Digital Ethnography research focuses on understanding how a user group lives in the digital space and provides deep insights into their digital experiences, needs, desires, and frustrations. This type of research offers the opportunity to learn about the user group’s day to day routines including: which websites they visit and why they visit them, how much time they spend online, what devices they use to access the web, how they engage with social media, and more. Digital Ethnography helps to better understand a user group’s perception of your brand and can be insightful for brand strategy, product innovation, and content creation.

Methodology

To conduct Digital Ethnography research, eVOC Insights combines two methods of data collection. The first method includes a journaling exercise, using a multi-media online diary tool. This journaling exercise is completed by the respondent as a pre-interview homework assignment for a minimum of 2-3 weeks. The respondent’s prolonged engagement with the exercise ensures that we capture a comprehensive depiction of the user’s digital routine and habits. As part of the journaling exercise, eVOC creates a series of daily tasks and questions for the respondent to answer, in order to understand who the respondent is and his/her daily interactions with the subject matter. Participants may respond in free-form text, share web URLs, upload pictures and videos, or answer multiple-choice questions using their computer, tablet, or mobile device.

The second method includes in-home direct observation, where an eVOC moderator observes respondents as they perform real-life tasks using their digital devices, while collecting artifacts from the in-home interview, such as photos, video, and diagrams of the environment, including touch-points to traditional and digital media. The combination of the journaling and in-home direct observation offers a complete portrait of the respondent and his/her environment with respect to the key subject matter.