Potentials and Limitations of Discourse-Centred Online Ethnography
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Abstract
This article outlines aims and procedures of discourse-centred online ethnography, a combination of systematic observation of online activities and interviews with online actors, which was developed as a complement to the linguistic analysis of log data. Drawing on research on computer-mediated discourse on German-based websites of hip-hop and diaspora groups, I discuss how ethnographic data fit in with a sociolinguistic approach to computer-mediated communication. I suggest that ethnographic insights may supplement and support the linguistic analysis of log data in three ways: reconstructing fields of computer-mediated discourse, reconstructing participants' literacy practices, and analysing their sociolinguistic awareness.
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