Recently we had an entry/chapter published in the SAGE Research Methods handbook, covering in detail the ‘social media scroll back’ method I developed with Sian Lincoln a few years back. The entry can be found here:

https://methods.sagepub.com/foundations/social-media-scroll-back-method

This chapter is more of a ‘how to’ explainer, with practical tips and advice, compared to the original publication that introduced the scroll back method in the context of longitudinal research in Qualitative Research.

Contact me if you can’t access any of these resources through your library and I will happily send copies.

The social media scroll back method is a qualitative research method that works within interviews whereby a researcher and participant “scroll back” through the social media history of the participant. As outlined in this entry, this method has a range of advantages and can add value to existing qualitative methods but also generates new challenges and ethical questions.