Content, Context, Reflexivity and the Qualitative Research Encounter: Telling Stories in the Virtual Realm

The arrival of the virtual realm and computer-mediated communication (CMC) hasattracted considerable interest within the discipline. However, the fullpotential of computer-mediated conversation as both a research resource andmedium of communication within the qualitative research encounter awaits furtherexploration. In this paper, I discuss the dimensions of the qualitative‘tradition’, the recent burgeoning interest in biographical methods shaping theresearch agenda and the significance of the virtual realm as a locus ofcommunication. In so doing, I draw from my recent research exploring 15 women'saccounts of their experiences of infertility and assisted reproductiveprocedures. Often, the qualitative encounter becomes a shared medium of trust,reciprocity and revelation. This research highlights the importance of not justmaking ‘space’ for participants voices and words but of acknowledging thesignificance of the context of communication itself – paying attention to‘where’ and ‘how’ we speak is as critical as paying attention to what might besaid. Participants within this study used and translated virtual text andvirtual participation into a sense-making vehicle. In this respect, the virtualspace offers a new dimension to the qualitative research encounter and we needto remain aware of the opportunities this affords.