Paper short abstract:

The growth of social media use and research has created dilemmas for researchers that may not be addressed using currently adapted ethnographic techniques. Using the authors experience, this paper introduces a narrative approach to social media research as one potential solution.

Paper long abstract:

The exponential growth of social media use means that it is now recognised not as a separate domain but as an integral part of many people's lives. Social media research therefore provides the potential for insight into many areas of social life in a similar way to social research more generally. However, the many and varied ways that social media can be utilized may create dilemmas for researchers who are ethnographically inclined. Social media users can be anonymous, public or private and platforms may involve a few users to hundreds of thousands of users. While ethnographic techniques have been adapted to social media the practical reality of doing participant observation in a social media environment may make it extremely difficult to find a technique that works. Problems may arise relating to the difficulty of getting consent in such an environment or the primarily textual nature of the data. This paper will explore these problems and one solution through the author's own experience of conducting research into Australian racism and community resilience on Facebook and Twitter. The author will describe how a narrative approach provides an alternative to participant observation, while still affording an in depth ethnographic type of analysis. This is a novel approach that offers an additional solution to ethnographic practice on social media.