Challenges facing online research: Experiences from research concerning cyber-victimisation of people with disabilities

Vol.11,No.1(2017)
Special issue: Internet use and disability

Abstract

The victimisation of people living with disabilities and chronic conditions is a documented phenomenon. It ranges from harassment incidents to disability hate crimes, and causes physical, mental and psychosocial consequences. The Internet has further reshaped this phenomenon which lead to “cyber-victimisation” experiences, with no less impact upon victims. This methodology paper focuses mainly on the challenges and implications of using online methods in a UK-based study exploring the impact of cyber-victimisation on people coping with disabilities and chronic conditions. Mixed-method design was adopted via an online-survey followed by in-depth interviewing of victims. Online recruitment was through victim-support groups, patient-support groups, and social media. Out of 80 organisations and charities approached, 51(63.8%) gatekeepers helped to reach participants. Recruitment and data collection process was challenged by four overarching themes: 1) social identity in online support groups, 2) the role of online gatekeepers, 3) the contradictory role of social media, and 4) promoting inclusivity. These challenges were theorised from the perspective of the Social Identity Theory. Representing self as a victim and/or a disabled-person had its implications on virtual groups’ membership, social media use, gatekeepers’ decisions and subsequent participation. Some identity aspects were highlighted as positive points to improve engagement with research. In conclusion, the Internet has aggravated the vulnerability of people with disabilities, but it also has a huge potential in researching sensitive topics with this group. Future research in the cyberspace should acknowledge the challenges of online identities of disabled victimised people, and focus on positive identity aspects to facilitate the research process and encourage collaborative participation at early stages of research.

Author biographies

Zhraa A. Alhaboby

Zhraa is a qualified medical doctor (MBBS), and MSc in International Primary Healthcare from Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry (QMUL). She has a cross-cultural clinical experience overseas in over 18 hospitals and clinics. In a multidisciplinary team she conducted a Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) to evaluate a peer-support programme in East London, she is actively involved in culturally-sensitive health promotion campaigns. She teaches undergraduate and postgraduate modules in the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences. Zhraa is currently researching the impact of cyber-victimisation on people living with chronic conditions at the Institute for Health Research (IHR), University of Bedfordshire.

James Barnes

Jim is a Chartered Psychologist and an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS). His personal research interests focus on the neuropsychological aspect of cognition, particularly psychosis and deviant behaviours in both clinical patients and the general population. He has been involved in a variety of projects working with individuals with Parkinson's disease, dyslexia, PTSD and more recently has been a member of the National Centre of Cyberstalking Research (NCCR), and is currently working with Bedfordshire PCC and the Home office on a national cyber harassment Police project. 

Hala Evans

Dr Evans is a senior lecturer in Public Health at the University of Bedfordshire, UK. She leads/teaches two core academic modules for postgraduate students in health studies. Her research interests are focused on four main areas, inequality in health, violence/aggression in schools, communicable diseases and non-communicable diseases and health and lifestyle.

Emma Short

Emma is a Chartered Psychologist and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society. As Director of the National Centre for Cyberstalking Research she is a researcher in online behaviour, principle investigator of the ECHO project and currently leading a Home Office funded project for Cyberharassment creating a Platform for Evidence Gathering, Assessing Risk & Managing Policing. The NCCR is a multidisciplinary team investigating the methods, nature and impact of cyberstalking. Emma’s research has identified that the impact of sustained online threat which characterises cyberstalking poses significant risk, with many victims reporting clinical levels of PTSD.

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