Sociology & Anthropology

School of Humanities and Social Sciences

A woman with shoulder length, dark hair, in a floral top and glasses.

Trena M. Paulus, Ph.D.

Professor and Coordinator for Graduate Certificate in Qualitative Research Methods

Dr. Trena M. Paulus holds a Ph.D. from Indiana University-Bloomington in instructional systems technology with a specialization in computer-mediated communication and an M.A. in applied linguistics from Ohio University. Prior to arriving at ETSU, she was a tenured faculty member at the University of Tennessee and at the University of Georgia. She was an ETSU Provost Scholar in 2022 and served as the Director of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities from 2020-2022. She is the co-author of three books, including Doing Qualitative Research in a Digital World (Sage, 2022); Looking for Insight, Transformation and Learning in Online Talk (Routledge, 2019); and Digital Tools for Qualitative Research (Sage, 2014). She has published  over 80 peer-reviewed journal articles and co-edited four special journal issues. Dr. Paulus and her co-authors won the 2018 Neal R. Norrick Special Issue award for The Microanalysis of Online Data in the Journal of Pragmatics and the Distance Education Best Practice Award from the Association of Educational Communication & Technology in 2017. She has facilitated numerous workshops in national and international contexts, including as a Fulbright Distinguished Scholar in Humanities and Social Sciences at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poland and as a visiting scholar at the University of Tasmania in 2014. Professor Paulus specializes in the areas of qualitative research technologies, including the development of innovative methodologies for analyzing social media and online learning environments. Dr. Paulus is a certified professional trainer for ATLAS.ti qualitative data analysis software.