Methodological considerations in the UK: research on the domestication of ICTs

In the methods literature on qualitative research it is now increasingly recognised that what emerges in interviews is not simply the truth about household life but an inter-subjective construction negotiated during the research process (Alasuutari, 1995; Miller and Glassner, 1997; Holstein and Gubrium, 1997.). This involves many judgements on the part of those interviewed concerning the goals of interview, how they can create an account of their everyday lives. It involves the interviewer in the process of negotiating which parts of such accounts are relevant, from what perspective they might be approached and how the complex realities of everyday life may be characterised. And during this process we must take into account not only problems of memory or misperception but also how interviewees are consciously or unconsciously, individually or in collaboration, presenting themselves through these accounts. Against such background consideration, this paper aims to consider the methodology of a recent three year research programme at Sussex University examining the domestication of information and communication technologies. It considers the three studies conducted within that programme, of teleworkers, lone parents and the young elderly (Haddon and Silverstone, 1993, 1995, 1996a), and for comparative purposes a subsequent study of the social class AB and cable TV (Silverstone and Haddon, 1996). The various sections of the paper consider: 1. General processes of interaction during the interview 2. The types of data sought and generated and how we might evaluate the above social processes at work in their formulation 3. The production of research reports mobilising such data 4. Some external limitations on the research process