Interviews, Observation, or Content Analysis?

All of the methods that we have used have their merits and their ups and downs, if you will. Interviewing clearly gets the most specific response with plenty of room for questions. Observation gives you the opportunity to see people in their natural habitat. Content analysis, gives the opportunity for deep study and many different views. However, when it comes to which one I prefer to do, then it’s a easy choice.

Although interviews may get the best responses and give you the most flexibility, they also have several down points. The first being that you actually have to find some one who will let you interview them, and in Second Life especially I have found this to be very difficult. On top of this interviews can often be awkward and time consuming, neither of which I particularly enjoy.

Observations aren’t as awkward as interviews, but they too have some problems. Unlike with some other forms observation can be seriously effected by the time when you conduct your observation. At different times areas will be more or less populated and by different groups, to effectively observe you have to go at the right time. Also observation is entirely based on your own observations, thus if you miss something, then it is gone forever.

Then there is content analysis. Although this method is by no means perfect (it involves a lot of reading, and looking for content) it is the least awkward and most convenient of the methods. Your sources will neither ignore you, nor will they restrict you to a specific time. Thus, for me, I find content analysis to be the most comfortable method. Naturally this is only my opinion, others may differ.