Netnography is a qualitative research approach focused on studying online communities and their behaviors. The method was first developed by Robert Kozinets and has since become an indispensable tool for many social sciences.
In this article, I’ll walk you through the fundamentals of netnography based on Kozinets’ 12-phase process and demonstrate how you can effortlessly implement it. By aligning your investigation with this established methodology, you’ll hopefully yield insightful findings related to the online phenomenon you’re examining.
What is Netnography?
Netnography is a modification of the term ethnography, representing a research approach that deals with field research – but on the Internet.
The architect of this methodology is Robert Kozinets, who extensively details the approach in his 2010 book, “Netnography.” Now there is also an updated edition from 2015.
Up until that point, online research was keenly centered on conducting precise and quantitative investigations on social media or within online forums.
How often was a tweet liked, and how did that correlate with its reach? How do networks form on social media? What statistical correlations can be derived from user behavior?
While all these questions are vital and relevant, they aren’t the focus of netnography. Instead, netnography seeks to understand the context of such behaviors, shedding light on who exhibits certain behaviors and why.
If you familiarize yourself with the objectives of classic field research (ethnography), you’ll instantly grasp the netnographic approach. It revolves around observing groups and the behaviors of their members. Netnography simply transposes this research methodology onto the online domain.
The Phases of Netnography According to Kozinets
In the second edition of his book from 2015, Kozinets breaks down the netnographic research approach into 12 phases. Let’s delve into these together.
#1 Introspection Phase
Before you whip out your smartphone and get lost forever in the depths of Reddit, there are some fundamental questions about yourself you must address.
This step is inherently tied to the nature of ethnography. This type of research is entirely dependent on you, the researcher. This means that all your prior knowledge on the topic, your background, and your personal motivations will influence the design of your netnography.
Document the current state of your prior knowledge so that you can describe and reflect upon it in your netnography project.
#2 Investigation Phase
If you’re drafting an extended abstract or proposal for your netnography, this is the appropriate section to record answers to the following questions. If you don’t require such documentation, find another means to note them down for your own reference.
- What phenomenon do you wish to investigate? (Frame a research question)
- How do you plan to examine this phenomenon?
- What kind of data are you looking to collect for this?
- How do you intend to analyze the data?
- How will the analysis contribute to addressing the research question?
- What role do you see yourself playing during the netnography?
- Under what ethical considerations are you approaching your netnography?
- What advantages does netnography offer over other research designs?
- What risks does netnography pose in your specific case (for research subjects)?
Especially crucial to advancing with your netnography is pinpointing the “study sites” – the venues where you plan to carry out your investigation. Is it a Facebook group? A Reddit forum? A YouTube channel?
Who are the individuals frequenting these sites? What would the ideal setting look like for your research to be most effectively conducted?
#3 Information Phase
Engaging with ethical considerations before you even start is of paramount importance. With netnography, you might be entering a protected space.
Users present in that space have certain expectations about it and their privacy. When you’re collecting data from there, it’s crucial to do so ethically.
The top priority is the so-called “Informed Consent.” This means you inform members of the online community about the nature of your research and obtain their approval. At this juncture, you can draft a text or document explaining all this.
You might need to register your study with your university’s ethics committee. To pass the ethical review, you’ll need a draft of your “Informed Consent” document.
Won’t the research results be distorted if users are aware they’re being observed? Yes, this is known as Consent-Bias and is a limitation of netnography. However, you have little choice in this matter because observing without the users’ consent is deemed unethical by almost every ethics committee in the world.
#4 Initial Interview Phase
In this phase, you begin researching communities and online platforms. You have two options for this:
- Directly search for the communities, e.g., through search engines.
- Initially identify the individuals that can inform your research and then determine in which communities or at which locations they engage with others.
For both ways, Kozinets recommends initial interviews. So, you converse with the individuals or, for instance, the admin of a community to better understand them.
By the end of this phase, you should have a list of potential communities suitable for your netnography. The interviews with members of the communities that make it to your netnography can be repurposed later.
#5 Inspection Phase
When conducting netnography, you’re spoilt for choice. Unlike traditional ethnography, the entire internet is at your disposal, with all its possible forums, groups, and platforms.
