Conducting a Netnography in Second Language Acquisition Research

In this Methods Showcase Article, we highlight a qualitative research methodology called netnography, an adaptation of ethnography and ethnographic methods applied to researching digital/online communities. We briefly discuss how netnography has evolved from its origins in the fields of consumer res...

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Published in:Language learning Vol. 71; no. 4; pp. 1122 - 1148
Main Authors: Kessler, Matt, De Costa, Peter, Isbell, Daniel R., Gajasinghe, Kasun
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Hoboken Wiley 01.12.2021
Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
Subjects:
Communities of Practice
Computer Assisted Instruction
Computer assisted language learning
culture
Emic and etic
Ethics
Ethnography
Internet
Language
Language acquisition
Language Research
Marketing
Netnography
Online Courses
Positioning
Qualitative research
Recruitment
Research ethics
Research Methodology
Second Language Instruction
Second Language Learning
Second Languages
Teaching
Teaching methods
technology
ISSN:0023-8333, 1467-9922
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:In this Methods Showcase Article, we highlight a qualitative research methodology called netnography, an adaptation of ethnography and ethnographic methods applied to researching digital/online communities. We briefly discuss how netnography has evolved from its origins in the fields of consumer research and marketing to its more recent applications in the field of second language acquisition (SLA) for exploring phenomena related to online language teaching and learning. Next, we focus on the specific methods and techniques associated with conducting a netnography, and we propose numerous considerations for SLA researchers who wish to adopt the methodology in future studies. These considerations include various issues such as the recruitment of research participants (e.g., obtaining consent), researcher positioning (e.g., emic perspectives, ethics), the analysis of online multimodal data, and general reporting practices (e.g., protecting participants’ identities). Finally, we close with specific recommendations for future research directions.
Bibliography:We would like to thank the three anonymous reviewers whose comments helped shape this piece. We greatly appreciate your feedback and suggestions.
The handling editor for this article was Scott Crosley.
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ISSN:0023-8333
1467-9922
DOI:10.1111/lang.12456