With as many as 1 billion 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.
This exciting new text is the first to explore the discipline of ′Netnography′ - the conduct of ethnography over the internet - a method specifically designed to study cultures and communities online. For the first time, full procedural 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.
The author also surveys the latest research on online cultures and communities, focusing on the methods used to study them, with examples focusing on the new elements and contingencies of the blogosphere (blogging), microblogging, videocasting, podcasting, social networking sites, virtual worlds and more.
This book will be essential reading for researchers and students in social sciences such as anthropology, sociology, marketing and consumer research, organization and management studies and cultural and media studies.
Table of Contents:
Cultures and Communities Online
Understanding Culture Online
Researching Online: Methods
The Method of Netnography
Planning and Entrée
Data Collection
Data Analysis
Conducting Ethical Netnography
Representation and Evaluation
Advancing Netnography: The Changing Landscape
About the Author :
Robert Kozinets is the Jayne and Hans Hufschmid Chair of Strategic Public Relations and Business Communication at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and Marshall School of Business. An academic whose methods and theories are widely used by researchers, in classrooms, and in industry, he has taught digital methods to some of the world’s best students and consulted with a range of highly respected global organizations.
Review :
′I find the greatest contribution of the volume to be in Kozinets’ model for blending (online) netnography with (offline) ethnography...While the entire netnographic approach will appeal to Internet specialists, this ‘blending’ aspect may attract a wider audience of
anthropologists who are already familiar with, and engaging in, traditional ethnography′
- Francine Barone, Journal of the Anthropological Society of Oxford-online
′A definite must for anyone interested in understanding or conducting "netnography"′ -
The Qualitative Report
′Netnography: Doing Ethnographic Research Online is a methodological handbook aimed at...anyone who is interested in researching online communities and cultures, and other forms of online social behavior... Using interesting examples from his own research work, the author brilliantly transfers his experience and expertise to the reader′ -
Eva Brajkovi¡c
University of Primorska (Slovenia)
′Kozinets’ call for respect, patience and researcher accountability is
matched by personal, anecdotal examples that establish a good ethical tone throughout the text. Illustrative case studies of first-hand fieldwork experiences present readable and engaging vignettes to the student reader that reveal in clear terms how key ethnographic
moments ... have analogous forms in netnography, including the intricate process of becoming a community member by respectfully building relationships slowly over time′
-Francine Barone
I adopted the book for a new course in Corporate Anthropology and Organizational Ethnography I teach in summer school for the Copenhagen Business School. They will order directly.
This book gives essential instruction on how to conduct Internet research. Should be present on any contemporary researcher′s bookshelf.
Easy to understand. Good introduction to a fascinating methodology.
We are a social action oriented program; it was adopted as a secondary reading by the coordinator of the JUS301 section, and not as a primary course as I was hoping for, however.
A bit too specific for our general intro to research class, but a great supplemental work.
