Advances in Internet Research Methods-Netnography

In Western academic field, Netnography has emerged as a methodology for the Internet within the past decade. It allows researchers to grasp the in-depth accounts of the complex phenomena of Internet cultural and social values (Kozinets, 1998, 2001, 2002). Netnography is also called "virtual ethnography" (Hine, 2000). Theoretically, as a netnographer sits at a desk in an office to download and analyze texts from the Internet, monitoring the behavior of online participants becomes easier. However, Reid (1995) argues that printouts from virtual community interactions lose their ethnographic meanings when read after the event. There are two main reasons to debate that (1) identities (e.g., gender, age or occupation, etc.) of online participants cannot be confirmed by researchers, and (2) researchers cannot immediately communicate or discuss with online participants about relevant issues. Hence, Hine (2000), Marvin (1995) and Paccagnella (1997) strongly promote and emphasize that studies on the Internet conduct different ethnographic methods to make a netnographer not to act a "lurker" online. Meanwhile, Kozinets (1998) suggests that Nethnography, which combines traditional ethnographic methods (e.g., traveling, paper-and-pencil notes and face-to-face interviews) with new online methods (e.g., participant-observations online, e-mail exchanges and online immediately interviews), is superior in utilizing Internet research. This article attempts to introduce the concept and development of Netnography, elucidate the author's practical Internet research experience and further provide reflections and suggestions, looking forward to seeing the other researchers to abound in this field.