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Bryman: Social Research Methods: 3e

Chapter 26

http://www.cjlt.ca/content/vol29.2/cjlt29-2_art-5.html
Susan Crichton and Shelley Kinash report on their experiences and increasing regard for conducting online interactive research. The article presents cases of extensive interactive conversations against a background of reports from the current literature. This piece was written for the Spring 2003 edition of the Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology (Vol 29-2).

http://www.behavior.net/JOB/index.html
This is an introduction to a major journal about researching on the Internet. It publishes articles about both the types of social behaviour that can be studied via electronic media, and the nature of online communication as an object of study in itself. The journal is published online and each article is accompanied by an “interactive discussion space” where you can leave any comments.

http://www.socresonline.org.uk/2/2/coomber.htm
Here is an interesting example of the way in which the Internet can be used as a means of data collection. Ross Coomber’s article reports on his own study of illegal drug users, who were recruited via the World Wide Web for a Web-based social survey. It also reminds us of the role that computers can play in helping us to gain access to deviant or hidden populations, and discusses the issue of sample bias.

http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/fttn99/contents.html
This is an official report from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration branch of the US government. It provides statistical information about which social groups have access to computers and the Internet, and so will be of interest to anyone who is interested in how the “digital divide” might lead to sample bias.

http://venus.soci.niu.edu/~jthomas/ethics/ethics.html
This is a very important website for any researcher to visit if they are thinking of carrying out research on the Internet. Jim Thomas at Northern Illinois University has compiled a collection of articles written by some of the key figures in the sociology of cyberspace, from the journal “The Information Society”. The papers discuss issues such as how to obtain informed consent online, the risk of invading people’s privacy, and the kind of roles a fieldworker might adopt when studying a virtual community.