emerging issues in on-line Feminist research * * Emerging Issues in On-Line Feminist Research * * *Tracy L.M. Kennedy* *Feminist Methodology Course Paper* *York University* *2000*
/Introduction:/ The purpose of this study is to revisit the Internet research process used in an undergrad thesis. Specifically, this paper will seek to explore on-line interviewing as an interactive research process and whether this interactive system can be utilized as a feminist method. In order to conduct such a study, it will be necessary to revisit the women who were previously interviewed on-line. The intention of this paper is to re-interview the initial women and investigate their feelings about being interviewed on-line. This study will not only allow for a review and critique of subsequent feminist methods, but it will also contribute to the existing literature regarding tools for feminist methodology.
/Literature review/: Qualitative research properly seeks answers to questions by examining various social settings and the individuals who inhabit these settings. Qualitative researchers, then, are most interested in how humans arrange themselves and their settings and how inhabitants of these settings make sense of their surroundings through symbols, rituals, social structures, social roles and so forth (Berg, 1998). Qualitative procedures provide a means of accessing unquantifiable facts about the actual people researchers observe and talk to or people represented by their personal traces (such as letters, photographs, newspaper accounts, diaries and so on). As a result, qualitative techniques allow researchers to share in the understanding and perceptions of others and to explore how people structure and give meaning to their daily lives ( Berg). This paper addresses qualitative research methods used on the Internet. Internet research has grown increasingly popular with many issues and concerns arising from its inception. Cyberspace refers to the Internet and subsequently, this is difficult to define as reflected when reviewing the literature. The Internet means many different things to different people. Costigan (1999) explains that the Internet cannot be captured in a singular definition. To define the Internet is to restrain it within a structure, a set of boundaries that Costigan (1999) claims do not exist. Not only is the Internet in constant state of change, but it is created by networks and from these networks new networks are created. This ‘network of networks’ as Costigan (1999) terms it, each has their own design and unique structure that interconnect (p xviii). Costigan offers an analogy of the Internet as a forest composed of thousands of separate and unique Page 1
emerging issues in on-line Feminist research trees (p xxiv) which makes Internet research hard to understand, hard to define and hard to keep up with. Nevertheless, participant observation, content analysis and on-line interviewing are some of the qualitative techniques that are being utilized on the Internet. Pamela Cushing (1996) uses ethnographic evidence to highlight how the conversations of men and women on the Internet are gendered. Cushing’s experiences of a biased language in the Internet world reflected a language that resembled the male-oriented style of communication similar to that of the business world. She attributes this partially to the fact that there were so few women on the Internet in its beginnings (in 1996 - 30% women on the net compared to about 50% now). Cushing uses virtual ethnography as she is observing within cyberspace (and in particular Usegroups or Bulletin Board Services), which some challenge is somewhat different than traditional participant observation. Cushing’s choice to use ethnographic field strategies is interesting and effective because we see ethnography as a way of describing a culture - it is a way to understand another ‘way of life’ from a native point of view. Ethnography is primarily a process that attempts to describe and interpret social expressions between people and groups (Kendall, 1999). In Cushing’s research, she demonstrates that the male linguistic style is privileged to the point that it excludes others. Within Cyberculture, others (and she argues women in particular) are indirectly forced to adapt to the dominant male conversational norms in order to communicate effectively. She relates this occurrence to gender hierarchies evident in the physical world. Content analysis is another example of qualitative research that can be utilized on the Internet. Allison Jones (1999) completes a content analysis of Internet websites containing racist material. Jones perceives these websites as a cultural reflection of current racial sentiments both in the US and in Canada. Content analysis is useful in learning about communication - particularly the message, the sender and the audience (Berg). As the Internet is a vehicle for communication, Jones is able to learn much about current racist notions, who holds these sentiments and who shares these sentiments. Furthermore, a triangulation of methods is also possible on the Internet. For example, Winter & Huff (1996) examine the electronic communication from the standpoint of a women-only electronic forum of computer scientists called ‘systers’. This study utilized a survey of 491 women but also conducted a qualitative analysis of the comments from the respondents. The survey was electronically distributed to women who answered the questions and then offered narratives - some long - some short - of stories of incidences, reactions and opinion. The authors note that many details were provided within the survey when the question did not ask for it. It is suggested that the medium - the electronic exchange - worked to encourage women to recount their stories. This may not have been the case in a mail out or person-to-person survey. This is an interesting example of how Internet research can blur the distinctions between quantitative and qualitative research methods. As previous research indicates, Internet research incorporates and expands how qualitative methodology is conceptualized. While the Internet also offers various quantitative methodological approaches, the Interactive capacity of the Internet allows for an effective qualitative forum.
