In one of my previous article, I gave you a glimpse of how as a Ph.D. I have mastered the art of wasting time. One of the most important (interesting as well, I must confess) tools for wasting time is YouTube. To be very honest, I sometimes tend to play just one short clip but the temptation to check out the suggested videos feature is so great that I just keep on clicking one after the other. I feel as if I have entered a maze and it takes around an hour or more to find one’s way out. What to do?

But lately I discovered that YouTube has another important aspect, a silver lining should I say. As I am currently doing my data analysis, YouTube is once again becoming my friend but this time around in a legitimate manner. After having finished transcribing interviews, I felt as if I am in an ocean of raw data waiting for me to make sense of it. Even though I had a full research design and plan that should tell me what to do next but as it is said that seeing is believing; I really did not know from where to start.

I installed the NVIVO software (one of the most famous software for handling qualitative data), and I booked an introductory session to help me make a start. The session, unfortunately, was one of those that you keep on thinking that it will get better as time passes but it just get worse, the instructor was obviously experienced in the system but the delivery method of the session was for me very useless, it was like teaching a little kid how to use paint (yes open new in the file menu, then press edit) DUH! That was boring.

After that I decided to rely on books, which was beneficial but time consuming, then a colleague of mine told me that she mastered NVIVO along with analysis methods through watching a series of YouTube videos presented by professors and professionals from different higher education institutions. Well that sounds too good to be true. Google, for example, has a specific platform for scholars where you can confidently search and filter for academic materials, but YouTube?

She gave me some links and the maze this time was very sophisticated, each series of videos was leading to another presenting other lectures in methodology and other research topics. Needless to say, in order to choose you really need to filter, I tend to check the video presenter and that was fascinating.

I had always considered YouTube as an entertainment tool and being a YouTube show host myself, I turn to it for entertainment, but it can be a very powerful educational tool if used correctly.

My own research is about the use of Virtual Learning Environment systems on teaching in higher education institutions and some of my interviewees mentioned that they use YouTube in their teaching to support ideas they are presenting, but personally I learnt that it can be a researcher’s friend and now I can open YouTube with all the confidence in the world not fearing that the person sitting next to me might have a glance and say, “Huh! Look what this Ph.D. scholar is doing.” I don’t have to hide my computer’s screen anymore. Come, watch YouTube and learn.