Ethical Design of Online Qualitative Research: Updating Models and Offering Ways to Apply Them
Making design decisions is challenging when the study will be conducted online. Qualitative researchers who collect data with online interviews or focus groups are responsible for treating participants in a respectful and ethical manner. Researchers need ethical ways to collect written materials, photographs, or videos online. However, ethical online research design guidance is limited. This project aims to update the Qualitative e-Research Framework I developed to serve this purpose.
A social constructivist grounded theory approach will be used to collect input on the Qualitative e-Research Framework. Researchers from around the world will participate in online focus groups to answer questions, annotate diagrams, and discuss ethical ways to conduct online studies. CAIS fellows, faculty, and students will be invited to contribute their insights. Focus groups will generate visual, video, and written data.
The output will be an open-access Qualitative e-Research Design Guide to complement my text, Doing Qualitative Research Online (2022).
Main Research Topic
Designing ethical online qualitative research
Research Results
As a result of my CAIS fellowship project I have updated a multidisciplinary qualitative research design framework, a set of decision models researchers can use to inform the design process for studies that use information and communication technologies for data collection and analysis. Ethical design and respectful research practices are at the heart of the framework. These models, central to my books including Doing Qualitative Research Online (2022), help researchers design, plan, and conduct studies that involve human participants as well as those that study posts, documents, records, and other types of extant secondary data. Guidance is offered for new and experienced researchers using conventional and emerging methods including visual and creative, participatory and collaborative, mixed and longitudinal research.
The major output of the project will be an open-access multimedia e-book format design guide. As part of the developmental process I started a Substack newsletter. I am using the newsletter to distribute work in progress, solicit feedback, and build readership.
Conference presentations (refereed proposals):
- Creative Methods Conference, September 2024
- Qualitative Research in Organization and Management, April 2025
Online workshops:
- Textbook and Academic Authors Association, October and November 2024
- Central New Y Humanities Corridor, December 2024
On the topic of research ethics and AI:
- Guest post on the Scholarly Kitchen blog: “Supply Chain of Writing Fools” https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2024/11/20/guest-post-supply-chain-of-writing-fools/
- Interview on the “Charting Gen AI” blog: “‘BETRAYED’: Author says publishing giant has let down writers over lucrative AI deals” https://substack.com/@glovelace/note/c-83933460
Curriculum Vitae
- Manager, Sage Research Methods Community (formerly Sage Methodspace)
- Core Faculty and Doctoral Mentor, Capella University School of Business and Technology
- Independent researcher, methodologist, and writer
Publications and Presentations
Salmons, J., Nobes, A., Pallitt, N., Carr, T.(2023). Teaching research methods online: Informal or semi-formal professional development. In M. Nind (Ed.), Handbook of Teaching and Learning Social Research Methods. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Salmons, J. E. (2023). Journaling right and left. In N. Lemon (Ed.), Creative Expression and Wellbeing in Higher Education. Routledge.
Salmons, J. E. (2022). Doing qualitative research online (2nd ed.). Sage Publications.
Salmons, J. (2022). Using social media in data collection: Designing studies with the Qualitative E-Research Framework. In A. Quan-Haase & L. Sloan (Eds.), SAGE Handbook of Social Media Research Methods. SAGE Publishing.
Salmons, J., & Kara, H. (2020). Publishing from your doctoral research: Create and use a publication strategy. Routledge.