Abstract:

Do not panic! The Internet does not mean that traditional qualitative approaches and techniques will suddenly be replaced or supplanted by unwelcome, lower-cost, lower-quality, inferior substitutes from the cyber-realm. Indeed, the Internet-fed growth in the amount of quantitative information, about what people do, will be a major driver for substantial growth in the amount of traditional (or live) qualitative research needed and undertaken. The authors proposition is that the Internet has opened new, additional doors that can complement and extend the answers that can be reached qualitatively. The Internet does not mean that there will be any reduction in the skills needed for qualitative research, online or offline. The authors’ case is that the additional opportunities created by the Internet require additional skills, if moderators are to fully realise the potential of these complementary techniques.