Online qualitative/ bulletin boards, photo diaries

The explosion of digital communication has meant that qualitative researchers are able to capture respondents’ thoughts and illustrations of what they are doing in the actual moment of thinking and doing. We have been using online techniques for the past three or four years and find that they are an excellent way of reaching out to the younger respondents who may not want to interact in a group discussion. This approach is highly relevant to them and the ability to make photo diaries is a very natural one for them as it is what they currently do anyway!