Thematic electronic mailing lists: feedback from members of a list on their experience in terms of knowledge and network development

Essay from the year 2011 in the subject Pedagogy - Theory of Science, Anthropology, grade: 60/100, Lancaster University (Education Research), course: PhD in Technology Enhanced Research and Learning, language: English, abstract: This paper focuses on thematic electronic mailing lists and their use to share knowledge, connections and learning. Through the implementation of a short survey, this study concentrates on a list devoted to the discussion of critical realist epistemology and it investigates feedback from members of that list, with regard to the value they attribute to the list in terms of knowledge, network and visibility development. The paper also elaborates on the opportunity that thematic electronic mailing lists offer for the application of network, content analysis and netnographic research approaches. Some reflections on ethics and challenges around the use of such approaches are also included in this study.