On the design of an open online course for how to study digital interactions
What is it about?
Digital forms of communication are increasingly important today. Netnography is a field of research and a way to conduct studies of digital interactions using a specific set of methods. This paper describes the design of an open online course that seeks to position netnography as a viable way to conduct studies within the digital humanities, and as a set of methods that combines both quantitative and qualitative approaches. An up-to-date theoretical overview of netnography is provided as well as practical examples from the interactive online course.
Why is it important?
Netnography is found to contribute to the digital humanities, overall characterized by method-driven and quantitative approaches, with reflexivity and a potential for critical research and pedagogy. The two analytical concepts community-based netnography and consociality-based netnography allow for a nuanced methodological understanding of how and when qualitative and quantitative approaches should be employed, and how they may complement each other.