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<font face="arial" size=2>Hi Angela,<br><br>
I agree with what Jennifer wrote. Additionally, here are some
thoughts. <br><br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite>In essence I am carrying out online
discussions in a chat room environment. The room has been set up by
myself and only people taking part in the discussion are present. The
problem I am being faced with is that of the internet and 'lying'.
</font></blockquote><br>
First, lying is possible in any setting, as you've noted. Having
said that, however, the internet does provide good opportunity for
it. Whether this fact is important or not depends in great part on
the research question you're trying to ask. Are you using the chatroom as
a convenient way to do focus group interaction? Or are you
interviewing these people in context, with some goal of trying to
understand their performance of identity online, the way they play with
language and identity, the way they interact in this setting,
etc.<br><br>
Another way to get at this issue is to ask: Are you doing research
OF the internet or are you USING the internet as a methods tool for your
research? (borrowing from Mann and Stewart here)<br><br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite><font face="arial" size=2>It is
suggested by those with more knowledge than I that the methodology is
rubbish </font></blockquote><br>
I love your sentence here, but the methodology of interviewing in
chatrooms is not rubbish. Again, it all depends on the goal of your
research and the specific questions you're trying to explore.<br><br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite><font face="arial" size=2>as I
cannot possibly tell if those taking part are lying, due to lack of body
language. </font><br>
<font face="arial" size=2>I contested this by pointing out that people
can lie in face to face discussion also and it may be difficult to pick
up on. Also it is my opinion that people in a familiar environment (ie at
their own pc) may in actual fact be more at ease and this will therefore
lead to a more honest response. Of course as a lowly honours student my
opinion is worthless, so it is this that I need help with. </font><br>
<font face="arial" size=2></font></blockquote>You're definitely on the
right track here: Internet communication highlights both the
absence and performance of socio-emotional cues, nonverbal language, and
so forth. This feature of computer mediated communication is a good
reminder of our limitations in any research setting to assess accurately
the extent to which a participant is lying or not with. <br><br>
Along the same lines, "honesty" may not be the best criteria to
use to assess the quality of responses, content of responses, or the
respondents themselves. Lived experience may never be truly
honest....and who are the judges? Surely not us researchers!
Maybe delve more deeply and ask yourself what you're really trying to get
at by doing this study. If you're trying to understand how people
perform and enact their everyday lives, you can only go by what
they say and perform. And any interpretation you conduct will be
through your own perspective and way of representing them. A different
criteria for validating, qualifying, or otherwise justifying your
interpretation as credible or good might be useful.<br><br>
If you're trying to understand how they really feel about some issue, and
you're using the internet as a convenient interviewing tool, I recommend
Mann and Stewart's book on Internet Research.<br><br>
In any case, it's worth the time to consider what is meant by
"lying" anyway, which is part of what Jennifer is getting at in
her response.<br><br>
Again, you may be able to more clearly defend your method by asking if
it's a good fit with the question you're trying to get at.
<br><br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite><font face="arial" size=2>Does
anyone have any solid research I can justify this methodology with? I
already have a few good links courtesy of the sociopranos board, but any
further assistance would be great!</font><br>
<font face="arial" size=2></font></blockquote>Again, Mann and Stewart's
book useful. Also, frankly, any good contemporary methodology text
that discusses interpretive qualitative methods and addresses issues of
knowing and representation would be useful. <br><br>
Another recommendation: Denzin and Lincoln's Handbook of Qualitative
Research.<br><br>
Then, here's a link to an early draft of a chapter I've written that will
be forthcoming in the spring (in Online Social Research: Methods, Issues,
and Ethics, editors Sarina Chen, Jon Hall, and Mark Johns). You might
find some points or sources useful.
<a href="http://ascend.comm.uic.edu/~amarkham/lectures/markhamDRAFT.htm" eudora="autourl">http://ascend.comm.uic.edu/~amarkham/lectures/markhamDRAFT.htm</a><br><br>
Good luck with your project,<br><br>
Annette<br><br>
<br>
<x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
Annette N. Markham, Ph.D.<br>
Department of Communication<br>
University of Illinois at Chicago<br>
1007 W. Harrison St. (m/c 132)<br>
Chicago, IL 60607-7137<br><br>
Tel: 312-413-2124<br>
amarkham@uic.edu<br><br>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/detail/-/books/0761990313/glance/104-0668328-2787956">Life
Online: Researching Real Experiences in Virtual Space<br>
</a> ******************<br>
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