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Mobile Ethnography offers less control
Unlike traditional ethnography, where researchers have more control overthe research environment, mobile ethnography relies on participants' naturalsettings. This lack of control can make it difficult to standardize datacollection conditions.
While mobile ethnography captures real-world behaviours, it may not alwaysprovide a complete context for those behaviours. Researchers may miss importantcontextual factors that affect participants' actions and decisions.
Despite the ability to conduct follow-up interviews, researchers may stillmiss opportunities for in-depth probing and clarification compared to moretraditional ethnographic methods where they are physically present in theresearch setting. The researcher has to rely on the participant’s ability to presentthe insights needed, and reminders are often needed to ensure they report to giventasks.
Small sample sizes
Mobile ethnography typically involves a small sample size, and the findingsmay not be representative of a broader population. Researchers must be cautiouswhen making generalizations based on limited participant data. However,compared to traditional ethnographic studies, mobile ethnography has theadvantage of being much more cost and time efficients, something that oftenallows for increased sample sizes.
Smaller sample sizes also comes with the risk that those participate may not befully representative of the target group, leading to potentially skewedfindings.
Privacy and Ethical Concerns: Collecting data from participants' mobiledevices raises privacy and ethical considerations. Researchers must ensure thatthey obtain informed consent, protect participants' personal information, andhandle sensitive data responsibly.
Participant Burden: Depending on the study's duration andcomplexity, mobile ethnography can become burdensome for participants, leadingto dropouts or incomplete data. Researchers must carefully consider the demandsplaced on participants.
Data Overload: Collecting a wide range of data types, such asphotos, videos, text, and voice recordings, can lead to data overload.Managing, organizing, and analyzing this diverse data can be time-consuming andcomplex.
Interpretation Challenges: Analyzing qualitative data from mobileethnography can be subjective and challenging. Researchers must develop robustanalytical methods to extract meaningful insights from the collected data.
In conclusion, while mobile ethnography offers valuable insights intoparticipants' natural behaviors and experiences, it is essential forresearchers to be aware of its limitations and challenges. Careful planning,ethical considerations, and methodological rigor are necessary to mitigatethese cons and ensure the validity and usefulness of the research findings.
