Digital Technology and Qualitative Research: A Book Review of Maggi Savin-Baden and Gemma Tombs’ Research Methods for Education in the Digital Age

Abstract

Maggi Savin-Baden and Gemma Tombs’ Research Methods for Education in the Digital Age is part of an educational series on methodology by The Bloomsbury Research Methods for Education. They wrote their book for qualitative researchers planning to use any form of digital technology such as digital recorders for face-to-face interviews, telecommunications application software (e.g., SKYPE) to conduct interviews, social media websites for data collection, digital imagery, and Computer Assisted/Aided Qualitative Data Analysis Software (CAQDAS) for their study. Savin-Baden and Tombs also have a chapter that examines the use of digital technology in quantitative research. As a novice researcher, I found this book to be very helpful in my doctoral research journey to understand digital technology terms and the many available research options that digital technology can provide. In this book review, I will cover the salient topics from each of the ten chapters that will help other novice scholars make smart research decisions.