Online research methods in a pandemic

There are some great resources available for thinking about taking your methods online, whether that’s about doing interviews and questionnaires or analysing online media. Below are some websites and academic readings that might help you get started. 


Lupton, D. (editor) (2020) Doing Fieldwork in a Pandemic: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1clGjGABB2h2qbduTgfqribHmog9B6P0NvMgVuiHZCl8/edit?ts=5e88ae0a#

This highly recommended crowd-sourced document provides a list of resources for and about online research covering a wide range of methods.  


Website resources

National Centre of Research Methods: www.ncrm.ac.uk

TRI-ORM:Exploring Online Research Methods: http://www.restore.ac.uk/orm/site/home.htm. Includes modules for self-study on topics such as online questionnaires, online interviews, and online research ethics

Methods for the Analysis of Media Contents: http://www.restore.ac.uk/lboro/. Includes resources for understanding methodologies (e.g. content analysis, discourse analysis, frame analysis), data collection, data preparation and data analysis


Books and journal articles

DeLyser, D., Sheehan, R., & Curtis, A. (2004). eBay and research in historical geography. Journal of Historical Geography, 30(4), pp. 764-782. DOI: 10.1016/j.jhg.2005.01.001

Dodds, K. (2006). Popular geopolitics and audience dispositions: James Bond and the internet movie database (IMDb). Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 31(2), pp. 116-130. DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-5661.2006.00199.x

Dwyer, C., & Davies, G. (2010). Qualitative methods III: animating archives, artful interventions and online environments. Progress in Human Geography, 34(1), pp. 88-97. DOI: 10.1177/0309132508105005

Hine, C. (2000). Virtual ethnography. Sage.

James, N. (2016). Using email interviews in qualitative educational research: Creating space to think and time to talk. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 29(2), pp. 150-163. DOI: 10.1080/09518398.2015.1017848

Madge, C. (2007). Developing a geographers’ agenda for online research ethics. Progress in Human Geography, 31(5), pp. 654-674. DOI: 10.1177/0309132507081496

Madge, C., & O’Connor, H. (2002). On‐line with e‐mums: Exploring the internet as a medium for research. Area, 34(1), pp. 92-102. DOI:  10.1111/1475-4762.00060

Madge, C., & O’connor, H. (2004). Online methods in geography educational research. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 28(1), pp. 143-152. DOI: 10.1080/0309826042000198710

O’Connor, H., & Madge, C. (2003). “Focus groups in cyberspace”: Using the Internet for qualitative research. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal. DOI: 10.1108/13522750310470190/ 

O’Connor, H., Madge, C., Shaw, R., & Wellens, J. (2008). Internet-based interviewing. The Sage handbook of online research methods, pp. 271-289.

Ridanpää, J. (2014). ‘Humour is Serious’ as a Geopolitical Speech Act: IMDb Film Reviews of Sacha Baron Cohen’s The Dictator. Geopolitics, 19(1), pp. 140-160. DOI: 10.1080/14650045.2013.829819


Social media forums

It is also worth looking out for groups on social media (from reputable sources) that can be great resources for information and discussion. 

Innovative social research methods: https://www.facebook.com/groups/333716010504710

National Centre for Research Methods: https://www.facebook.com/ncrmuk