ABSTRACT
The data discussed in this book come from a variety of studies, conducted with a variety of methodologies. In this relatively new area, there are many questions to answer, and researchers have developed a range of ways to collect and code the text messages of children, adolescents and adults. These methods must be designed with due regard for the ethical and financial concerns that arise when asking participants (especially child participants) to contribute text messages to a study – a procedure that can involve asking people to spend their own money or to provide a glimpse of their personal lives. In this chapter we describe the advantages and disadvantages of various collection and coding methods.
