An advantage of well-designed survey research is that, typically, it yields large volumes of quantitative and qualitative data. A key challenge researchers face is mining and reporting these data appropriately and promptly to inform research publications and presentations. When mixed methods are employed, and researchers attempt to master computer…

In this paper, I map important "messy" elements that I learned from my five-month small-scale research project, one that was designed around pivotal works on online social research. I used computers and the Internet with Minan, a young man living in Guinea, West Africa, in order to examine his perceptions surrounding the value of these…

This highly readable text demystifies the qualitative research process--and helps readers conceptualize their own studies--by organizing the different research paradigms and traditions into coherent clusters. Real-world examples and firsthand perspectives illustrate the research process; instructive exercises and activities build on each other so…

Research in information and communication technology in education places an increasing emphasis on the use of qualitative analysis (QA). A considerable number of approaches to QA can be adopted, but it is not always clear that researchers recognize either the differences between these approaches or the principles that underlie them.…