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Journal Article 1: Hookway, N. (2008). ‘Entering the blogosphere’: Some strategies for using blogs in social research. Qualitative Research, 8, 91–113.

Abstract: Since 1999 blogs have become a significant feature of online culture. They have been heralded as the new guardians of democracy, a revolutionary form of bottom-up news production and a new way of constructing self and doing community in late-modern times. In this article I highlight the significance of the `blogosphere' as a new addition to the qualitative researcher's toolkit and some of the practical, theoretical and methodological issues that arise from this. Some of the key ethical issues involved in blog data collection are also considered. The research context is a project on everyday understandings and experiences of morality.

Journal Article 2: Ryan, G. W., & Bernard, H. R. (2003). Techniques to identify themes. Field Methods, 15, 85–109.

Abstract: Theme identification is one of the most fundamental tasks in qualitative research. It also is one of the most mysterious. Explicit descriptions of theme discovery are rarely found in articles and reports, and when they are, they are often relegated to appendices or footnotes. Techniques are shared among small groups of social scientists, but sharing is impeded by disciplinary or epistemological boundaries. The techniques described here are drawn from across epistemological and disciplinary boundaries. They include both observational and manipulative techniques and range from quick word counts to laborious, in-depth, line-by-line scrutiny. Techniques are compared on six dimensions: (1) appropriateness for data types, (2) required labor, (3) required expertise, (4) stage of analysis, (5) number and types of themes to be generated, and (6) issues of reliability and validity.

Journal Article 3: Anders, A. D., & Lester, J. N. (2014). Lessons from interdisciplinary qualitative research: Learning to work against a single story. Qualitative Research, 1468794114557994.

Abstract: In this article, we consider the everyday practices and methodological and theoretical tensions of interdisciplinary, qualitative work. In particular, we discuss the varied interpretations of focus group data from Burundian men and women with refugee status and explore the consequences of representations that result in deficit-based understandings. We highlight how through our research process we learned that following participants, rather than leading with our disciplines, deepened our understanding and complicated our representations.

Journal Article 4: Newman, L. C. (2002). Macroergonomic methods: Interviews and focus groups. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 46, 1355–1359.

Abstract: Both the interviewing and focus group processes have been around and in use as tools for gathering information for decades. For someone who is interested in learning more about people and their experiences, what better way to accomplish this than by speaking directly with an individual or group of individuals? Individual as well as group interviews are windows to an understanding of the behaviors of those being interviewed. Focus groups, specifically, are viewed as a window into the human condition and human interaction. Although, the individual interview is one of the most widely used methods for collecting qualitative data, focus groups have recently gained more popularity among qualitative researchers as a method of choice.