1 James, N. (in press) „The Use of Email Interviewing as a Qualitative Method of Inquiry in

This paper argues for the potential that email interviewing has as a qualitative method in educational research. The paper draws on research that uses email as a way of generating online narratives in order to understand how academics construct their identities. In doing so, the paper considers the challenges that email interviewing poses for researchers who might wish to use the method as a way of studying and understanding academics ‟ lives, particularly the nature of „presentation ‟ and „performance ‟ that takes place with/in email narratives. Nonetheless, despite these challenges, the paper concludes by recognising the possibilities the method has for increasing reflexivity by providing both the time and space for academics to construct, reflect upon and learn from their stories of experience