[Air-l] Researching Virtual Workplaces

[Pam Brewer]

First, thank you.  I have published several questions to this list, and you
all are so gracious in responding.  I hope to begin contributing myself very
soon--not just listening to the very helpful threads.   I have yet another
question I would like to ask and hope that it might be helpful to others as
well.
 
For my dissertation, I am researching intercultural virtual
workplaces--specifically dialogic international online communication.  Very
briefly, I am conducting case studies with several companies that regularly
engage in international online communication.  I plan to collect artifacts
of communication and analyze them in light of the most commonly identified
issues in virtual workplaces, conduct online focus groups to further
identify and explain these issues, and finally, conduct online interviews.
My problem is that while companies have proven very helpful in agreeing to
focus groups and interviews, they are much more reluctant to give me access
to a body of text.  While it is difficult but not impossible to establish
this access, I am wondering if you all have suggestions for other methods
that might work well rather than the textual analysis of artifacts.  I very
much want to provide this look at workplace communication even though access
to other types of organizations would be easier.
 
Thank you very much for any suggestions or references.
 
Best,
Pam
 
Pamela Estes Brewer
Lecturer -- Coordinator, Professional Writing
Department of English and Philosophy
Murray State University
PhD Candidate, Texas Tech University
270-809-4719
fax 270-809-4545
pam.brewer at murraystate.edu