Internet and social media research has created new methodological opportunities for educational and social sciences, but also new ethical challenges. In many ways, current research ethics guidelines and legislation are still limited and provisional. In this chapter, we address ethical considerations emerging from a research project based on a…

Various formats of online discussion have proven valuable for enhancing learning and collaboration in distance and blended learning contexts. However, despite their capacity to reveal essential processes in collaborative inquiry, current mainstream analytical frameworks, such as the cognitive presence framework (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer,…

Recognizing the power of the Internet to connect people, regardless of place or time, we explore the notion of a virtual form of ethnography, suggesting online, textual interactive interviews are worthy of research consideration. This paper reports on three research projects, drawing examples from almost ten years in the evolution of Internet…