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ABSTRACT
Use of the Internet, and the opportunity to utilise computer-mediated communication (CMC) provides new alternatives for nurse researchers to collect data.The use of CMC for research purposes is advantageous for both researchers and participants.Through this mode of communication, recruitment of participants can be enhanced through reaching individuals who are geographically distant, and nurses have the opportunity to provide participants with true anonymity, which may be beneficial when exploring sensitive issues.This paper explores the existing literature and draws on healthcare studies that have used CMC as a data collection tool.
KEY WORDS
nursing; research; data collection method; computermediated communication; participants
Received 13 December 2007
Accepted 23 June 2008
BACKGROUND
Online communication has become one of the most popular modes of communication throughout the world. Between the years 2000-2007, the proportion of people who used the Internet increased by 244.7%, with current estimates indicating that over 1.2 billion people use the Internet worldwide (Internet World Statistics 2007).The opportunities afforded by the Internet for people to communicate without the limitations and constraints of time and distance, has made this mode of communication an attractive medium, with interpersonal communication being one of its most important uses (Cummings, Butler & Kraut 2002).The ongoing advances and availability of computers, associated software, and the Internet, offers researchers new opportunities in the way they collect data (Brownlow & O'Dell 2002).
Computer mediated communication (CMC) refers to typed conversational style interaction that occurs between individuals and is mediated through a computer (Mann & Stewart 2002). The two types of CMC are asynchronous, which sends data via electronic mail (email) for example, and is not subject to time, and synchronous CMC, which allows for concurrent or 'real time', interaction between individuals using different computers at different locations. Software and programs that offer instant messaging and discussion groups are examples of synchronous CMC (Mann & Stewart 2002). Increasingly, CMC is being seen as having value for research purposes (Mann & Stewart 2002), including recruitment, and data collection for both quantitative and qualitative research studies (Curasi 2001).
This paper focuses on the use of CMC as a data collection method for nursing research. The paper draws upon the existing literature that has employed and explored CMC for data collection to identify the benefits as well...