Web Survey Bibliography
Title Ethnography and the Internet: Research into Electronic Discourse Communities
Author Blair, K. L.
Year 1995
Database ERIC
Access date 27.07.1995
Abstract Projects that require students to perform ethnographic research can be a form of empowerment. Lester Faigley argues that while ethnographic research still requires invention and other writing skills required of more traditional assignments, it has the added value of giving students the opportunity to explore their own locations within the culture. One such location would be internet newsgroups. These electronic communities are equally representative of the cultural assumptions and priorities given to various issues and, not unlike other media, range from conservative to liberal in their discussions of events, issues, and even people. Electronic ethnography is most easily implemented if students have access to a composition course taught in a computer-networked classroom. In many instances, gathering data about the newsgroup leads a student to new knowledge about his or her own cultural assumptions about people who participate in these groups. For example, in a collaborative paper about a group devoted to fitness, both the women and men's assumptions were that women would be concerned about their weight, while men would be concerned with health, not weight. Such binaries were broken down for these students when through their own reading and participation they recognized that both women and men had self-esteem problems directly attributed to their bodies. Ultimately, the newsgroup can serve as a microcosm of cultural assumptions and attitudes that student participants may see as either harmful or helpful in the construction of both a personal and social identity through the technological access to community.
Access/Direct link ERIC (full text)
Year of publication1995
Bibliographic typeConferences, workshops, tutorials, presentations
Web survey bibliography - 1995 (13)
- The effect of computer-assisted interviewing on data quality: A review.; 1995; de Leeuw, E. D., Hox, J., Snijkers, G.
- Subsequent questions may influence answers to preceding questions in mail surveys; 1995; Schwarz, N., Hippler, H. J.
- How to conduct self-administered and mail surveys; 1995; Bourque, L. B., Fielder, E. P.
- Alternative methods of presenting bi-polar scales in telephone interviews: 1 to 7 vs. -3 to +3 and neutral...; 1995; Schaeffer, N. C., Baker, K.
- A review of the 1992 VRS Exit Poll; 1995; Mitofsky, W. J., Edelman, M.
- The effects of alternative methods of collecting similarity data for multidimensional scaling; 1995; Bijmolt, T. H. A., Wedel, M.
- The Prodigy Experiment in Using e-Mail for Tracking Public Opinion; 1995; Werner, J., Maisel, R., Robinson, K.
- Computer-assisted Personal Interviewing: An Experimental Evaluation of Data Quality and Cost; 1995; Baker, R. P., Bradburn, N. M., Johnson, R. A.
- Method of psychological assessment, self disclosure, and experiential differences: A study of computer...; 1995; Loke, S. D., Gilbert, B. O.
- Respondent preferences toward audio-CASI and how that affects data quality; 1995; Kinsey, S. H., Thornberry, J. S., Carson, C. P., Duffer, A. P.
- Focus groups on the Internet: an interesting idea but not a good one; 1995; Greenbaum, T.
- An Exploratory-Study of The Perceived Benefits of Electronic Bulletin Board Use and Their Impact on...; 1995; Wotring, C. E., Forrest E. J., James, M. L.
- The numeric values of rating scales: A comparison of their impact in mail surveys and telephone interviews...; 1994; Schwarz, N., Hippler, H. J.