Accessing virtual social worlds: A unique methodology for research in new media spaces

Abstract

Qualitative research into contemporary media engagement is particularly challenged by the complexity and diversity of today's media channels. Further, the very conception of media is rapidly changing: social activities have become closely linked with media engagement. As media saturation in everyday life continues to expand, the study of everyday "practices" in "ordinary people's lives," or habitus, to use Bourdieu's term (1980), constitutes social identity and thus an important object for media research. I offer a reconceptualization of media engagement as a participatory media culture and outline a unique methodological approach developed for the study of this culture in new media spaces. The methodology incorporated use of a laptop to record and analyze the auto-ethnographic reports and actions of a panel of respondents. As an example of an outcome using this methodology, an extensive taxonomy of web sites is outlined, which can be helpful in disaggregating data on new media practices for media research. The methodology could be adapted widely to many disciplines interested in the everyday practices of media engagement.