Mixed-Method Approach to Online Communities – Visions of the Third Methodological Movement

Lobe, Bojana & Veale, Kylie

There has been a long-standing epistemological debate about how best to conduct research. So called traditionalists - quantitatively positivistic oriented researchers - use quantitative and experimental methods to accomplish hypothetical-deductive generalizations. Opposed to them, revolutionaries - qualitatively interpretivistic oriented researchers - use qualitative and narrative approaches to inductively and holistically understand human experiences and specifics. In the last few years however, a third methodological movement emerged to overcome the paradigmatic gap and incompatibility thesis underlying quantitative and qualitative methodology. A number of researchers have in fact utilized both methods to answer their research questions in the past, though only recently have we seen efforts to greater emphasis the compatibility of quantitative and qualitative methodology, mostly due to methodological pragmatism, as a mixed-method approach. In turn, when faced with comprehensively studying social phenomenon within online communities, we argue that relying on only one method is not sufficient. That is, as online communities such as communities of practice and communities of interest are based on CMC, which can support interpersonal interaction, neither a quantitative survey nor qualitative interviews alone can present us 'a whole picture'. Namely, we need to simultaneously answer confirmatory and exploratory questions to elucidate the divergent aspect of online communities. As a result, and while there are varying works applauding the advantages of a mixed-method approach, this paper concentrates on two advantages for Internet Research, based on the doctoral work of researchers in the field.

In the first instance, Bojana Lobe of the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, presents a mixed-method approach based on a need for a more descriptive/exploratory investigation of online communities. Secondly, Kylie Veale of Curtin University, Australia, discusses how a mixed-method approach bridges the macro/micro divide, allowing both a broad understanding of a online community, in addition to specific cases of use to support that understanding.