Using Netnography to Study Chinese Social Media: A Methodological Reflection

Drawing upon our netnographic research experience in studying digital culture and communication in China, this chapter examines the application and adaption of netnography to understand online communities on Chinese social media, aiming to offer methodological insights and strategies. Reflecting on our research experience in fan studies, we elaborate on how ‘aca-fan’—an individual who is a member of both the fan and academic communities—could serve as an ethical positioning to study Chinese social media. In doing so, we aim to highlight the significance and necessity of disclosing researchers’ identities to the researched in conducting netnography, especially when working with some sensitive and socially marginalised online communities. Moreover, we argue that it is important to recognise that publicly accessible, online spaces could also embody certain community norms and expectations. Therefore, using netnography to examine Chinese social media requires researchers to respect the privacy and community norms of the researched. Finally, we encourage netnographers to consider research ethics beyond the processes of informed consent and data collection, which also play a crucial role in analysing data and discussing research findings. Netnographers could use ‘active communication’ and ‘feedback-seeking’ as techniques to develop a critical and reflexive stance to ‘give back’ to the online communities under study.