Ethical Issues: Page 2
emerging issues in on-line Feminist research /Privacy and Confidentiality/: Sharf (1999) indicates that electronic mail goes through the Internet, a worldwide computer connected web, that enables linkages among people and sites globally. It is necessary to question how private the net is? There are several issues that need to be considered when using the Internet for research purposes. Sharf states that a person can never really be sure who is reading your email and who has access to it. As well, intimate messages sent through email are never entirely erased and are easily copied and/or redirected (p 246). It is imperative to remember and understood that the Internet is a public medium where anyone can access ‘private’ material in a ‘public’ forum. Therefore anyone choosing to make disclosures through an on-line discussion format is assuming some risk in who will receive that information and how it will be used. Thus, the most important sense of privacy for email participants becomes the matter of personal information control (Sharf, 1999).
/Informed Consent and Narrative Appropriation/ Frankel & Siang (1999) perceive informed consent as a vital component of ethics. Informed consent involves the participant in the research as a active in the decision making and contributing to the research. Frankel & Siang propose three central questions in relation to informed consent: When is informed consent required; how can it be obtained; and how can it be validated (p 7)? Many of the concerns are rooted in the uncertainty of what is public and what is private space on the Internet. While chat rooms and Mud/Moos may be public space, the responsibility is placed upon the participants to not disclose private information in such public forums (p 7). Sharf also outlines several necessary considerations regarding informed consent. For example, Sharf states that if a researcher campaigns respondents to participate in an on-line survey or interview, or to contribute personal anecdotes, those who do respond have made a conscious choice to do so (p 247). Sharf implores that participants who respond have the option to disguise their identities with user names that do not reveal actual names or exact locations. Respondents can also control how much information they wish to volunteer. Sharf declares where informed consent becomes troubling; “Presenting greater ethical dilemma are investigations that focus on the patterns of naturally occurring discourse in which those who are being studied cannot chose to exercise the same sorts of controls” ( p248). Furthermore, an additional ethical concern when conducting Internet research is the interpretation of the words of others. Sharf claims that this includes the appropriation of someone else’s personal narratives and quoting out of context are issues to consider in communication (p248). Anytime a researcher imposes his or her own framework of analysis on the stories and accounts from other people - whether interviews, participant observation - questions arise about ownership (for example - whose story is it now?) And validity (in what ways has the story has that story been altered through the processes of interpretation and the necessity of choosing selected samples to use as supporting evidence and illustrations?) (Sharf, 1999;248). Page 3
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Finally, a concern particularly for feminist research is what to do with the research results. Sharf asserts that this potential exploitation, in regard to how the results of the research will be used, to what purpose, in which context, and to whose benefit or expense can be detrimental to the participants.
