Problematizing platform use in qualitative inquiry

A Postdigital, Anti/Colonial Critique

Dados Bibliográficos

ID2404404
AutoresLorien S Jordan (0000-0003-1018-3683, University of South Florida, autor correspondente)
Ano2025
Volume25
Fascículo6
Páginas1235-1259
Data de publicação2025-12-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoQualitative Research (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1468-7941 • E-ISSN: 1741-3109
EditoraSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/14687941241306235
OpenAlexW4405540217
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas1
Referências citadas66

Qualitative inquirers are increasingly exploring the possibilities and promise of web-based research. From re-envisioning the meaning of face-to-face interaction through online collaboration platforms to harvesting organically occurring digital content, these data generation interactions occur on platforms designed for purposes other than inquiry. Researchers who work within these platformed field sites must be clear on the affordances of these imperfect and continually evolving ecosystems. In this article, I engage in a postdigital anti/colonial critique of platforms to outline the contours of their relational-cultural affordances as distinctly colonial and white. From this engagement, I invite a dialogue on the risks researchers take when assuming a platform is universal and, subsequently, our digital research on these platforms are neutral endeavors. I conclude with a series of critically reflexive prompts for researchers to consider when engaging in digital research

Affordance · Colonialism · Engineering ethics · Epistemology · Human–computer interaction · Meaning-making · Political science · Qualitative research · Reflexivity · Social science · Sociology · Computer Science · Digital Education and Society · Engineering · Higher Education Practises and Engagement · Psychology · Viral Infections and Outbreaks Research