ERIC Number: EJ960800
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Mar
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1077-8004
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Online Methods and Analyzing Knowledge-Production: A Cautionary Tale
Ignacio, Emily Noelle
Qualitative Inquiry, v18 n3 p237-246 Mar 2012
Currently, many scholars have increasingly turned to the Internet to examine diasporic communities and corresponding identities. While I am happy that social scientists have embraced the use of online methods in studying communities formed within cyberspace, I also believe that we should continually reflect on whether our research is best served by conducting our studies online, offline, or in both arenas. In this article, I first address the seemingly "natural" convergence of two different scholarly communities that are deeply affected by transnationalism--those who study diasporas and migration and those who conduct research on online communities. Then, I discuss the use of online methods (particularly with regard to research on diasporas) and assess the benefits and challenges of conducting online research to study diasporic communities. This essay simultaneously advocates for the continued use of online methods, particularly in the study of diasporic communities, while also offering a cautionary tale on its possible overuse or misuse.
Descriptors: Tales, Social Scientists, Internet, Scholarships, Immigrants, Migration, Immigration, Ethnography, Global Approach, Technological Advancement, Structured Interviews, Social Networks
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A