/Literature review: Epistemology and Methodology/ The epistemological and methodological framework for this research project is rooted within feminism. Operationalizing feminism in itself is difficult and to further define feminist methodology is equally challenging. A review of the literature indicates that there are various epistemological principles which are foundational to feminist thought. Cook & Fonow (1990) identify these principles which will be briefly reviewed in this section. The goal of feminist research as explained by Lather (1995) is “to correct both the invisibility and the distortion of female experience in ways relevant to ending women’s unequal social position” (295). This assertion adequately explains what the intentions of this paper are in exploring women’s experiences on the Internet. The proposed question is what is feminist methodology? Cook & Fonow (1990) suggest four key principles in feminist methodology that is reflected and validated in more contemporary literature. While this source is not new, the four points are particularly useful in summarizing feminist methodology for this paper. First, gender is considered relevant to all social processes. Gender is a very pervasive factor in the research process; that is to say, that women are the foundation of the research (Farganis, 1994; Cook & Fonow; Harding, 1987; Stanley & Wise, 1990). Second, feminist methodology focuses on women’s experience. Research that is explicitly feminist focuses on women’s experiences on the grounds that traditional research methods assume male experience as normative (Smith, 1990). Cook & Fonow claim that this approach ignores gender, which essentially universalizes the masculine experience. Feminist research also recognizes that there are no singular experiences, nor are experiences static and unchanging (Maynard, 1994; Harding). Third, feminist research acknowledges that there is a distinctive relationship between subject and researcher. The researcher herself is a gendered being who participates in the social relations of the sociological process. The gendered researcher will have her own understanding of the participant’s experience because of her social location (Cook & Fonow; Bloom, 1998; Stanley & Wise) . “In this way, the feminist investigator is able to locate herself as a subject in history so that her own vantage point arises from the same social relations that structure the everyday worlds of the experiences of those she studies” (Cook & Fonow :73). Finally, feminist research recognizes the participants as the authors of the research; there is no separation between subject and object. Cook & Fonow (1990:76) describe a rejection of the subject/object separation among feminists. This involves essentially avoiding the treatment of subjects as mere objects of knowledge as is the situation in an interview where the participant can respond and ‘talk back’. Wolf (1996) asserts that this issue of power, which is a Page 4
emerging issues in on-line Feminist research central dilemma for feminists conducting fieldwork, needs to be addressed early so that the researcher shares control with the researched. As well, there are other necessary factors in the research process. Specifically, a focus on conscious raising, an examination of ethical concerns and an emphasis on empowerment and transformation (Cook & Fonow) are three additional factors that are involved in the feminist epistemological process. Moreover, feminist research is intended to initiate some kind of change that improves the lives of women. Harding indicates that the purpose of research is to explore women’s needs. Once women’s thoughts and desires have been explored through the research process, changes should be made. Of particular relevance are the issues that Harding raises in her work. Specifically, Harding questions whether there is a feminist method but instead presents the idea that there are common characteristics central to a feminist method. For example, Harding asserts that proposed research questions need to come out of women’s experiences. That is to say that research needs to use women’s experiences as a resource for future research, which works on the notion that what women experience is worth studying and worth hearing about (p7). Harding also proposes that the research is done /for/ women. Utilizing the experiences of women within research would allow women to understand themselves and provide women with the explanations and insights that they crave and desire (p9). She further asserts that the researcher needs to acknowledge how her identity affects the research. Having the researcher address their own social location and discussing how it may affect the analysis may alleviate the biases or prejudices that may be inherent within the project. Harding introduces this subjective element into the analysis in the early stages to indicate how the researcher shapes the research and ultimately the interpretation of the participant’s experience.
/Feminist Methodological Process:/ Traditionally methodologists often present the research process as unidirectional. However, as feminist methodologists have made clear (Eichler, 1997; Smith, 1990), most research in fact entails a complex exchange between researcher and researchee. Perhaps nowhere is this more evident than in Internet research where many of the social boundaries are obscured. In the original research, there was an opportunity to converse with women by interview or questionnaire. Feminist methodology informed the choice to interview women on-line for the initial research rather than post a questionnaire. While it would have been much simpler to supply women with a set of questions regarding the responses they received from their sites, it was too impersonal for the interests of the research. In connecting with the feminist methodological approach that was initially taken, it was important to acknowledge the complexity and the contradictory nature of human experience (Lather, 1995). Even though there was no face-to-face interaction, the on-line interview process allowed an interaction between researcher and participant in order to explore the nature of their experiences. The interview permitted the possibility to access, in an interactive manner, women’s thoughts, ideas and memories in their own words (Reinharz, 1992:19) rather than the words of the researcher that would have created for the women in a questionnaire. Specifically, this method also enables the prospect of recording the many anecdotes that the women had to offer to enhance the accounts of their experiences. Women who were interviewed could Page 5
emerging issues in on-line Feminist research construct their own experiences with their own dialogue and interaction with the interviewer. As the intent of the research was to understand the participant’s experiences, the on-line dialogue encouraged an understanding (or a glimpse) of the wisdom within her world through personal accounts in these interviews (Dant, 1991). It seems necessary then within a feminist framework to reapproach the initial research and further explore how the women in the research felt and responded to the on-line interview. If it is true that feminist methodology encourages research methods that recognize the lived experiences of women, then new tools, or methods, need to be uncovered in order to make this a reality. Feminist researchers have argued that feminist methodology is invariably difficult to define and concretely contextualize. If feminist methodology is in fact diverse, fluid and eclectic, then it is imperative that new and creative techniques are uncovered and utilized. Therefore this paper seeks to explore a new technique of qualitative methodology, specifically contemporary and creative ways to interview women or encourage women to tell their stories.
