استخدام المجموعات البؤرية في دراسة المجتمعات الافتراضية بين الطرح الواقعي و إشكالات التجسيد في الفضاء الافتراضي

Abstract EN

Research and studies that are based on the study of virtual communities have given way to the fusion of many methodological approaches and research tools, due to the inability of a single method and tool in explanation of hypothetical phenomena, in which multiple factors overlap, often necessitating pairing between methods and tools.

this fact constituted a research challenge for researchers in communication, as reality requires reviews of theories, methodologies, concepts, as well as tools that work to explain many phenomena and interactions at the real level in hypothetical contexts.

among these concepts, the virtual focus groups tool that has proven its effectiveness in the research of virtual communities.

proceeding from the foregoing, this paper aims to highlight the most important theoretical and methodological lines of the focus group tool, starting from its realism and reaching its hypothetical, while dealing with the most important methodological and ethical issues that researchers face in applying them in virtual societies.