InterviewStreamliner is a free, open source, minimalist alternative to complex computer-assisted qualitative data analysis packages. It builds on the flexibility of relational database management technology.

The advent of the Internet has opened wholly new possibilities for data collecting. At the same time, several unanswered methodological pitfalls are present, possibly questioning the usability of data from web surveys. This article contributes to the scientific debate regarding the usability and reliability of web surveys in the social sciences by discussing the reliability of the data collected in passive sampling web surveys. The article analyzes two surveys containing the same questions, of which the first is based on a probabilistic offline sample, the other on a passive sampling online sample. Both surveys were aimed at measuring the respondents’ knowledge of politics. The findings related to the demographic characteristics were in-line with previous research: men, young, better educated, and politically interested persons dominated the online sample. Regarding the reliability of the results of the knowledge questions, the findings show that online surveys are capable of providing valuable and reliable information about the differences (and similarities) between different groups of respondents, that is, about general trends. However, the findings strongly suggest that passive sampling web surveys should not be used for drawing conclusions about the absolute levels of political knowledge in a population. The big question which remains is whether the Internet can be seen as just another sampling environment or does the "unstructured anonymity" of the Internet require tapping into a wholly new sampling methodology.

Sensation seeking is a personality trait, which has been studied mainly from the perspective of behavior problems. The current study extends that research to consider the use of the Internet. The Brief Sensation Seeking Scale (BSSS), created by Hoyle, Stephenson, Palmgreen, Lorch, and Donohew, was used. This article examined the relationship between sensation seeking and the use of the Internet from the gender perspective. The BSSS is invariant when the population studied is separated between non-Internet users, Internet users, and online buyers. However, some significant differences between the four dimensions of the scale appear when the authors introduce the gender variable.

In 2001, Dmitry Sklyarov was arrested for his role in designing the Advanced e-Book Processor, the software that cracked Adobe’s e-Book encryption. Using historical data and situating itself within social movement theory, this article focuses on the case of Sklyarov’s arrest to show how the digital rights movement, using online networks, mobilized activists and framed the event in a manner that led to "backfire" against government prosecutors and Adobe Systems Inc. The case illustrates positive outcomes for social movements when they use movement-specific online networks—networks that help rapidly define the meaning of issues and that have the potential to inform mass media outlets, and through them, broader publics.

The concept of social capital continues to underline contemporary debate regarding the extent to which shared values, ideas, norms, and culture shape the kind of political and administrative efficacy that enhances collective action, democracy, and effectiveness in public service delivery. This study attempts to identify the relevance of civic engagement and information, communications, and technology (ICT)-induced networking in the development of social capital among local county commissioners and nonprofit leaders in the state of Alabama. Results drawn from a series of analyses indicate that county commissioners are more likely to rely on interpersonal networking to getting things done, as opposed to relying on ICT-induced networking, which is more characteristic of leaders of nonprofit organizations. Although the findings also suggest that both county commissioners and nonprofit leaders have similar preferences regarding key indicators of social capital, the mechanisms by which it evolves is different in both institutional frameworks. From a policy perspective, the propositions offered here also provide a useful model that could be replicated in other state and local government scenarios.

When candidates engage in robust policy debate, it gives citizens clear choices on issues that matter. Previous studies of issue engagement have primarily used indicators of campaign strategy that are mediated by reporters (e.g., newspaper articles) or indicators that may exclude candidates in less competitive races (e.g., television advertisements). We study issue engagement with data from a unique source, congressional candidate Web sites, that are unmediated and representative of both House and Senate campaigns. We find that the saliency of issues in public opinion is a primary determinant of candidate engagement. And, despite the unique capacity of the Internet to allow candidates to explain their positions on a large number of issues, candidates continue to behave strategically, selecting a few issues on which to engage their adversaries.

