Methodology

Abstract

The study of Facebook and SNSs in general has yielded a large amount of deductive methodologies. Although qualitative and ethnographic research exists, it remains in the minority. Consequently, a collection of disparate, often discrete, concepts has been produced. There remains a need for inductive research and theory. I do not seek to prove or disprove specific hypotheses under exclusive conditions. Instead, I combine ethnography and Grounded Theory so as to produce a collection of qualitatively grounded concepts which are theoretically related. I recruited a small group of Facebook users in early 2010, interviewed them numerous times both face to face and through email, and spent a period being a participant observer as their Facebook ‘friend’. I continued to communicate via email with each participant into mid 2012, saturating my grounded concepts and updating my ideas as Facebook changed.