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<p>This article outlines a research design for a qualitative comparative study of communication across platforms, media and contexts – in China, the US and Denmark. After addressing the limitations in previous research on digital media in everyday life, we argue in favour of a comparative ethnography of communication that emphasizes the study of intermediality by taking a people-centred approach. The methodological design combines network sampling and maximum variation sampling with communication diaries and elicitation interviews. This design makes it possible to collect small and deep communicative trace data, to capture individuals’ unique linking of all the communication tools and channels available to them and, in turn, to identify the role of the internet as it interacts and intersects with other forms of communication.</p>
</abstract>

This article outlines a research design for a qualitative comparative study of communication across platforms, media and contexts – in China, the US and Denmark. After addressing the limitations in previous research on digital media in everyday life, we argue in favour of a comparative ethnography of communication that emphasizes the study of intermediality by taking a people-centred approach. The methodological design combines network sampling and maximum variation sampling with communication diaries and elicitation interviews. This design makes it possible to collect small and deep communicative trace data, to capture individuals’ unique linking of all the communication tools and channels available to them and, in turn, to identify the role of the internet as it interacts and intersects with other forms of communication.

Tracing Communicative Patterns: A comparative ethnography across platforms, media and contexts

Department of Media, Cognition and Communication

Nordicom Review

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

This article outlines a research design for a qualitative comparative study of communication across platforms, media and contexts – in China, the US and...

Tracing Communicative Patterns: A comparative ethnography across platforms, media and contexts

Published Online: Jun 28, 2019

Page range: 141 - 157

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/nor-2019-0019

Keywords
communicative patterns, comparative ethnography, diary, elicitation interviews, sampling strategies

© 2019 Signe Sophus Lai et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Tracing Communicative Patterns: A comparative ethnography across platforms, media and contexts

Published Online: Jun 28, 2019

Page range: 141 - 157

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/nor-2019-0019

Keywordscommunicative patterns, comparative ethnography, diary, elicitation interviews, sampling strategies

© 2019 Signe Sophus Lai et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
communicative patterns, comparative ethnography, diary, elicitation interviews, sampling strategies