HELPING PEOPLE'S

Kathleen McNiff is a blogger with QSR International, the people that brought you NVivo. Get in touch with Kath on Twitter @ KMcNiff . Imagine you’re sitting on a qualitative goldmine—in-depth interviews, focus groups, intriguing survey results, nuanced observations and a comprehensive lit review.  All the traditional boxes are ticked and yet there’s the nagging feeling that something is missing.  Chances are, it’s social media—and that’s probably why you’re here.   The Challenges There are so many impassioned and revealing conversations taking place online that it’s becoming harder (and more dangerous) to ignore them.  But embracing social media is not straightforward and you may be grappling with questions such as:   How do I build social media into my research design? What platforms are worth concentrating on? How should I collect the data? What tools and methods should I use to analyse it? NVivo gives you a practical way to face these challenges.   NCa...

Not long ago entrepreneurs depended on financial capital to build the physical stores and factories needed to launch a business. And while costly physical operations are still important in some lines of business, 21century entrepreneurs see social capital as essential to a new venture. “Social capital” is the ability to build mutually-beneficial networks of partners, allies and customers ( Adler & Kwon, 2002, p. 214 ; Carolis & Saparito, 2006 ; OttÓSson & Klyver, 2010 ; Xiong & Bharadwaj, 2011 ). Free or cheap technologies make it possible for start-ups to build social capital and sell products and services without huge initial investments. How do women entrepreneurs perceive their opportunities given the availability of these technologies and how do they use them to build networks that generate business? How have their choices vis a vis use of technology influenced the types of businesses they chose to run– and the goals they have for the future? This set of questions ...