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A Comparison of Internet and Face-to-Face (FTF) Qualitative Methods in Studying the Relationships of Gay Men 

Authors: Brad van Eeden-Moorefield a;  Christine M. Proulx b; Kay Pasley c
Affiliations:   a Department of Human Environmental Studies, Central Michigan University, 205 Wightman Hall, Mount Pleasant, MI
b Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO
c Dept. of Child and Family Sciences, College of Human Sciences, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
DOI: 10.1080/15504280802096856
Publication Frequency: 4 issues per year
Published in: journal Journal of GLBT Family Studies, Volume 4, Issue 2 June 2008 , pages 181 - 204
Formats available: HTML (English) : PDF (English)
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Abstract

Although the Internet increasingly is part of our daily interactions, it remains largely unexplored as a qualitative research medium. Because most research on the relationships of gay men uses homogeneous samples, which are often difficult to locate, the Internet provides a methodological opportunity to obtain a more diverse set of perspectives of the lived experiences of participants. Our primary interests here are to discuss the processes and ethics of using Internet focus groups and in-depth interviews compared to traditional face-to-face (FTF) methods and to discuss the trustworthiness and quality of data garnered from the use of Internet methods. Using previous literature and our own experiences conducting Internet-based and FTF qualitative research that explored the relationships of gay men as well as data from this study, we suggest that using the Internet as a qualitative research medium can enhance sample recruitment and result in data that is trustworthy. Additionally, we offer suggestions for online moderating.
Keywords: Gay couples; Internet; qualitative research; research methods
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