Learning Scenario Part I: New stories for Europe - themes to research

In this module, you are invited to develop your own netnographic project as a learning scenario in three parts (New stories for Europe I-III). In each part of the scenario, you will practice and develop skills and understandings connected to the insights gained from each unit. It is possible to study each unit without doing this scenario or to work with parts of the scenario, but the scenario is meant to be worked with as a continuous assignment that you return to at the end of each unit.

In this first unit, you have learned about the foundations of Netnography and have been offered some illustrative examples of netnographic research. You have also been introduced to key concepts (such as netnographic fieldwork and digital communities). You may already have ideas about what could be an interesting phenomenon to study. Perhaps you are interested in some aspects of how fans of an online game interact and express their interest in the game, or an online forum focused on a certain hobby, or… The options are endless, and your research interest, shaped by your experiences, previous netnographic research, and theoretical perspective, will need to guide you. In Unit II, we will focus on how to do ethical research. From Unit III and IV, you will learn how to conduct an actual netnographic study of your own, from developing a good netnographic research question and collecting and producing material to analyse and present your netnographic project. This first unit will present some suggested themes for your netnographic project. The themes are open-ended, which allows for your individual creativity when choosing a specific topic, but at the same time, the themes will bind the netnographic projects created out of this module together and offer you an excellent opportunity to contribute to new stories for Europe!

The main themes connected to important issues in Europe we invite you to work with are the following: social equity, transnational and cultural diversity, gender equality, and good health and well-being. Click through the dialogue cards below to learn more about how these different themes can be approached and explored.



You may choose one of these main themes or any combination of them. Take a minute to consider what you are interested in and what theme(s) appeal most to you. Write down the selected theme(s) in a notebook or digital document that you will use for your field notes while working with this learning scenario and developing your netnographic research (the notion of field notes is discussed further in 3.1.9).

If your research interest changes during the course of this scenario, as you learn more about your field of study, it is entirely fine to change the theme(s)!