Busting the myths of digital ethnography: How to generate rich, contextual, real-world insights remotely

In the age of COVID-19, when traditional ethnography is challenging and behaviors are changing, how do we study other people when we’re not supposed to be around other people?

Digital ethnography offers a practical and non-intrusive alternative to in-person observation. The pandemic has brought about significant changes in healthcare, in terms of service delivery, product development and stakeholder engagement. As a consequence, engrained behaviors, both in-home and in a clinical setting are changing. By leveraging the power of the smartphone, digital ethnography enables researchers to walk a mile in the shoes of the customer, both patients and physicians. It allows pharma to gain an understanding of the healthcare journey from their perspectives, as told by them, by documenting what really matters and how their experiences affect their daily lives and decision-making.

In this webcast, ethnography expert and qualified sociologist Mandira Kar discuss all things digital ethnography with Associate Director, Nicky Barclay-Prout. They bust some of the digital ethnography myths and answer your burning questions.

In addition, they walk you through a number of recent case studies: one where they share how we were able to get into the hearts and minds of patients living with cancer and another where we explored the mindset, behavior and diagnostic preferences of millennial clinicians. 

What are the takeaways?

• Learn how digital ethnography differs from traditional ethnography
• Find out the when and why of using this flexible and insight-rich methodology
• Hear about the benefits and challenges of digitally-enabled remote observation
• Pick up some practical tips for conducting digital ethnography in both clinical and non-clinical settings
• Discover how the findings from these studies can impact your business