A Methodological Approach to Conducting Online Research
Speaker: Dr. Heinz Scheifinger
Assistant Professor of Sociology
Department of General Studies
Date: Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Time: 03:00 PM to 04:00 PM
Location: Building 14, Room 108
Abstract:
As a result of the ubiquity of the Internet in everyday life, it is imperative that social researchers subject online phenomena to investigation and analysis. In this presentation Dr. Heinz Scheifinger outlines problems regarding researching the WWW and puts forward one way of identifying an object of study which can then be subjected to further analysis. The discussion of this methodological approach then shows that the identification of the object of study is actually bound up with the processes that occur online. This means that details of the area under investigation are revealed and that preliminary analysis of the situation can occur at the same time that the object of study is being identified. After this demonstration Dr. Scheifinger challenges the claim that because the WWW is constantly changing, online research can only constitute a snapshot in time.
All faculty and students are welcome to attend.
