Network Ethnography: A Mixed-Method Approach for the Study of Practices in Interorganizational Settings

Studying Organizational Creativity as Process: Fluidity or Duality?

“…For practice‐based studies we see promise in mixed‐method approaches combining qualitative and quantitative data. For example, information on social and inter‐organizational relationships could be gathered using survey or social network tools and then compared with qualitative accounts of interaction practices (Berthod, Grothe‐Hammer, & Sydow, forthcoming). Similarly, social practices in the creative process could be linked empirically to creative outcomes, such as awards or critical acclaim, which could be measured leveraging quantitative means.…”

A Mixed Method Approach for Identifying Emerging Fields and Building Collaborative Teams: Leveraging Network Ethnography to Design Experimental Interventions

“…Our ethnographic study of a university used participant observation and semi-structured interviews with researchers to systematically study scientific collaboration culture by exploring organizational dynamics and disciplinary norms. This paper is part of a small but emerging body of literature applying ethnographic approaches to examine networks and other models created by big data sources (Velden & Lagoze, 2013;Wang, 2013;Nafus, 2014, Berthod et al, 2017. This study builds upon both this long ethnographic tradition and emerging field by adding two new dimensions.…”

“…Ethnography provides a lens for uncovering these deeper sources of meaning. Therefore, network ethnography combines SNA and ethnographic methods to explore communities more deeply (Velden & Lagoze, 2013;Berthod et al, 2017). Combining qualitative and quantitative approaches enables scientists to cultivate a deeper understanding of both what network structures exist and why these cultural processes developed.…”

“…Network ethnography combines methods from social network analysis (SNA) and ethnography to simultaneously analyze the structure and cultural context of communities (Velden & Lagoze, 2013;Berthod et al, 2017). Previous studies have highlighted the need for using network ethnography to better understand the rationale behind network structures and designing interventions (Valente et al, 2015;Berthod et al, 2017).…”

“…Previous studies have highlighted the need for using network ethnography to better understand the rationale behind network structures and designing interventions (Valente et al, 2015;Berthod et al, 2017). Using network analysis methods allowed our team to visualize what these collaboration trends and organizational structures look like, as well as translate big data into actionable insights.…”