Article review: online rela

The problem that is being explored in this article is the effect of “virtual communities” on the internet and the way they allow people to privatize experiences that otherwise would have been public. I think it is an example of explanatory research because the author tries to explain why these communities exist. She tries to explain why these communities affect private and public experience and interest, and how “virtual communities” is not necessarily the best terminology making this explanation.

The existing literature is limited because most of it doesn’t connect people’s online experience with their daily life functions, which is a big part of the public vs private interest as stated above. However these previous studies seem to show that the real and virtual identity of people is delicate, and the internet allows people to conduct their socialization within their home without the same pressures or values that come with the non-virtual world.

The main concept of this material is the use of the term “virtual communities” in studies on online internet use. The author

The author obtained the data by looking at studies of virtual communities by others, so this is secondary data. However the author also did some of her own interviewing so there is also primary data. The primary data was obtained by the author by interviewing people about their online habits and “virtual groups” they participate in online. The secondary data was obtained by reading interviews and studies by others. The methods in these studies included surveys, interviews and a sort of participant observation adapted specifically to the virtual community. The sampling procedure used in this study is not clear, since the author doesn’t go into a good explanation on how she chose her interviewees. Otherwise, in terms of secondary data and probably the authors study as well I believe cluster sampling is used. The internet users are clustered because they all have internet access and interest in using the internet, and in this case since it is virtual it is widely spread out geographically.

While I found the article interesting I also found it difficult to understand. The sampling methods were unclear, she didn’t specifically state how she chose her subjects or if she interviewed them in person or online. If it was in person their could be bias because of the personal nature of the interview, and if it was online there could also be bias because the person might not want to admit to actions, in this case using internet groups. The anonymity would

Some topics in this essay:
Culture Society, Bakardjieva Maria, word community, strength ties user, ties user, strength ties, secondary data, “virtual communities”, ties user communicate, tries explain communities, makes community online, data obtained, communicate online, definition word community, friends family, primary data, user communicate,