Therefore, compare the list of potential communities with your research question and decide which communities you want to study. Think carefully about why you’re making this choice so that you can justify this decision in your research design chapter.
#6 Interaction Entry Phase
Let’s see if Kozinets manages to start all phases with an “I”.
In this phase, the focus is on devising a strategy on how you’ll interact with the users of the community.
As you might know from my other tutorials, there are participatory and non-participatory observations. This principle of minimal to maximal involvement by you, the researcher, also applies to netnographies.
A low level of participation could involve merely reading in an online forum and not interacting with users. High participation might entail conducting interviews with the community members or even posting content yourself.
However, since direct interaction at the community level can often be too intrusive, Kozinets suggests creating an Interaction Research Website. In this scenario, you design a separate website independent of the actual community.
This website then facilitates the interaction between you and the individuals. The advantage is that you’ve secured consent from all participants, and portions of the community can interact with you, while others can abstain if they choose not to engage.
You can find numerous examples of such websites in Kozinets’ book.
You don’t necessarily have to code your interaction website from scratch; you can leverage existing platforms and tailor them to your needs.
#7 Immersion Phase
In the seventh phase, you venture into the field, beginning to interact regularly with the data, topics, and individuals.
The duration and specifics of your immersion depend entirely on you and your study. For inspiration, I recommend reading the research design chapters of published netnographies. There, researchers detail exactly how this phase unfolded for them.
Don’t stress at the beginning of this phase. There’s no right or wrong, no too much or too little. Your understanding of your community and your netnography project will grow over time. The more you immerse yourself, the clearer the overall picture becomes, and the next steps naturally present themselves.
#8 Indexing Phase
This phase is about organizing your data. Often, you’ll have more data at your disposal than you can analyze.
So, the task is to compile a manageable yet meaningful amount of data to proceed with your analysis.
To do this, you’ll need to assess your data. What are particularly important data sources, and what can be neglected?
It’s advisable here to select fewer but high-quality data sources rather than many of low quality.
#9 Interpretation Phase
You’re free to choose your analysis method. Remember that Netnography is a methodology, that means that you still have to choose your methods you want to use for data analysis within this research approach.
Qualitative methods that stand for an interpretivist approach, are suitable. This includes all methods that operate on the principle of hermeneutics.
Phenomenological, existential, or humanistic approaches are also possible.
A typical analysis method that aligns well with netnography are Grounded Theory techniques. On my channel, you’ll find plenty of tutorials on various qualitative research methods.
#10 Iteration Phase
If you’re already familiar with hermeneutics, Grounded Theory, or other qualitative approaches, then this phase will seem familiar.
Netnography does not proceed linearly. This means all the steps you learn here are not conducted from 1 to 12 in sequence and then you’re done.
Netnography is meant to proceed in iterations, which is why these steps should be understood as a cycle. You can (and should) revisit any phase of your netnography and repeat steps when you deem it meaningful.
For instance, if you’ve gained a significant insight through coding with Grounded Theory, return to the Immersion Phase and look for this specific insight. That’s just one example of an iteration, and there are many more. So, perceive these phases not as rigid but flexible.
#11 Instantiation Phase
In the penultimate phase, the focus is on shaping your netnography into a tangible form. For most of us, this means producing a research paper. So, consider the best possible structure to present your netnography.
As always, my tip is: don’t reinvent the wheel, but draw inspiration from examples you enjoy reading.
According to Kozinets, there are four different forms of netnography instantiation. These are:
- Symbolic
- Digital
- Auto
- Humanistic
Discussing all these forms here would be beyond the scope. Thus, I trust you’ll dive into Kozinets’ book to acquaint yourself with them, assign your netnography to one of these types, and align your research paper accordingly.
However, the presentation of your netnography doesn’t always have to be (just) an academic text. You can let your creativity run free.
#12 Integration Phase
What happens now that you’ve completed your netnography? All the hard work shouldn’t just be read by academics; it should also have an impact on the world out there.
This could be in the form of a publication, a YouTube video, a workshop, or an event with the community you worked with.
- What can you give back to this community?
- How can your results make the (online) world a little better in a lasting way?
This phase doesn’t end with the submission of your research paper.
The netnography is now a part of you and your story.