It's a well-known problem and has been addressed by those working in virtual research methods. I would start by taking a very long look at this paper: Howard, Philip N. "Network Ethnography and the Hypermedia Organization: New Media, New Organizations, New Methods." New Media & Society 4, no. 4 (2002): 550-74. Foot & Schneider have defined the websphere as a unit of analysis, a particularly fruitful approach that has worked well in their research. AlSteven M. Schneider & Kirsten Foot, "Web Sphere Analysis: An Approach to Studying Online Action", In C. Hine (Ed.), Virtual Methods: Issues in Social Research on the Internet. Oxford: Berg Publishers. (In Press). Steven M. Schneider & Kirsten A. Foot, "The Web as an Object of Study", New Media and Society , V. 6, N.1, 114-122, 2004. I'm sure there are other sources but these really inform my perspective on the UofA - Cheers, Denise Denise N. Rall, PhD candidate, School of Environ. Science, Southern Cross University, Lismore NSW 2480 Sustainable Forestry Mentoring Coordinator & Internet Researcher Room T2.12, +61 (0)2 6620 3577 Tuesdays or Mobile 0438 233 344 http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/rsm/staff/pages/drall/index.html