[AUS] Online drug discussion

To everyone interested in my PhD

Well, it's been over 12 months since I closed the survey and did my last online interview. So, you'd probably think I'd be finished and on to something else. Actually, I'm finding writing a thesis takes quite some time ;) Currently I've written all the data chapters and one methods chapter, and I have a introductory lit review and conclusion left to write.

I've written about 70,000 words so far. That is a LOT :) I know many of you are interested in the findings of the project. However I'm not sure where your interest lies and how much time, if any, you have and are willing to give to reading my stuff.

I do intend to write brief versions of the findings and do some media releases once it's all finished up. I'll alert you when all that happens and that will be the simple way of telling you about my findings.

However that won't give you a chance to feed back into the project. I'm sure other people's comments, especially people with their own experiences and/or a keen interest in the topic, will help make my conclusions more accurate and better argued!

So, can you respond to this group/email list/thread or to me privately - and tell me if you are willing to read findings and comment on them before I finish? If yes, what particularly interests you about online forums where drugs are discussed and my research on how internet use influences drug use?

Thanks for all your help so far. I look forward to sharing my findings!

Monica
 
Ok, for anyone reading this who wants to discuss findings prior to me submitting my thesis and isn't already in contact with me privately, let me know via PM.

Originally I envisaged being able to have an open discussion about findings where I could get people's feedback and make revisions to incorporate it, or just to enrich my understanding through online dialogue.

However as time has gone by, it has become obvious that public online forums are *public*, not only visible to those I want to engage, but also read by media outlets and others. I do want to chat with media but not until after submission. So you'll have to get in contact with me personally should you wish to have more input at this stage, otherwise I'll certainly be updating this thread when more public stuff is out there :)
 
My first peer-reviewed academic paper from the PhD has just been published. It's about the ethics of doing online research with drug users. The journal is free to access - just download the pdf from here.

Here is a paragraph from the article directly related to 'Drug Studies':

Volunteering within communities that have helped researchers is another way that researchers can develop strong rapport with, and demonstrate their support of, participant groups. After data collection was complete, MB accepted an invitation to moderate a new forum on the Bluelight Internet discussion board called “Drug Studies.” Bluelight describes itself as an “international message board that educates the public about responsible drug use by promoting free discussion” and it has been identified and described elsewhere (e.g., Duterte et al., 2009; Fowler et al., 2007; Murguía et al., 2007). The goal of the Drug Studies forum on Bluelight is to encourage dialogue between researchers and members of the Bluelight community. Drug Studies hosts threads where researchers post invitations for people who use drugs to participate in research projects. The dissemination of findings when studies are complete is also encouraged, as is the participation of researchers in an ongoing discussion of their research. Volunteering to moderate the Drug Studies forum has provided opportunities to be involved in ongoing dialogues about research in this field, to engage with researchers from different disciplines from across the world, and to discuss drug-research-related issues with Bluelight members. While some researchers have attempted to build full partnerships with online communities of drug users like Bluelight (e.g., see Murguía et al., 2007), in our experience, the full potential of participatory online research with drug user communities has yet to be realised. More work is needed to understand and find adequate responses to the ethical complexities that occur when conducting participatory online research with drug user communities and other groups who engage in and discuss stigmatised and illegal behaviours online.
Click to expand...

Any comments are welcome.

I'm currently focused on completing the thesis in the first three months of 2011. I'm very much looking forward to getting through that milestone and presenting everyone here with the publications that arise.

Cheers and Thanks!
 
Seems a slow process clicking through the 'book' on prezi, how different is it to reading the pdf in the above link.

I'll need to put aside some more time to be able to thoroughly appreciate it.

Outstanding work by the looks of it too.

Well done indeed :)
 
I did record myself presenting it so I should get myself sorted enough to have the prezi and the audio running at the same time... maybe through something like Vimeo.

The prezi and pdf are of two quite different presentations. Pdf paper is about online ethics, prezi is an overview of drugs/internet, the project and the Australian internet filter policy.

Thanks for the feedback :):)
 
A study of online drug discussion

Dear Bluelighters

Bluelight has been facilitating connections between researchers and drug-using research participants for many years now. If you haven't already seen Drug Studies, you should check it out to see what sorts of research is being conducted and how you can be involved.

One of the studies supported by Bluelight was my very own PhD thesis, which I submitted for examination only a few weeks ago. This year I have presented results from the thesis at a variety of conferences. I have recorded three of these presentations, which are available for public viewing on Vimeo.

My most recent presentation is called 'PMA sounds fun': Negotiating contested meanings of PMA in online settings. For my PhD, I participated in and observed 40 online forums where drugs were discussed, including Bluelight. This paper is about an event that occurred during the fieldwork period, the death of Annabel Catt from PMA (in a cap sold to her as ecstasy), and how this event was discussed by people across different forums. You can view the 15 minute presentation here. Comments welcome!

Thanks to everyone who has participated in my study. See you in Drug Studies!

Cheers
Tronica, Director of Research
 
How does this not have a bunch of replies already?! I have to leave for a little bit but I'm going to watch your presentation when I'm done. I'll post back with my thoughts :D

Edit: Sorry for not getting back earlier. I watched your most recent presentation and thought it was a really good job. I'm going to take a look at the other two too :)
 
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Thanks Jesusgreen! S_G said I had a rather 'proper' Aussie accent. lol!

I've had a spike in Vimeo views so that's something at least :)

It's nice knowing it's not just an academic audience that is seeing these presentations now I have them online.
 
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