Internet Ethnography: Online and Offline

Abstract

This article proposes a new methodology for qualitative research on the Internet, based on the integration of qualitative data-gathering methodologies both online and offline. This combination enables the creation of rich ethnography or, as Geertz (1973) has called it, “thick description,” not limited to the Internet alone. The importance of this article lies in its contribution to a better understanding of the research potential of the Internet and its implementation in qualitative research methodologies.