Being an ethnographic researcher in a modern workplace: advantages and challenges of digital ethnography

What the paper says

Purpose As digitalization changes work and organizations, the ethnographic research field and fieldwork become more complex. In this paper, we discuss the advantages and challenges of digital ethnography, drawing on insights from our study. Design/methodology/approach We reflect on our experiences using digital ethnography to study the use of digital technology in informal workplace learning within a knowledge work context. The research topic and setting posed methodological challenges, which we addressed through digital ethnography. Findings The paper provides novel insights for studying a modern workplace, where physical and digital environments intertwine. The main focus of this research was on digital environments; however, with digital ethnography, we can capture a holistic perspective on knowledge work. We describe how we constructed the fluid and emergent research field in interaction with the target organization and its staff, collecting versatile data. Through examples from our fieldwork, we illustrate how we used method triangulation to capture the multisitedness of work. We also reflect on the challenges encountered, such as in relation to access and ethical considerations. We argue that digital ethnography is a particularly suitable methodology for researching modern knowledge work and its environments. Originality/value The paper demonstrates how digital ethnography can be used to study modern workplaces, where digital environments play a significant role, thereby expanding its uses in workplace research. We suggest that by viewing workplaces – and, thus, research fields – as phygital, a combination of physical and digital, we can transcend the online-offline dichotomy and adopt a more holistic perspective.