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Conducting Qualitative Research of Learning in Online Spaces
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Conducting Qualitative Research of Learning in Online Spaces



May 2016 | 232 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
Qualitative researchers have grappled with how online inquiry shifts research procedures such as gaining access to spaces, communicating with participants, and obtaining informed consent. Drawing on a multimethod approach, Conducting Qualitative Research of Learning in Online Spaces explores how to design and conduct diverse studies in online environments. The book focuses on formal and informal learning practices that occur in evolving online spaces. The text shows researchers how they can draw upon a variety of theoretical frameworks, methodological approaches, and data sources. Examples of qualitative research in online spaces, along with guiding questions, support readers at every phase of the research process. 
 
Chapter 1: What Is Online Learning and How Is It Informed by Qualitative Research
Guiding Questions

 
Introduction

 
Mediated Spaces and Online Learning

 
Making Pragmatic Choices about Methods

 
Choosing among Qualitative Traditions

 
Qualitative Approaches

 
Research Paradigms and Philosophical Stances in a Study's Design

 
Pragmatic Research and Remix: Considering Multimethod Approaches

 
Remix

 
Conclusion

 
Connecting to Your Work

 
 
Chapter 2: What Kinds of Online Spaces Exist?
Guiding Questions

 
Introduction

 
Conceptualizing Online Spaces as Field Sites

 
Defining the Field Site

 
Understanding Networked Field Sites

 
Learning in Social Networking Forums

 
Mapping Networked Field Sites

 
Conclusion

 
Connecting to Your Work

 
 
Chapter 3: How Do We Conceptualize Learning in Online Spaces?
Guiding Questions

 
Introduction

 
Using Learning Theory as a Tool fro Research Design

 
Complementary and Contradictory Theories of Learning

 
Theories of Learning

 
Conclusion

 
Connecting to Your Work

 
 
Chapter 4: What Does It Mean to Be a Qualitative Researcher of Online Spaces?
Guiding Questions

 
Introduction

 
Aspects of Researching Online Meaning Making

 
Conclusion

 
Connecting to Your Work

 
 
Chapter 5: What Methodological Tools Are Available for Data Collection?
Guiding Questions

 
Introduction

 
Establishing Trustworthiness

 
Trustworthiness and Analytic Openness

 
Data Sources

 
Conclusion

 
Connecting to Your Work

 
 
Chapter 6: What Tools are Available for Data Analysis?
Guiding Questions

 
Introduction

 
Moving from Data Collection to Analysis

 
Considering Data Analysis in Networked Field Sites

 
Innovation with Methods

 
Conclusion

 
Connecting to Your Work

 
 
Chapter 7: What Is Ethical Research?
Guiding Questions

 
Introduction

 
Research Ethics and Policies across Multiple Contexts

 
The Public versus the Private Web

 
Conclusion

 
Connecting to Your Work

 
 
Chapter 8: How Might Research Change in New Times?
Guiding Questions

 
Introduction

 
The Complicated Nature of Studying Learning in Online Spaces

 
(Re)Imagining Research Techniques

 
Shifting Cultures, Shifting Boundaries

 
Conclusion

 
Connecting to Your Work

 

For breaking the barrier of technology and qualitative research, Conducting Qualitative Research of Learning in Online Spaces is a confidence builder for those who have never ventured into such spaces. Very thoughtful and accessible, I highly recommend this text.

Darnell Bradley
Cardinal Stritch University

This book helps students not only to understand the complexities of researching online learning but also how they can apply these theoretical perspectives to their own research through its extensive and varied examples of contemporary online research.

Damiana Gibbons Pyles
Appalachian State University

This book takes online qualitative research methods to the next level in terms of innovative methods, data collection and analysis, as well as mapping out a more nuanced and useful set of ethical perspectives to guide researcher practice in online spaces.

Pamela Whitehouse
Midwestern State University

In a rapidly evolving field, this book stands as valuable point of reference. It offers a lively, thoughtful and critical commentary on learning in online spaces, and challenges readers to do the same. The authors offer an agenda to advance the field further, identifying the foundational issues and approaches to studying these which will shape new work in the years ahead.

Martin Oliver
University College London, Institute of Education

In the long history of education, online learning is a recent advancement of pedagogy.  Online instructors, researchers, and students have, to-date, simultaneously enacted a range of individualized methods to conduct their work, while seeking a primer on guidelines to follow that does not exist. Finally, they have Conducting Qualitative Research of Learning in Online Spaces to help them organize their efforts, ethics, tools, and definitions and they no longer have to spend valuable research time seeking such standards.

Robert G. Doyle
Harvard University

Sample Materials & Chapters

Chapter 1


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