Christine Hine (2004) ‘Social Research Methods and the Internet: A Thematic Review’

Christine Hine (2004) 'Social Research Methods and the Internet: A Thematic Review' Sociological Research Online, Volume 9, Issue 2, < http://www.socresonline.org.uk /9/2/hine.html> doi:10.5153/sro.924 Received: 28 Apr 2004 Accepted: 6 May 2004 Publis hed: 31 May 2004 Thematic Reviews are collections of articles that have been published in previous issues of Sociological Research Online, accompanied by a critical introduction / review by a guest editor. Thematic reviews draw together articles on a particular theme or topic area, and situate these within a broader context. The editors of the journal are happy to discuss suggestions for thematic reviews with potential guest editors. Please contact the editorial office of the journal (socres@soc.surrey.ac.uk) Introduction 1.1 Sociological Research Online did not set out to be a journal about the Internet. It could more accurately be framed as "action research" where the Internet is concerned, since by the practical doing of Internet publishing, and by trying to exploit the possibilities of the technology, the journal has set out to change and challenge existing practice (Bulmer and Stanley, 1996). It is possibly not surprising, however, that it has often attracted sociologists who are interested in the Internet as a topic. Without ever setting out to be an authority on sociology of the Internet and sociology done via the Internet, the journal has over the course of time become a rich resource for finding sociologists who are unafraid of the Internet and who use it in interesting and fruitful ways in their research. 1.2 Along with the regular series of items on Internet based resources for sociologists, papers by Slack (1998) and Dicks and Mason (1998) have explored the ways in which sociology could make more imaginative use of the Internet to structure and publish research. There has also been an impressive selection of papers discussing the role of computers in sociological...