Summary
Family group chats (FGCs) are a recently popular form of technology mediated family communication. Little research has been done on FGCs and even less research has examined primary data– actual FGC threads. In this methodological paper, we address considerations specific to the ethical and efficient collection of FGCs. We draw from our multi-method qualitative study on family processes within FGCs in which we conducted group family interviews and collected one-month’s worth of texts from participants’ FGC threads in SMS text or iMessage. This paper aims to establish precedence for how to collect and study FGCs as a primary data source.

Summary
This study conducted a systematic review to synthesize studies involving families and technology. A search in 7 databases resulted in 1,002 articles since 2000, and we identified four types of research focuses: (1) the role of technology in family life, (2) family interactions about technology, (3) family interactions through technology, and (4) the role of family in technology use. Research in different types treats technology differently, investigates family dynamics in different contexts, and uses different measures and data sources. This finding adds to the current theory about families and technology and helps with definitions of research questions in future work.