Netnography - Theory & How-To's

Editor's Notes

• #2: Today Presenting an overview of how to conduct netnographic research
• #3: With that understanding, netnography is defined as… Read slide Last week we focused on quantitative measurements at one end of spectrum in social media understanding Qualitative is at the other end and Netnography is a part of it.
• #4: Just when do we use Netnography and when do we use Ethnography? It al depends on our research focus If focusing on online community and online culture  Primary focus is Netnography If focusing on something that extends beyond the net (studying communities online)  Ethnography supported by Netnography In general, boundary of cultural social interaction is not so clear cut  next slide
• #5: This lack of clear boundary means we will most likely to have both  the blended ethno and netno In order to achieve the goal of detailed understandings
• #6: Netnography can be abstracted into 5 stesp Read 5 steps But notice data collection and analysis is an iterative process that we will be continuous refine our understanding as new data are collected
• #7: First, Let us consider some of the things we need to plan for before diving into the community
• #8: Define research focus selection of site: relevant, active, rich data, interactive, large and good mix of different users, AND receptive to researchers Preparation for Entry  asking how are we going to proceed
• #9: Now is a good time to solidify some ethical guidelines we can set for our research Identify yourself, purpose here, and research focus Depending on the site, you need to ask for permission to conduct research and collect data. Always consult with relevant research ethic boards or legal experts Getting informed consent Properly cite your sources and protect participants from possible risks
• #10: After we’ve done the planning, it’s time to make our entry
• #11: The question is “How are you going to come out of lurking?” In his book, robert suggests to … Read slide Be a member, use their language, behaviour Give before you take Come up with something interest for the members  better chance of being accepted
• #12: In this example, I have been a member on this board since 03, so many of them are aware of my existence My strategy is to declare my purpose at this point and start an interesting discussion right away Shared some really interesting articles on a broader community (Giving before Taking) The articles are somewhat related to the data I wish to collect from them later on Gives them interesting topic to discuss
• #13: Now we are getting into the fun stuff  data collection
• #14: Archive data Communication without researcher involvement Elicited – researcher co-creates with culture members remember to give-and-take, establish communal connection, let it be a conversation and asking questions, start broad and then narrow your focus Fieldnotes record based on our observation of the community, members, interactions, Reflecting on own participation and own membership and own emotions CADQAS Sheer amount can be overwhelming CADQAS can help us collect and organize our data, analysis, basically the whole project List of my blog Key is to be organized in your research
• #15: Again, I have identified myself and my research focus I kept my question really general and broad I treated it like a conversation, by taking the first crack at my own question I disclosed that postings here will serve as class example and their participation here would be treated as having their consents Made a point of anonymizing and citing them if they so desire Lastly, because there are moderators constantly watching the discussion, I have also asked for their permission So again, I am adhering to the ethical practices that I have set for myself
• #16: The next step is data analysis – the 2 nd part of the iterative process But keep in mind that data collection and data analysis is an iterative process, so we will be going back and forth on between the two
• #17: One of the data analysis technique is : Analytical coding Coding: labeling to general phenomenon Noting: reflection on data Abstracting: identifying similarities and sequences and differences of interaction Checking & Refining: return to the field to check and refine existing understanding of patterns, differences, commonalities Generalizing: elaborate a small set of generalization that cover or explain the consistencies in the dataset Theorizing: construct theory from the findings The goal here is to achieve an explanation of consistency in data
• #18: We can use Analytical coding findings as the starting point Use the individual findings to help us develop an accurate global understanding and use this understanding to act as context to extract findings of individual elements Do this repeatedly to achieve rich insight on the community or culture
• #19: As an example, I have taken an archived data Again, here I have taken ethical measure to conceal the identity (even pseudonym, and identifying graphic) of the community member I’ve underlined things I found interesting As you can see, I have tried to extract some generalization with my own notes and I am contantly asking “why” questions like “why is this person saying this” or “why is this person posting on this site”…etc. That gonna help me in developing a overall sense of global meaning
• #20: Lastly, we want to assess our research process
• #21: How do we know our research has been conducted up to a good standard? Robert has suggested the following 10 criteria: For example: Groundedness Theoretical representation is supported by data Links between data and theory is clear and convincing Praxis To motivate and influence social betterment Intermix Take account of the interconnection of the various modes of social interaction – online and off – in culture member’s daily lived experiences, as well as in its own representation. Interestingly, the last criteria of 'Intermix' brings us back to the blurry boundary between ethnography and netnography Firms can tell a transmedia story, so can a community or a culture. As a researcher, we must always keep that in mind. For the rest of the criteria, please go to my blog for a detailed explanation
• #22: In closing This entire presentation has been based on Robert’s book For a complete and detailed understanding of the process, please take a look at his book You can also go to my blog for some complementary material as well as real life responses from my Netnography experiment Ultimately, practice makes perfect, so feel free to use those material to get comfortable