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Methodology & data sources

21 January, 2016 - 14:46

To better comprehend the nature of online interactions in an era of social computing, wedecided to observe thriving, self-selected online forum communities. We employed a qualitative case study of interactions and discussions amongst users of forums related to heavy metal music and culture. Heavy metal music and its fans have been the focus of large scale sociological research studies that describe the sub-culture from multiple perspectives, including those of music theory and lyrical content (Walser, 1993), as well as its history and tenuous relationship with popular media (Weinstein, 2000). There also exist case studies exploring the effect of heavy metal on the behaviours of adolescent fans (Arnett, 1991, 1993; Giles, 2003; Sibley, 1995), personality distinctions among followers of heavy metal (Hansen & Hansen, 1991; King, 1985), and ethnographic research on face-to-face interactions between members of a community of heavy metal fans (Snell & Hodgetts, 2007). The present research provides empirical analyses of online communities with the express objective of demystifying hierarchies of expertise and analysing how forum members interact to engage in knowledge production processes. We employed a selective sampling strategy of users based on their contributions to two online forums, namely Brave Boards: http://www.bravewords.com/braveboards and Encyclopedia Metallum: http://www.metal-archives.com/, as well as one blog, Blabbermouth: http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/. See Figure 5.1, Figure 5.2 and Figure 5.3 for screen shots of these websites. Users were classified as super-users, i.e., individuals who have contributed in excess of 15,000 posts to either of these sites and exhibited high levels of content expertise, or browsers, i.e., individuals who primarily used the forums and blogs to seek information, and who typically refrain from posting.

We solicited participation via electronic mail and invited users to individual, hour-longvideo-recorded interview sessions. Videos contained screen captures of the users interacting within the online forums and blogs, as well as responses to interview questions posed by the research team. A semi-structured interview protocol was employed to elicit self-reflections and users’ impressions of the forums. Users' and forum moderators' posts were used as a secondary data source. All data were collected in accordance with Canada’s Tri-Council Policy on ethical conduct for research involving human participants.

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Figure 5.1 Screen shot of Brave Boards forum home page 

(http://www.bravewords.com/braveboards)

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Figure 5.2 Screen shot of Encyclopedia Metallum forum home page 

(http://www.metalarchives.com/?board)

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Figure 5.3 Screen shot of Blabbermouth home page 

(http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net)