ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the use of the internet as a tool to engage in research. It focuses specifically on an overview of netnography and the usefulness of this method in conducting qualitative research online. The chapter utilizes use the procedures proposed by Robert Kozinets and modified by other researchers who use the term 'netnography' rather than other terms. Netnography uses original downloads (posts) from publicly available online discussion groups. Netnography can be based on observations only – when we do not interact with the online users but just observe their online discussions. Netnographic data can be also collected when the researcher is overt and he/she posts a message to the users. Netnographic data can be also collected when the researcher is overt and he/she posts a message to the users. The main reason to apply netnography in the age of Web 2.0 is simply due to the amount of data available in social media.