/Research Challenges:/ 1. Gender Identity: Some feminists (Eichler, 1997; Smith, 1990) believe that feminist research involves, and essentially requires, female researchers. As is the case in the initial interview process, my gender may have contributed to the participant being more open and comfortable in revealing personal on-line experiences. For example, respondents may have been more forthcoming since the participants knew they shared certain experiences with the female researcher. Because some of the negative responses the participants encountered may have been from men, the interview may have been tainted had the interviewer been a male. This perspective is also accurate if the participant had been male. While it is pure speculation, it is undeniable that some women might not have agreed to participate if the interviewer was male. What becomes rather problematic in on-line research is substantiating gender in an environment that relies entirely on text. It is quite conceivable that a person presenting oneself as female might indeed be biologically male. It is difficult to validate whether the person I am interviewing is truly female. However, if the approach to gender is something that is scripted and socially constructed, then biological sex traits are irrelevant and ‘you are what you create’.
2. Creating an Intimate Environment: It is vital to create a sympathetic and harmonious environment when interviewing women. It is also crucial to validate women’s experiences by developing a rapport and utilizing probing and exploratory questions where necessary. In the initial research, this approach greatly enhanced the on-line interviews. Reinharz (1992) reiterates these concepts in her analysis of feminist research methods. She claims “interviewee-guided research requires great attentiveness on the part of the interviewer during an interview and a kind of trust that the interviewee will lead the interviewer in fruitful directions” (p24). Anderson & Jack (1991) also assert that interviewers need to ensure that the interview creates an environment that is comforting in which women can explore their feelings and explain what they mean in their own terms Page 6
emerging issues in on-line Feminist research (p17). Creating a benevolent environment in a virtual space may be challenging. In face to face settings it is easier to ‘set the stage’ and acquaint oneself with one another. Previous contact between researcher and interviewer may have been initiated or conversations may have occurred. Small talk is more permissible in a face to face interview, where as in a virtual interview it is imperative that a dialogue is created. The virtual interviewer must ensure that measures are taken to generate conversation between the researcher and participant. This may entail an introductory period prior to the interview so that there is a sense of familiarity and rapport. Without the ‘cues’ of the body or quick clarification of questions, there needs to be a sense of camaraderie in order to create an intimate atmosphere in the virtual space. Furthermore, because there is no face-to-face interaction in an on-line interview, dialoguing effectively in text is imperative. However, this is challenging and often difficult to maintain. For example, the tone of statements is hard to verify without body language or further immediate clarification. It is vital to be concise when making statements or asking questions in an on-line setting. It is here that open-ending questions may be a bit misleading or even frustrating for the person being interviewed because they are deliberately vague. Where in a face to face interview open ended and broad questions are expected and compelling, they may not be conceptualized the same in a virtual space. This is especially true if there is a lack of comfort or familiarity between the researcher and participant and the exploratory questions are construed as cold and impartial. Several participants were generous with ‘emoticons’ such as smiling faces to clarify what they were in fact trying to convey. The development of a virtual emotional expression indicates the necessity for sentiment, particularly in an interview setting.