Social networking is a phenomenon of interest to many scholars. While most of the recent research on social networking sites has focused on user characteristics, very few studies have examined their roles in engaging people in the democratic process. This paper relies on a telephone survey of Southwest residents to examine the extent to which reliance on social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and YouTube has engaged citizens in civic and political activities. More specifically, this study looks at the extent to which social networking sites influence political attitudes and democratic participation after controlling for demographic variables and the role of interpersonal political discussion in stimulating citizen participation. The findings indicate that reliance on social networking sites is significantly related to increased civic participation, but not political participation. Interpersonal discussion fosters both civic participation and political activity. Implications of the results for democratic governance will be discussed.

Although women have been stereotyped as more emotionally expressive than men, the extant empirical evidence on sex differences in the expression and use of affective communication is equivocal. The authors examined the influence of sex and context on the expression and use of computer-mediated affective language in a sample of young adults. A total of 56 undergraduates (28 males, 28 females) were paired in same-sex dyads and randomly assigned to either a webcam or no webcam condition. The participants engaged in a 10-min free chat online conversation in the laboratory. Transcripts were objectively coded for the use of affective communication and traditional linguistic and conversational style measures. The analyses revealed separate significant Sex x Webcam Condition interactions on the affective quality of language used and the expression of computer-mediated emotion. Men in the webcam condition used significantly less active words than men in the no webcam condition and less than women in the webcam condition. Women in the webcam condition used significantly more emoticons than women in the no webcam condition or men in either condition. Men and women did not differ in their use of emoticons in the no webcam condition. Results suggest that sex differences in the use and expression of computer-mediated affective communication are context specific in an undergraduate sample. Findings are discussed in terms of their larger implications for understanding sex differences in the expression and use of emotion in face-to-face (FTF) social interactions.

This article focuses on the persistence of the digital divide and its impact on political participation, and in particular, on the role that geographic location plays in unequal access. The authors findings, based on survey data from the 2007 Pew Internet and American Life project, indicate that physical location continues to play a key role in levels of access to broadband technology and that increased home Internet use is associated with a significantly higher probability of contacting government officials in various ways.

This article examines the political uses of social networking (SN) Web sites by young adults in context of the early stages of the 2008 presidential primary season. Using a survey of over 3,500 18- to 24-year-olds contacted immediately prior to the Iowa caucuses, we illustrate that although SN Web sites are recognized by youth as a possible source of news and that many receive some of their news from these sites, the types of news gathered probably do little to inform them or add to democratic discourse. Moreover, the study shows that in spite of the promise SN sites hold for increasing political interest and participation among a chronically disengaged cohort, users are no more inclined to participate in politics than are users of other media.

Preadolescent heavy television, video game, and computer viewers were compared to light viewers on their performance on tests of creative imagination, visual memory, and attention span. Results indicate that heavy viewers performed poorly compared to light viewers on all cognitive dimensions studied. Findings are explained in terms of the displacement hypothesis and formal features of video, which may hamper optimal brain development.

Relatively few studies have focused on migrants who returned to the country of their origin or their parents’ origin. Still fewer have examined the communication patterns of call center workers who live in one country but conduct all of their business in the language and culture of another country. Drawing on work by Portes and Bourdieu, this study treats the use of traditional media and the Internet and its relation to the bridging and bonding behavior of a group of Turks who returned to Istanbul from the Netherlands and who are now employed by a Dutch call center company. Based on a survey and three focus groups of employee participants, this research finds that more recent and younger returnees primarily bond with family and friends in Holland through use of Dutch media and Internet use, whereas longer term returnees connect more with Turkish media. Some bridging was occurring through interpersonal communication with Turks by the younger and more recent arrivals.

This article explores potential benefits that professional demographers can have from using new web technologies in their activities and work. To this end, the article focuses on the users of these technologies, not on the technologies themselves. The technologies are explained only very briefly, and then the article emphasizes two demography-related case studies: demographic research and higher education in demography. The article uses the findings from a recent investigation on how these technologies are used in other scientific disciplines to argue for their more extensive use in demography.