Qualitative Research in Digital Environments A Research Toolkit

This book offers a toolkit of methods and technologies to undertake qualitative research on digital spaces. Unlike commonly used traditional methodological strategies, which are ‘retrofitted’ to digital spaces, Qualitative Research in Digital Environments offers researchers a set of ‘digitally native’ tools that are designed for online social environments. Thanks to a broad range of cases including Louis Vuitton, YouTube and the concept of ‘hipsterism’, this text illustrates the practical applications of techniques and tools over the most popular social media environments. This book will be a valuable guide to qualitative research for marketing students, researchers and practitioners, as well as a central reference point for tutors in the growing field of Digital Sociology.

Part 1: Introduction 1. Qualitative and digital ethnographic approaches to research online environments 2. How to study online interaction Part II: The toolkit 3. Research design 4. Data collection 5. Organizing the data 6. Data analysis Part III: Conclusions 7. Mixing Methods: Integrating digital data with other methodological approaches 8. From the medium to the actor: "digital sociology" and the advancement of digital and social media research Part IV: Case Studies 9. Directioners 10. Collaborative communities (Multi-platforms/Mixed Methods) 11. Hipsters 12. Music Mapping 13. Louis Vuitton

Alessandro Caliandro is a Lecturer in Branding and Digital Media at the School of Media and Performing Arts, Middlesex University London, UK. Alessandro Gandini is a Lecturer in Digital Media Management and Innovation at the Department of Digital Humanities, King's College London, UK.