Tourism Management 59 (2017) 106e107
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Tourism Management
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/tourman
Book Review
Netnography: Redefined, R.V. Kozinets, 2nd ed.. Sage, London
(2015). 305pp., (Pbk.), £28.99 ISBN 9781446285758
This book, as its title aptly suggests, redefines and refines the
methodology of Netnography as formulated by Robert Kozinets.
The book is therefore a welcome source for academics working in
various fields of research that engage with social media and other
online platforms, including those in tourism, who have already
shown enthusiasm towards the approach. Netnography: Redefined
develops and amplifies the tenets of netnography set out in the
original formulation, explicating the intricacies of seeking to under-
stand, interpretively, online communities and cultures. In this
redefinition, Kozinets seeks to make netnography “more identifi-
ably specific than digital ethnography and digital anthropology”
(p. 100). Thus this new edition clarifies what netnography is and
what it is not, helping to demarcate it from a number of other
somewhat overlapping approaches.
Netnography: Redefined also makes the netnographic process
much more structured, with a total of “12 roughly temporal, non-
exclusive and often-interacting process levels” to help us achieve
its interpretive objectives (p. 98). Importantly, the book tackles
the issue of ethics very comprehensively, and netnographers will
now have a very useful guide for determining what their ethical ob-
ligations are in conductive both passive and active forms of netnog-
raphy. In other words, there will be less grey areas, a development
which is likely to enhance the methodology's uptake among
scholars.
The book is structured as follows: the first chapter reintroduces
readers to the basic goal of netnography, which is to help us under-
stand the world through the world of online social interaction. In
Chapters 2 and 3, “Networked Sociality”, Kozinets discusses the
modern reality of a networked world which is enabled by the dy-
namic technologies of the Web. Chapter 4 then details a redefini-
tion of the process of netnography, step-by-step, before outline
the planning and preparation phases of the method in more detail.
Chapter 6 revisits the murky area of ethics in netnography, which
has been shrouded in confusion and controversy since netnography
was proposed. The nuances of what constitutes private versus pub-
lic space are tackled, and Kozinets asserts that ethicality should be
reframed in less spatial terms, and should be about how re-
searchers treat what he calls “people's digital doubles” in their
research (p.159). What is clear is the subjectivity of ethics; ulti-
mately, researchers use their discretion in deciding how to conduct
themselves in the virtual world.
Notably, Kozinets does not offer a one-size-fits-all approach for
the ethical requirements of netnography, but rather considers the
varying levels of risk and nature of context. Thus, he suggests
different degrees of concealment of the participant's identity and/
or details, according to the unique characteristics of the study,
and the online spaces in which it is to be implemented. In Chapter
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2016.07.016
0261-5177
7, the process of data collection is outlined in depth, wherein the
researcher “should struggle to understand the sites, the words,
the topics and the people represented in online social interactions
and to reflect upon them as an online social experience” (p. 170).
This is followed by analysis of the different formats of researcher
participation in a netnographic project. Kozinets observes that for
the netnographer, the Internet as a whole, with its social and infor-
mational networks, is the field, and it is through the production of
reflective data, or field notes, that the researchers capture their own
experience of observing and interacting with that field. The
following chapter tackles the analytical tools and processes of net-
nography, which are described as “interpenetration” (p. 230). Kozi-
nets stresses that attuning to the meaning of being human is the
most purposeful interpretive act, as the researcher seeks to build
their skills “as human interpreters, as seekers of social clues and
cues, comprehenders of cultural nuance, transmitters of subtle in-
nuendo, translators of highly hidden messages for one another”
(p. 204).
Chapter 10 deals with Representation, describing netnography
as representational practice. Kozinets positions netnography as a
way to rethink the role of scholarship, communication and under-
standing in the era of social media. He then introduces four types of
netnography, namely, Symbolic Netnography, Digital Netnography,
Auto-Netnography, and Humanist Netnography. Humanist netnog-
raphy seems to hold particular significance for Kozinets, as he de-
votes the entire final chapter (Chapter 11) to its delineation,
advocating its potential for delivering human-centred insights.
Kozinets views Humanist Netnography as an avenue through which
scholars from various disciplines can use social media to contribute
to social change. He points out the various ways in which the world
is currently challenged: a natural environment that is degrading,
terrorism, religious intolerance, and disease, and calls on academics
to use netnography to confront these realities. Clearly, Humanist
Netnography will resonate strongly with social science researchers
who have particular interest in exploring human experience, as
well as social challenges and dilemmas, from critical, “soft”, reflex-
ive, and postcolonial perspectives, all of which are increasingly
embraced in tourism and other areas of scholarship.
What makes the book especially usable is that it is written in a
very readable, flowing style that will be accessible to a wide spec-
trum of readers, in and outside tourism, from students to more
experienced academics. In particular, postgraduate students look-
ing to apply netnography as a research design, either on its own
or in combination with other methods, will welcome the new edi-
tion. In its refined form, netnography is shown to be a thoroughly
rigorous approach that is as comprehensive as any traditional inter-
pretive research design. Its usefulness extends beyond academi-
admarketers and other audiences who engage with online
communities for commercial purposes will find it to be of immense
relevance for interacting with online user groups. In this regard, the
 Book Review / Tourism Management 59 (2017) 106e107
importance of understanding social media and how to capitalise on
them cannot be overstated.
Nonetheless, there are still issues on netnography that could be
developed further in future. As a relatively new methodology, new
ethical grey areas may surface, as social media continue to grow
and evolve. Certainly, as this redefined version of netnography is
applied by scholars in various disciplines, the value of netnography
will become more apparent, and its use in research is likely to
become even more widespread, notwithstanding its critics. Overall,
107
Netnography: Redefined asserts, very firmly, netnography's unique
relevance to social inquiry in an era when virtually every aspect
of social life is mediated by online technologies, and clears up am-
biguities about the approach that have been raised in the past.
Muchazondida Mkono
UQ Business School, The University of Queensland, Australia
E-mail address: m.mkono@uq.edu.au.