Methods
This project will generate quantitative and qualitative data through an online survey, studying online material, and undertaking face-to-face interviews.
Online Surveys
An online survey [ link here to survey page ], set up on the research project website, will collect a set of demographical data and ask open-ended questions that will seek to capture information about digital technology and Internet usage of Canadian Muslim women and men, such as types of online activities, time spent online, type of sites visited, nature of information sought, etc. Respondents will be asked if they are amenable to a follow-up interview.
Online Material
Researchers will collect data from online material from representative and oft visited Muslims websites that survey participants and those interviewed will have identified.
Individual Interviews
The research team aims to carry out 240 semi-structured individual interviews over the duration of the project, each of the four partner universities conducting around 60 interviews. In order to capture a cross-section of the overall population concerned, recruitment of Muslim participants (over the age of 18) will strive to recruit participants from Muslim communities from various cities across Canada in the Maritimes, Central Canada, the Prairies and Western Canada, and to include the uncommitted and those who have changed their religious beliefs or who are of Muslim backgrounds.
Data from these interviews will then be analyzed (assisted with NVivo) according to identification practices, religious belief, cultural community, gender, the impact of media and new media upon self-image.