To understand the exciting world of mobile ethnography, or what some call self ethnography, you first need to look back upon traditional ethnography which, in its basic form, is a method for observing, studying and recording cultures and society. Ethnography is a type of qualitative research often conducted by social anthropologists and psychologists. They enter the ‘habitat’ they want to study, documenting their observations using film and audio recording, as well as pen and paper.
Fast forward to a digital age where the practice of ethnography has morphed into a new discipline, where the participants themselves are the researchers, capable of documenting and sharing their lives via mobile phones and other portable devices.
The power of ethnography, digital or not, is that it encourages you to consider
the entire environment of an interaction, and not just the ‘event’ itself. If you
don’t pay attention to what is happening around it, you’ll miss the point and probably make the wrong decisions. The context of each moment that comprises a journey is key in getting a holistic view of behaviour patterns and mobile can
make this process considerably more efficient.
Dowload our our essential guide to mobile ethnography, to understand what it can be used for and discover our 10-tips for creating successful mobile ethnographic studies.