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Handbuch Soziale Praktiken und Digitale Alltagswelten pp 393–399Cite as

Digital Ethnography

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Abstract

This chapter discusses the sub-field of digital ethnography, considering multiple definitions and framing of the term. The term “digital ethnography” has been used to refer to Internet or cyberethnography (the ethnography of online worlds), including the use of ethnographic research methods in online/digital spaces. In this sense digital ethnography refers to the use or adaptation of traditional ethnographic fieldwork methods to study and interpret digitally-mediated cultures. Another meaning of the term is to refer to the use of computational tools to conduct ethnography and engage in ethnographic practice. An extension of this second meaning is to present real-life cultures using narrative techniques and the features of digital environments. The chapter will consider these multiple meanings of digital ethnography and consider some possible future directions for the field.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Digital Ethnography Lab, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA

    Natalie M. Underberg-Goode

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  1. Natalie M. Underberg-Goode
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Correspondence to Natalie M. Underberg-Goode .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. TU Chemnitz, Chemnitz, Germany

    Heidrun Friese

  2. TU Chemnitz, Chemnitz, Germany

    Marcus Nolden

  3. TU Chemnitz, Chemnitz, Germany

    Gala Rebane

  4. TU Chemnitz, Chemnitz, Germany

    Miriam Schreiter

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© 2020 Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, ein Teil von Springer Nature

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Underberg-Goode, N.M. (2020). Digital Ethnography. In: Friese, H., Nolden, M., Rebane, G., Schreiter, M. (eds) Handbuch Soziale Praktiken und Digitale Alltagswelten. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-08357-1_49

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-08357-1_49

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-658-08357-1

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