Qualitative Research in a Digital Age

The International Qualitative Research Network is pleased to host a series of qualitative research methods workshops, June 12-13, 2023. These workshops are open to all students, faculty and community research partners.

Joy Pierce will facilitate the June 13 workshop Qualitative Research in a Digital Age. 

Information communication technologies (ICTs) are no longer reserved for scholars in fields such as computer science and gaming, nor is digital research solely for quantitative research. There are a number of ways to gather qualitative data, yet transferring in-person tools to online platforms require some adjustment. While it may seem that such research, particularly during a global pandemic, is faster and easier, there are some challenges.

This in-person workshop will outline the ways in which qualitative research in the digital age is increasingly complex. The interactive workshop will generate a creative space to examine:

• What is data?
• Is all fair in “public” online spaces?
• What is public and what is private on the internet?
• What role do institutional review boards play in online research?
• What are the overall ethics in gathering data – interviews, unobtrusive observations, etc.?

So much of a scholar’s work is saved in Cloud-based databases. Is the Cloud secure? How do researchers protect their informants when information from academic and corporate institutions are hacked. Workshop participants will learn about and participate in the areas outlined above through exemplars and exercises.

Students: Register Here
Non-Students: Register Here

About JOY PIERCE

Joy Pierce is Associate Professor in the Department of Writing and Rhetoric Studies, and an affiliate in Latin American Studies. Her research foci are digital divides and digital literacy. She employs cultural studies and contemporary social theory through a critical pedagogical lens to study underrepresented populations coming to information communication technologies (ICTs). Dr. Pierce has studied the theories of qualitative research methods extensively, and is a methodologist specializing in ethnographies (auto, performative, participatory action research, narrative analysis). Her community-engaged research has led to guest speaking at professional meetings, and in the media; consulting on local, state, and federal policy; and research work in public libraries. She was invited to give a TEDxTalk on digital equity, and is the inaugural recipient of the Utah Digital Equity Champion award. Dr. Pierce has presented research papers at regional, national, and international conferences; published in communication, sociology and qualitative research methods journals; and published a book titled Digital Fusion: A Society Beyond Blind Inclusion (Peter Lang, 2015). She is a University of Utah Presidential Leadership fellow, associate editor of Qualitative Health Research (Sage Publishing), and sits on several boards, including the Medical Home Board Portal. Her next book, titled Autoethnography: Beyond the Self, is under revision.