While Internet-based tools are gaining currency in social work teaching and practice, social work researchers are tapping into the development of computer-mediated methods for research with dispersed and hard-to-reach populations. This article is a reflective commentary about the opportunities and challenges of using computer-mediated methods in a qualitative inquiry about young people’s (18–26 years) experiences of negotiating lesbian, gay, bisexual and queer (LGBQ) identities in Australian workplaces. The research used two Internet-based methods of online interviews and web-based surveys to capture young people’s experiences of disclosing and discussing LGBQ identities in past and current work environments. In this commentary, I outline these methods and explore the technical, methodological and ethical challenges and tensions presented by using online tools in qualitative research. To conclude, I discuss wider applications of computer-mediated communication for social work.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (2006–2007) Household Use of Information Technology, cat. no. 8146.0: Australian Bureau of Statistics.
2.
AndersonAL (1998) Strengths of gay male youth: An untold story. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal15(1): 55–71.
3.
BinikYMMahKKieslerS (1999) Ethical issues in conducting sex research on the Internet. The Journal of Sex Research36(1): 82–90.
4.
BowkerNTuffinK (2004) Using the online medium for discursive research about people with disabilities. Social Science Computer Review22(2): 228–241.
5.
BrownHC (1998) Social Work and Sexuality – Working With Lesbians and Gay Men. Houndmills: Macmillan Press.
6.
CharmazK (2006) Constructing Grounded Theory – A Practical Guide Through Qualitative Analysis. London: SAGE Publications.
7.
CohlerBJHammackPL (2007) The psychological world of the gay teenager: Social change, narrative and ‘normality’. Journal of Youth and Adolescence36(1): 47–59.
8.
D’CruzHJonesM (2007) Social Work Research: Ethical and Political Contexts. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.
9.
EganJChenowethLMcAuliffeD (2006) Email-facilitated qualitative interviews with traumatic brain injury survivors: A new and accessible method. Brain Injury20(12): 1283–1294.
10.
FlickerSHaansDSkinnerH (2004) Ethical dilemmas in research on internet communities. Qualitative Health Research14(1): 124–134.
11.
HillierLHarrisonL (2007) Building realities less limited than their own: Young people practising same-sex attraction on the internet. Sexualities10(1): 82–100.
12.
HillierLKurdasCHorsleyP (2001) ‘It’s Just Easier’ – The Internet as a Safety-Net for Same Sex Attracted Young People. Melbourne: Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS), La Trobe University.
13.
HolsteinJAGubriumJF (1995) The Active Interview, Vol. 37. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.
14.
HookwayN (2009) Entering the blogosphere: Some strategies for using blogs in social research. Qualitative Research8(1): 91–113.
15.
Huerta-WongJESchoechR (2010) Experiential learning and learning environments: The case of active learning skills. Journal of Social Work Education46(1): 85–101.
16.
HuntS (2002) In favour of online counselling?Australian Social Work55(4): 260–267.
17.
KongTSKMahoneyDPlummerK (2002) Queering the interview. In: GubriumJFHolsteinJA (eds) Handbook of Interview Research – Context and Method. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, 239–258.
18.
LaSalaMC (2007) Parental influence, gay youths, and safer sex. Health and Social Work32(1): 49–55.
19.
LiamputtongPEzzyD (2005) Qualitative Research Methods, (2nd edn). South Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
20.
MannCStewartF (2000) Internet Communication and Qualitative Research – A Handbook for Researching Online. London: SAGE Publications.
21.
MannCStewartF (2002) Internet Interviewing. In: GubriumJFHolsteinJA (eds) Handbook of Interview Research – Context and Methods. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, 603–627.
22.
MarkhamAN (2005) The methods, politics, and the ethics of representation in online ethnography. In DenzinNKLincolnYS (eds) The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research(3rd edition). Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, 793–820.
23.
McAuliffeD (2003) Challenging methodological traditions: Research by email. The Qualitative Report1: 57–69.
24.
McCoydJLMKersonTS (2006) Conducting intensive interviews using email. Qualitative Social Work5(3): 389–406.
25.
MiceliMS (2002) Gay, lesbian and bisexual youth. In: RichardsonDSeidmanS (eds) Handbook of Lesbian and Gay Studies. London: SAGE Publications, 199–214.
26.
MorrowDF (2004) Social work practice with gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender adolescents. Families in Society85(1): 91–99.
27.
MustanskiBS (2001) Getting wired: Exploiting the Internet for the collection of valid sexuality data. The Journal of Sex Research38(4): 292–301.
28.
OuellettePMWesthuisDMarshallEChangV (2006) The acquisition of social work interviewing skills in a web-based and classroom institutional environment: Results of a study. Journal of Technology in Human Services24(4): 53–75.
29.
ParrottLMadoc-JonesI (2008) Reclaiming information and communication technologies for empowering social work practice. Journal of Social Work8(2): 181–197.
30.
QSR International (2006) NVivo 7. Melbourne: QSR International.
31.
RhodesSDBowieDAHergenratherKC (2003) Collecting behavioural data using the world wide web: Considerations for researchers. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health57(1): 68–73.
32.
RiggleEDBRostoskySSReedyCS (2005) Online surveys for BGLT Research: Issues and techniques. Journal of Homosexuality49(2): 1–21.
33.
RobinsonKM (2001) Unsolicited narratives from the Internet: A rich source of qualitative data. Qualitative Health Research11(5): 706–714.
34.
Savin-WilliamsRC (2005) The New Gay Teenager. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
ScourfieldJRoenKMcDermottL (2008) Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people’s experiences of distress: Resilience, ambivalence and self-destructive behaviour. Health and Social Care in the Community16(3): 329–336.
37.
SelwynNRobsonK (1998) Using e-mail as a research tool. Social Research Update 21. Available at: http://sru.soc.surrey.ac.uk/SRU21.html (accessed 10 August 2010).
38.
SteinA (1997) Sex and Sensibility – Stories of a Lesbian Generation. California: University of California Press.
39.
SteyaertJGouldN (2009) Social work and the changing face of the digital divide. British Journal of Social Work39: 740–753.
40.
TrotterJ (2000) Lesbian and gay issues in social work with young people: Resilience and success through confronting, conforming and escaping. British Journal of Social Work30: 115–123.
41.
TrotterJ (2006) Violent crimes? Young people’s experiences of homophobia and misogyny in secondary schools. Practice: Social Work in Action18(4): 291–302.
42.
ValentineGButlerRSkeltonT (2001) The ethical and methodological complexities of doing research with ‘vulnerable’ young people. Ethics. Place and Environment4(3): 119–125.
43.
Van LeeuwenJMBoyleSSalomonsen-SautelSBakerDNGarciaJTHoffmanA (2006) Lesbian, gay, and bisexual homeless youth: An eight-city public health perspective. Child Welfare85(2): 151–170.
44.
WongYCFungJYLawCKLamJCYLeeVWP (2009) Tackling the digital divide. British Journal of Social Work38(4): 754–767.
