Netnography: A Method Specifically Designed to Study Cultures and Communities Online

Authors

Gary M. Bowler Jr., Nova Southeastern UniversityFollow

Abstract

With many people now using online communities such as newsgroups, blogs, forums, social networking sites, podcasting, videocasting, photosharing communities, and virtual worlds, the internet is now an important site for research. Kozinets' (2010) new text explores netnography, or the conduct of ethnography over the internet - a method specifically designed to study cultures and communities online. Guidelines for the accurate and ethical conduct of ethnographic research online are set out, with detailed, step-by-step guidance to thoroughly introduce, explain, and illustrate the method to students and researchers. Kozinets surveys the latest research on online cultures and communities, focusing on the methods used to study them, with examples focusing on the blogosphere (blogging), microblogging, videocasting, podcasting, social networking sites, virtual worlds, and more. The book is essential reading for researchers and students in social sciences.

Keywords

Netnography, Internet Research, Ethnography, Online Community, Research Methods

Publication Date

9-1-2010

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2010.1341

Recommended APA Citation

Bowler, G. M. (2010). Netnography: A Method Specifically Designed to Study Cultures and Communities Online. The Qualitative Report, 15(5), 1270-1275. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2010.1341