Electronic mail (email) has become a ubiquitous form of global communication. Much of this discourse concerns the experience of health and illness. As it is stored and accessible via the Internet, it is then available for qualitative analysis by health researchers. In particular, researchers can employ document analysis methods using Internet communication such as email posts and archives. This paper outlines ways in which such research could proceed, including locating potential research sites and collecting and analysing data. In addition, the advantages and disadvantages of using documentary analysis of Internet communication in qualitative health research are explored.
Murray M, Chamberlain K. Qualitative research in health psychology. Journal of Health Psychology1998; 3(3): 291-296.
2.
Yardley L. Reconciling discursive and material perspectives on health and illness: A reconstruction of the biopsychosocial approach. Theory and Psychology1996; 6(3): 485-508.
3.
Murray P J. Using virtual focus groups in qualitative research. Qualitative Health Research1997; 27(4): 542-549.
4.
Murray P J. Research data from cyberspace: interviewing nurses by email. Health Informatics Journal1995; 1(2): 73-76.
5.
Murray C D, Sixsmith J. Email: a qualitative research medium for interviewing? International Journal of Social Research Methodology: Theory and Practice1998; 1(2): 103-121.
6.
Potter J, Wetherell M. Discourse analysis. In J A Smith, R Harre, L Van Langenhove (eds) Rethinking methods in psychology. London: Sage, 1995, pp. 80-92.
7.
Nochi M. Struggling with the labeled self: people with traumatic brain injuries in social settings. Qualitative Health Research1998; 8(5): 665-681.
8.
Winzelberg A. The analysis of an electronic support group for individuals with eating disorders. Computers in Human Behaviour1997; 13(3): 393-407.
9.
King S A. Analysis of electronic support groups for recovering addicts. Interpersonal Computing and Technology1994; 2(3): 47-56. Obtained online from: http://www.notredame.ac.Jp/ftplib/Articles/CMC/King94.txt
10.
Finn J, Lavitt M. Computer based self help groups for sexual abuse survivors. Social Work with Groups1994; 17: 21-46.
11.
Silverman D. Interpreting qualitative data: methods for analysing talk, text and interaction. London: Sage, 1994.
12.
May T. Social research: issues, methods and process. Buckingham: Open University Press, 1993.
13.
O’Connor R, Sheehy N. An integrated approach to suicidology. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Northern Ireland Branch of the British Psychological Society 1997, 25-27 April.
14.
Kilpatrick R, Trew K. Life styles and psychological well-being among unemployed men in Northern Ireland. Journal of Occupational Psychology1985; 58(3): 207-216.
15.
Harrower J, Mason M. ‘Professional seeks slim, caring, sense of humour…’: a comparison of personal advertisements in the UK. Poster paper at the British Psychological Conference1997, Edinburgh.
16.
Macdonald K, Tipton C. Using documents. In N Gilbert (ed.) Researching social life. London: Sage, 1993, pp. 187-200.
17.
Baym N. From practice to culture on Usenet. In S L Starr (ed.) The cultures of computing. Oxford: Blackwell, 1995, pp. 28-52.
18.
Foster G. Fishing with the net for research data. British Journal of Educational Technology1994; 25(2): 91-97.
19.
Parker I. Discourse dynamics: critical analysis for social and individual psychology. London: Routledge, 1992.
20.
Pidgeon N, Henwood K. Using grounded theory in psychological research. In N Hayes (ed.) Doing qualitative analysis in psychology. Hove: Psychology Press, 1997, pp. 245-273.
21.
Smith J A, Jarman M, Osborn M. Doing interpretative phenomenological analysis. In M Murray and K Chamberlain (eds) Qualitative health psychology: theories and methods. London: Sage, 1999, pp. 218-240.
22.
Fleitas J. Spinning tales from the world wide web: qualitative research in an electronic environment. Qualitative Health Research1998; 8(2): 283-292.
23.
Hewson C M, Laurent D, Vogel C M. Proper methodologies for psychological and sociological studies conducted via the Internet. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, and Computers1996; 28(2): 186-191.
24.
Paccagnella L. Getting the seats of your pants dirty: strategies for ethnographic research on virtual communities. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication1997; 3(1), obtained online from: http://www.ascusc.org/jcmc/vol3/issue1/paccagnella.html
25.
Cornwell J. Hard-earned lives: accounts of health and illness from east London. London: Tavistock, 1984.
26.
Rheingold H. The virtual community: homesteading on the electronic frontier. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1994
27.
Scott J. A matter of record: documentary sources in social research. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1990.
28.
GVU. GVU’s 10th WWW User Survey (conducted October 1998). Obtained online from: URL:http://www.gvu.gatech.edu/user_surveys/ (27 December 1998).
29.
McLaughlin M L, Osborne K K, Smith C B. Standards of conduct on Usenet. In S Jones (ed.) Cybersociety: computer-mediated communication and community. London: Sage, 1994.
30.
Shipman M. The limitations of social research. London: Longman, 1992.
31.
Van Gelder L. The strange case of the electronic lover. Ms. Magazine1994; October: 94-124.
32.
Bennahum D. Fly me to the MOO: adventures in textual reality. Lingua Franca1994; May/June: 22-36.
33.
Platt J. Evidence and proof in documentary research. Sociological Review1981; 29(1): 31-66.
34.
Bier M C, Sherblom S A, Gallo M A. Ethical issues in a study of Internet use: uncertainty, responsibility, and the spirit of research relationships. Ethics and Behaviour1996; 6(2): 141-151.
35.
King S AResearching Internet communities: proposed ethical guidelines for the reporting of results. The Information Society1996; 12(2): 119-127.
36.
Waskul D, Douglass M. Considering the electronic participant: some polemical observations on the ethics of on-line research. The Information Society1996; 12(2): 129-139.
37.
Sixsmth J, Murray C D. Ethical issues in the documentary data analysis of internet posts and archives. Qualitative Health Research2001; 11: 423-432.
