I have been enjoying this thread on blogging and am amazed at how many colleagues are using this medium.
 
The thread got me thinking about issues associated with the critical use of blogsites as sources of primary research data. I am beginning to use blogsites associated with places, meanings and sense of identity in my own research. I have collected a number of these - not generally academic blogs - over the last couple of years with an interest not only in the blog itself but also opinions/ views within the accompanying commentaries. I am aware of the concerns about objectivities/ subjectivities associated with such sites, but I do think they give a snapshot in time.
 
So, has anyone else been mining such sites for data? If so, what issues have you encountered? Have you come across any literature about their use in geographical research?
 
Thanks,
 
Paul.
 


Dr. Paul B. Williams, BAH, MPhil, PhD
Instructor,
Dept. of Geography and Environmental Studies,
Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada