Internet as Cultural Context

Use of the Internet as cultural context represents an ideal means of collecting meaningful data for qualitative, quantitative, and rhetorical study of a wide range of subjects, particularly when cultural context exists as a factor salient to research being conducted. The term context refers to a range of cultural, physical, geographic, temporal, historical, religious, aesthetic, and environmental settings within which an action or experience takes place. Context remains crucial not only for data collection, but also for data analysis, as context serves to place people, behaviors, and phenomenon within time and space, providing crucial clues for interpretation of experiences, motivations, stories, actions, and conversations.

Prior to the widespread availability of the Internet, the most common forms of data collection included face-to-face interviews, surveys, lab experiments, observational or participatory field research, and the collection of text from physically or digitally stored archival sources housed in libraries. These traditional approaches to data collection each involved inherent challenges and benefits. One of the primary challenges for those seeking to gather culturally meaningful data relates to access. For example, access to specific cultural groups or communities often becomes controlled by gatekeepers who restrict access to those deemed outsiders. Outside researchers remain unwelcome, even today, in some cultural contexts (e.g., members of historically exploited indigenous groups, or members of communities sharing a socially stigmatized perspective or goal are often reluctant to provide access to researchers outside the community). The use of the Internet as cultural context permits an alternate means of collecting data even when physical access to a culture or community is not possible. The remainder of this entry discusses practical considerations pertaining to use of the Internet in research where cultural context is essential to data collection, analysis, and interpretation.