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Capturing Actions of Communities: Towards Virtual Ethnography and Digital Tools in Researching Organizations and Workplace Learning

Lemmetty, Soila, Collin, Kaija, Glăveanu, Vlad orcid logoORCID: 0000-0002-6029-6718 and Paloniemi, Susanna (2022) Capturing Actions of Communities: Towards Virtual Ethnography and Digital Tools in Researching Organizations and Workplace Learning. In: Goller, Michael, Kyndt, Eva, Paloniemi, Susanna and Damşa, Crina, (eds.) Methods for Researching Professional Learning and Development: Challenges, Applications and Empirical Illustrations. Professional and Practice-based Learning, 33 . Springer, Cham, pp. 397-418. ISBN 978-3-031-08518-5

Abstract
In this chapter, we introduce the ethnographic research methodology as a starting point in organisational and workplace learning research. In approaching learning at work as a practice-based and communal phenomenon, this strategy has been found suitable for studying its nature and practices. We focus on new and innovative ways to conduct ethnography—especially virtual ethnography and digital tools. In this chapter, we first briefly describe the background of ethnographic methodology. We then move on to consider why workplace learning should also be studied in virtual environments and how digital tools, such as subjective cameras, can be utilized in conducting ethnographic research. Then, we present two empirical case examples. The first case illustrates the study of informal learning using ethnography in a virtual environment. The second case illustrates the use of subjective cameras in a subjective, evidence-based ethnographic process. Using these case examples, we show how the basic principles of ethnography can be strengthened and applied in virtual environments and with the help of digital tools in workplace learning research. We also consider some potential ideas for further ethnographic research on workplace learning alongside ethical matters related to ethnographic and virtual ethnographic research.
Metadata
Item Type:Book Section
Refereed:Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords:ethnography; organization ethnography; virtual ethnography; workplace learning; subjective evidence-based ethnography
Subjects:Business > Knowledge management
Business > Organizational learning
Social Sciences > Education
Social Sciences > Sociology
DCU Faculties and Centres:DCU Faculties and Schools > DCU Business School
Research Institutes and Centres > Centre for Possibility Studies
Publisher:Springer
Official URL:https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-03...
Copyright Information:Authors
ID Code:33132
Deposited On:19 Aug 2026 08:51 by Tam Nguyen . Last Modified 19 Aug 2026 08:51
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