Table 2 Positioning of digital... | Emerald Publishing

Table 2

Positioning of digital praxiography

	Ethnography	Netnography	Praxiography	Digital praxiography
Definition	A qualitative research method for studying people and cultures in their natural settings through immersion and direct engagement	An adaptation of ethnography for deriving cultural and contextual understandings from digital traces and experiences	A qualitative research method that studies practices as the core unit of analysis, focusing on their enactment, materiality and evolution	An extension of praxiography integrating netnographic principles to study practices in a digital context
Unit of Analysis	Social behavior and interactions	Varied units of analysis	Practices	Practices enacted, represented or discussed in a digital context
Key Focus	Cultural norms, lived experiences and social structures	Topics that are represented or can be experienced through digital means	Practices in different contexts	Practices situated in or related to a digital context
Data-Collection Methods	Participant observation, in-depth interviews, field notes, document analysis	Immersion, investigation, interaction with participants, archival research	Observations of practices, practitioner interviews, document and material artifact research	Practices diaries, online interaction with practitioners, exploration of digital archival materials and artifacts
Strengths	Provides rich, contextualized insights into human behavior and social dynamics	Immersive and reflective engagement, methodological clarity, ethical framework, adaptability, cultural and contextual understanding	Emphasizes the material, embodied and procedural aspects of practices	Combines the depth of praxiography with the strengths of netnography
Limitations	Time-intensive, prolonged immersion, participation, ethical challenges	Ethical challenges, access limitations, rapidly evolving digital landscapes	Difficult to capture tacit practices, requires deep engagement and access to practitioners	Difficulty in accessing certain digital practices, rapidly evolving digital landscapes
Application in a service-oriented context	In-person service encounters and interactions	Any kind of service experience related to a digital context	Service practices in different contexts	Any practices situated in or related to a digital context

	Ethnography	Netnography	Praxiography	Digital praxiography
Definition	A qualitative research method for studying people and cultures in their natural settings through immersion and direct engagement	An adaptation of ethnography for deriving cultural and contextual understandings from digital traces and experiences	A qualitative research method that studies practices as the core unit of analysis, focusing on their enactment, materiality and evolution	An extension of praxiography integrating netnographic principles to study practices in a digital context
Unit of Analysis	Social behavior and interactions	Varied units of analysis	Practices	Practices enacted, represented or discussed in a digital context
Key Focus	Cultural norms, lived experiences and social structures	Topics that are represented or can be experienced through digital means	Practices in different contexts	Practices situated in or related to a digital context
Data-Collection Methods	Participant observation, in-depth interviews, field notes, document analysis	Immersion, investigation, interaction with participants, archival research	Observations of practices, practitioner interviews, document and material artifact research	Practices diaries, online interaction with practitioners, exploration of digital archival materials and artifacts
Strengths	Provides rich, contextualized insights into human behavior and social dynamics	Immersive and reflective engagement, methodological clarity, ethical framework, adaptability, cultural and contextual understanding	Emphasizes the material, embodied and procedural aspects of practices	Combines the depth of praxiography with the strengths of netnography
Limitations	Time-intensive, prolonged immersion, participation, ethical challenges	Ethical challenges, access limitations, rapidly evolving digital landscapes	Difficult to capture tacit practices, requires deep engagement and access to practitioners	Difficulty in accessing certain digital practices, rapidly evolving digital landscapes
Application in a service-oriented context	In-person service encounters and interactions	Any kind of service experience related to a digital context	Service practices in different contexts	Any practices situated in or related to a digital context

Source(s): Authors’ own illustration