3. Accessing Women of all Social Locations: Part of the initial research process was to contact potential participants through email and request their participation. The use of email was beneficial in recruiting participants from all over the world. This was cost effective and allowed the research to incorporate an international perspective into the research. However, it is compelling to consider that while the Internet is effective in reaching women who may not have been previously accessible, this medium is still conceivably a tool that is related to social class and social positioning. A phone or cable line is mandatory for Internet access besides the cost of the computer. Therefore women who are researched via the Internet cannot represent all women as a group, nor can it be assumed that women in different social locations would have similar encounters in Cyberspace. It is integral to recognize this within the research design, process and analysis.
/Data Collection:/ As the study focused on a certain sample of the population, it was necessary to reach the women who participated in the study entitled “Women and the Internet: An Exploratory Study of Feminists in Cyberspace”. In total, 23 women were involved in the interview process. However, three women in the study stopped corresponding and three women did not give enough material for analysis. Therefore, the previous Page 7
emerging issues in on-line Feminist research research was formulated upon interviews with 17 women and an email (see appendix) was sent to each of these 17 women. Of the 17 women, a total of nine women participated in the new study. However, several issues and events emerged from the responses. 1. Originally, seven women responded to my call for interview participants. From these only three completed the original interview. It was difficult to motivate the women to complete the interview questions and this was rather disconcerting. Often it was necessary to send out the interview questions again to several participants as a reminder of the process that was occurring. The three completed interviews took two months to complete which reflects a lengthy interview process. Participants noted that they were busy with work or school, and the holiday season was a factor in the interview schedule as well. 2. Of the four women who left the interview and the researcher ‘dangling’ in Cyberspace, there was no response after a second mail-out of the interview question. At this, as a researcher in desperate circumstances, something different had to be executed in order to stimulate and motivate the participants to complete the interview. It was a perplexing situation of why participants were less interested in completing the interview process. In reflecting upon the lack of enthusiasm and participation of the participants, it is conceivable to propose that the interview process did not ‘offer’ anything to the participant. The initial research project clearly asserted in the introductory email that the research would be beneficial to creating a positive on-line space for women. The initial research also worked as a cleansing or purging of negative events for many women who had disturbing on-line experiences. In the secondary research, the benefit of the research results was not clearly presented in a manner that revealed; 1. How the participant would benefit from answering the questions in the interview and 2. How the research results would ultimately benefit women. Perhaps if this was more clear in the introduction, more interest would have been taken by the participant. 3. A third email (see appendix) was sent out to the four ‘lost’ women that described a change in the structure of the interview. Rather than have an interview schedule that was potentially time consuming and conceivably boring to the participants, it was proposed to the women that the interview would in fact be more of a narrative. This would give the participants a chance to tell their story about being interviewed on-line. The remaining four women were given two questions which they could use to frame their story, or furnish ideas from. From this third email, two of the four women responded to the narrative format to complete the interview. 4. Having received response from the participants from the narrative style of information exchange, a random selection of six women from the remaining ten women were sent an email (see appendix) inviting them to participate in a narrative of their on-line interview experience. Three of the six have responded and two agreed to talk about the event. Therefore, in total there ten women agreed to be involved in the research process, but only six women responded to either the narrative or interview questions and therefore used in the analysis. 5. Many of the answers to the interview questions were brief and less descriptive than the responses from the previous research. This circumstance leads to the possibility of problematic interview questions presented by the researcher; too broad, too vague and perhaps lacking in depth. Pure speculation would conceivably describe the nature of the research as less dynamic then telling about one’s personal experiences on the Internet. It is possible that talking about being interviewed on-line is less interesting than talking about receiving ‘hate’ emails. Page 8
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/Data Analysis:/ At the beginning of the research process, it was difficult to characterize a concise research question. Many ideas emerged including; Can on-line interviewing be a feminist method? What makes on-line research a feminist method? Arguably, any research method can be conceivably ‘feminist’ so it was therefore necessary to consider what makes a research method fundamentally feminist? How is a feminist method different from ‘good qualitative research’? These ‘dilemmas’ continued throughout the process. Once the interviews and narrative were completed, the interviews were coded through the computer using /Hyper-Research 2.0/. Interviews were coded into twelve general categories and from these twelve categories three central findings emerged. While the initial research question was finally conceptualized as “How does on-line interviewing fit within the framework of feminist methodology?”, queries about distinguishing between qualitative and feminist research continued. Interestingly, the research findings helped to clarify what the distinction may be between qualitative and feminist methods in research. Safety, Privacy and Control are findings that emerged from the participant interviews. However, these findings also present new feminist issues that are surfacing in the virtual world in relation to on-line research.
