ABSTRACT
The contemporary media landscape challenges social researchers in many ways. The changes in media production and consumption practices call for a critical discussion of our research agenda, methodologies and tools. At the same time, our disciplinary status is put to test as the relevance of both qualitative and quantitative social research methodologies for studying online settings and interactions is revolutionized by social data mining and data visualization-based analysis. In this context, social researchers are caught in the tension between innovation and consolidation. On the one hand, we are urged to constantly update our frameworks and tools in order to gain new knowledge on evolving research objects. On the other hand, we need to go back to some basic methodological issues. For ethnographers, this means, for example, addressing some fundamental questions such as what the ethnographic field is and what the nature and status of the texts generated by media consumption performances and interactions are.
