Using Technology in Research

Part of the goal of the ERC funded research project on which Mary Bosworth, Sarah Turnbull and Ines Hasselberg are all working is to develop new methodologies to capture lived experiences of punishment and incarceration in a global world.  We are exploring the utility of various forms of technology from the internet, to mobile phones, digital cameras and tablets, alongside more traditional methods like diaries, map making, and life histories.

We would love to hear from others using similar strategies.  How do you gather testimonies from afar? In what ways have you used the internet as a means of making contact or staying in touch? Have you been able to harness social media as a means of communication and representation?

We will be trialling the use of tablets in IRCs later this year in gathering survey data.  At this stage we are trying to determine which is the most cost effective and useful. Once we are in the field we will see whether they help or hinder people in completing questionnaires.