1. /Safety/ A major concern of the participants that develops into an emerging issue in on-line research is in relation to safety. Three themes fell under the issue of safety; identity legitimacy and intimacy. First, there is concern from most participants whether the interviewer is authentic and caution is exercised until the participant is certain that the interviewer is genuine. Similarly, women are concerned whether the request from myself is in fact legitimate. There is concern whether the interviewer is genuinely female and truly doing the work that is stated. These issues of identity and legitimacy are safety concerns for women who must protect themselves in the virtual world. This seems reflective of the ‘real’ physical world where women consistently need to be skeptical and wary of men’s intentions. Fear is inherently gendered because women’s fear involves the potential threat of sexual violence. Men generally do not experience the same kind of sexualized fear, but rather are more inclined to experience fear of physical threats or harm. This demonstrates gender manifesting itself within safety issues. While the same type of fear is actualizing itself on the Internet, women may have more control in the virtual world over the setting then in the physical world. Women on the Internet are able to distance themselves and posit inquiries about the other person. This is important within the research project because this medium has the potential to empower women. Third, most of the women who participated in the project suggest that there are some problems with an on-line interview schedule. For example, there is the notion that communicating without face-to-face interaction lacks intimacy and emotional context because there is no body language accompanying the text. As well, the open ended and broad Page 9
emerging issues in on-line Feminist research framework of the questions in the on-line interview de-personalizes the approach. This potentially presents the interview (and the interviewer) in a vague and impersonal manner Also, there is a risk of mis-communication of questions being proposed. This could be from the lack of ‘tone’ to the emailed question to spelling and grammatical errors that could change the context of the question. There is no doubt that interviewing in an on-line setting has the potential to be removed and less intimate than face to face. However, it does not have to be lacking in intimacy. One method to confront the intimacy issue is to ensure that a dialogue is generated between the researcher and participant. More time may need to be taken in conversing and sending virtual ‘cues’ about who each person is. True to feminist methodology then, taking the time to create an intimate exchange and safe setting in on-line research is essential but not impossible.
2. /Privacy/ As well, an additional theme that surfaces in the interviews is privacy. Most of the participants indicated that on-line interviews create a private space for participants. This private space reflects a ‘disembodied’ place where women can feel more at ease with themselves and their responses. Participants also describe how the on-line interview enables them to answer the questions in the comfort of their homes or other personal surroundings. As face to face interviews often take place in the home of the participant, there is often a sense of intrusion by the researcher on the researched. This is alleviated in an on-line interview. Connected to the safety theme, this private space offers a sense of security and empowerment for the women in the interview because it allows them to be more candid, emotional and more confident. Interviewing on-line permits women to engage in dialogue from work, home, or anywhere else they choose. Having a virtual interview endures less distractions and more focused and thought out responses. This is beneficial to the participant because she can have time to consider her feelings without feeling pressured to respond immediately.
