clare Madge and Henrietta O'Connor, University of Leicester

RMP Project page

This paper will contribute to the emerging debate about the value of online research. Drawing on the experience of an internet-based Cyberparents project, set up to explore the role of the internet in the life of new parents, the paper will explore the possibilities and limitations of web-based questionnaire surveys and online synchronous interviews. It will discuss some of the implications of conducting research in the virtual arena, with particular emphasis on access issues, sampling and identity verification for web-based surveys and engagement, online interactions and computer mediated communications for synchronous group interviews. The paper will conclude that although online research holds promise, its potential should not be exaggerated: many of the issues and problems of conventional research still apply in the virtual venue.

Open forum debate: The problems and potentials of online research

Chair: Jane Wellens, University of Leicester