[Air-L] Missing Data in Qualitative and Online Research

Wed Aug 11 10:19:34 PDT 2010

Hi all--

I, too, have found this thread very useful and just want to add a short 
comment to Sharon's post as it applies to qualitative internet research.

She writes:

Qualitative research doesn't aim to capture the whole picture or reach
generalized conclusions but rather try to focus on one phenomenon/ one
aspect etc. and trough this magnifying glass better comprehend the meaning
of things.

While qualitative research doesn't aim to generalize conclusions to 
populations, it does aim to generalize conclusions to theory. Then such 
theories can be pursued further qualitatively or quantitatively. 

Best,
Pam

Pamela Estes Brewer
Assistant Professor
Manager, STC Academic Special Interest Group
Department of English
Appalachian State University
phone 828-262-2351
fax  828-262-2133
email  brewerpe at appstate.edu

Sharon Haleva Amir wrote:
> Hi everybody, this thread is really very very interesting and I enjoy
> reading everyone's perspectives. I would like to comment in a more
> philosophical ontological level:
>
> Qualitative research doesn't aim to capture the whole picture or reach
> generalized conclusions but rather try to focus on one phenomenon/ one
> aspect etc. and trough this magnifying glass better comprehend the meaning
> of things. 
>
> Therefore, it is more than obvious that qualitative research (as well as
> quantitative research) will always have missing data; as the starting point
> assumes that a qualitative researcher has subjective perception of the world
> and can never make objective choices. Accordingly, s/he makes subjective and
> aware choices affected by her/his cultural background, personality,
> interests etc. whereas another researcher will make other choices. 
>
> This can be a much bigger problem in the huge ocean of Internet. 
>
> Though I understand and have myself dealt with this practical problem of
> missing data (I research the subject of Israeli e-Politics), I try to bear
> in mind, that whatever methods I use and whatever empiric data I will
> collect, I can never grasp the complete wide picture, as every research, by
> its nature, illuminates a specific segment of reality. Nevertheless, even
> 'not complete' (partial) data analysis produces significant findings. 
>
> Have a great week, cheers, Sharon. 
>
> Best Wishes,
> Sharon Haleva Amir, HCLT Fellow 
> (PhD Candidate) Faculty of Law, 
> University of Haifa, ISRAEL. 
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> http://weblaw.haifa.ac.il/en/research/resstudents/pages/sharonha.aspx 
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: air-l-bounces at listserv.aoir.org
> [mailto:air-l-bounces at listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of Julian Hopkins
> Sent: Monday, August 09, 2010 6:52 AM
> To: air-l at listserv.aoir.org
> Subject: Re: [Air-L] Missing Data in Qualitative and Online Research
>
> I'd like to echo some of the comments made already. In my research on
> personal blogging, I found that the interviewees often mentioned
> 'backchannel' contact: via MSN in particular, but also emails and SMS. More
> recently Twitter has increased in significance, and DMs are the obvious
> backchannel there.
>
> Sometimes, edited MSN conversations are reproduced on a blog, using
> screenshots, and thus some missing data is ostensibly provided, but of
> course it's only what the blogger wants to blog about.
>
> Meeting bloggers offline in blogmeets was an important way of filling out
> some missing information: the hierarchies and clustering of bloggers were
> more evident; and seeing how those offline meets were re-presented online
> was an interesting window into the mediation of those encounters. 
>
> Overall, as others have pointed out, the assumption that all online activity
> is public and available is a fallacy that should be addressed further.
>
> Cheers,
> Julian
>
> ++++++++++
> Blog: www.julianhopkins.net
> Twitter: @julianhopkins
> Skype: julhop
>
> -----Original Message-----
>
> From: William Dutton <william.dutton at oii.ox.ac.uk>
> Subject: [Air-L] Missing Data in Qualitative and Online Research
> To: "air-l at listserv.aoir.org" <air-l at listserv.aoir.org>
> Date: Friday, August 6, 2010, 8:17 AM
>
> Dear List Members,
>
> My colleagues and I would greatly appreciate your input to an exploratory
> project on missing data in qualitative and online research.* We would
> appreciate anything from your immediate reactions while reading this e-mail
> to detailed references to literature that has addressed our questions.
>
> There are two very general but heuristically useful questions. Your views on
> either would be welcomed. Feel free to reply privately or to the list, as
> you
>  wish.
>
> 1. What is ?missing data? in the context of qualitative research and how is
> it dealt with?
>
> 2. Likewise, in computer-mediated research, are researchers missing
> particular kinds of data, or believe that they are missing particular kinds
> of observations, and how are they compensating or otherwise addressing this
> gap?
>
> Thoughts? Thank you,
>
> Bill
>
> *This is a collaborative project between the ESRC?s National Centre for
> Research Methods (NCRM) ?hub? (Graham Crow, Rose Wiles), WISERD (Amanda
> Coffey), Oxford eSocial Science ?node? of NCeSS (Bill Dutton, Alison
> Powell), and Qualidata/Timescapes (Libby Bishop), based on our recognition
> of a shared but not well developed problem.
>
> William Dutton, Director
> Professor of Internet Studies
> Oxford Internet Institute
> 1 St Giles', Oxford OX1 3JS? UK
>
> e-mail: william.dutton at oii.ox.ac.uk
> Web: http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/people/?id=1
> Phone: +44 (0)1865 287 212
> Cell: +44 (0)7768 823906
>
> _______________________________________________
> The Air-L at listserv.aoir.org mailing list
> is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org
> Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at:
> http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
>
> Join the Association of Internet Researchers:
> http://www.aoir.org/
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> The Air-L at listserv.aoir.org mailing list
> is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org
> Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at:
> http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
>
> Join the Association of Internet Researchers:
> http://www.aoir.org/
>
> _______________________________________________
> The Air-L at listserv.aoir.org mailing list
> is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org
> Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
>
> Join the Association of Internet Researchers:
> http://www.aoir.org/
>   