Digital Urban Ethnography: A Book Review of The Digital Street

Authors

Katherine L. Walters, University of GeorgiaFollow
Enid Truong, University of GeorgiaFollow

Abstract

Jeffery Lane explores the social worlds of youth in Harlem during the digital era through his unique approach, digital urban ethnography. Researchers use this ethnographic method to understand how social lives and meanings are co-constructed within digital and physical spaces. The digital and physical do not neatly represent each other but each provides specific ways to engage that both shape and are shaped by youth’s social lives. As novice researchers, we read this work with an eye towards methodological choices and techniques. In particular, we hoped this work would provide us with an understanding of how to conduct research with youth on ways the physical and digital worlds interact to produce knowledge and meaning. This review discusses Lane’s theoretical framework, three themes that highlight the potential of digital urban ethnography to construct unique findings, and the significance of Lane’s work in terms of methodology and specific techniques/data construction methods.

Keywords

Digital Urban Ethnography, Digital Ethnography, Book Review

Author Bio(s)

Both authors are doctoral students in the Learning, Design, and Technology program at the University of Georgia. Correspondence regarding this article can be addressed directly to: Katherine L. Walters at klw51525@uga.edu and correspondence regarding this article can also be addressed directly to: Enid Truong at etruong@uga.edu.

Publication Date

4-26-2020

Creative Commons License

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

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2020.4594

Recommended APA Citation

Walters, K. L., & Truong, E. (2020). Digital Urban Ethnography: A Book Review of The Digital Street. The Qualitative Report, 25(4), 1082-1086. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2020.4594