3. /Control/ Moreover, the final theme that emerges from the interviews is the subject of control. Participants observed that the interviewer had less influence in the interview process than they would in a face-to-face interview. Participants noted that they felt more in control over how they responded to the questions (more time to deliberate answers), when they answered the question (how much time to take to respond) and also if they responded at all (to essentially finish the interview if they were discontented with the process). In the initial research, there were some women who were quite critical of the research and the interview schedule. These criticisms were conveyed in the email responses to the interview questions. It is apparent that women who were critical of the study within the interview felt comfortable enough to ‘voice’ their discontent which might not have happened in a face-to-face interview. Perhaps it is the nature of the ‘faceless’ interview that would compel women to indulge in critical commentary. Critical to the discussion is the control that the participant has in a virtual interview. Additionally, participants noted that the on-line interview Page 10
emerging issues in on-line Feminist research allowed for flexibility and convenience. Participants noted that the medium is convenient and were able to utilize email at their leisure (late at night for example) to respond to the interview questions. Consistent with feminist methodology, the on-line interview is empowering to the female participants who are essentially in control of the flow of the interview. For example, the participants can answer in any manner they feel suitable. The answers that are supplied to the interviewer can be either exceptionally long or short and any additional pieces of information can also be supplied. Recognizing the time pressures experienced by many adult women - - notably those juggling childcare and paid employment - - the method is self-consciously feminist in allowing participants to dictate the timing. The participant can respond at any time that is agreeable to her. If the participant wants to respond immediately, she can do so. If however she is too busy at the time to answer the question, she can come back to it at a later date. The on-line interview is not restricting and is formulated to benefit each participant. This is fundamentally empowering for the women who is being interviewed because she controls the pace of the interview. From the stance of the interviewer, this maybe somewhat problematic because it impedes the flow of the research. For example, one of the problematic aspects of interviewing on-line is that the process can be lengthy. In the initial research, some interviews took more than a month to complete because the participants either were too busy, they forgot to answer the question, or they took considerable time in formulating a concise response. This also surfaced in the secondary research. On several occasions it was necessary to resend the question to the participant. Because there is no face-to-face interaction, the interview can supposedly be less socially pressing. Also, it is easy to forget to respond to an email post by leaving it in the ‘In’ box for an indefinite period. Further, there is always the risk that a participant may delete the post accidentally (or intentionally) or that the post gets lost in cyberspace for technological reasons.
/Conclusions:/ My original intent of the research project was to investigate whether on-line interviewing was an effective tool for conducting feminist research. My overall assessment of using the Internet as an interactive research tool is that the method is quite effective in terms of feminist research methods. The second round of interviewing revealed some interesting and important issues about conducting research and helped me to make some differentiations between good qualitative research and feminist research. The issues of safety, privacy and control were three key areas that helped to uncover what some of the concerns are for women, not only as women, but how these concerns manifest themselves while conducting research. In conducting feminist research, most feminist researchers have the issues of safety, privacy and control in mind already (or they should have). While safety, privacy and control are issues that surface in Internet research, as the data analysis indicates, on-line interviewing can be a useful and empowering feminist tool for women when conducting feminist research. Because of the time restraints and size limitations to this research paper, many further discussions must be left unexplored and many areas of the paper require further explanation and investigation. Often the research findings generated more questions for myself and revealed many additional themes that must be left for another project. Most of this paper is exploratory but hopefully addresses, albeit Page 11
emerging issues in on-line Feminist research briefly, the issues concerning Cyberfeminist research and methodology. There are some questions that I ask myself as a researcher, which I feel every researcher should do once a project is completed; what would I do differently and where do I go from here? Initially, my first response to these queries is to improve on my own on-line interview skills and perhaps let women create their own ‘interview’ or dialogue. I would certainly spend more time creatively and intimately dialoguing with the many interesting women. It is easy for me to get caught up in the structures of the interview without allowing myself to stray outside the interview schedule. I think this is problematic and I find that I am guilty of trying to legitimate my research by strictly adhering to a script or a process. This is not the most ‘feminist’ thing to do and clearly reflects the dilemma of legitimating feminist and qualitative methodology. In the future, I plan to continue using the Internet as a tool in my feminist research. As one of my participants stated; “It’s very important we keep this as a tool for safe, productive communication for all of us”. There are far too many advantages of the Internet to women to let this tool fall by the wayside. I have the ability to reach women globally and transgress traditional research boundaries. By utilizing the Internet as a research tool, I am able to complete research that empowers women and work towards social change; Since women’s lives are fashioned by the sexual division of labour, we have to fit our lives between the cracks and creases of home work...Internet research accommodates our needs. We can pop on the web at a moment’s notice between a diaper and bottle or dusting and dancing...and so on.
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