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In:Innovative Qualitative Methodologies in Multilingual Literacy Development Research: Amplifying voices from immigrant, transnational, and refugee communities
Edited by Amanda K. Kibler and Fares J. Karam
[Research Methods in Applied Linguistics 11] 2025
► pp. 45–66

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Chapter 3
An ethnetnography of (non)belonging

The transliterate practices of a Muslim refugee-background mother

 | University of Nevada, Reno
 | Oregon State University
Published online: 7 April 2025
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/rmal.11.03kar
Abstract
This chapter aims at presenting ethnetnography as an innovative qualitative methodology for studying multilingual literacy practices in Applied Linguistics. An ethnetnography combines elements of a traditional ethnography with a netnography (focusing on participants’ online interactions). To showcase how to conduct an ethnetnography, we draw upon a study that traces how a Muslim refugee-background participant negotiates (non)belonging within the resettlement context of the United States. We share how to collect, analyze, and present the data and reflect on the rewards and challenges of adopting ethnetnographic methods. Methodological implications are presented on how an ethnetnographic approach can provide for a more complete, equitable, and ethical examination of the literacies of refugee-background individuals on the move.
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Overview of the study and its findings
    • Context and focal participant
    • Theoretical frame
    • Relevant literature
    • Findings
  • Methodological discussion: Rethinking data for more equitable research
    • Netnographies in second language acquisition research
    • Ethnetnography: Towards a definition
    • Researcher positionality, recruitment, and ethical considerations
    • Ethnetnographic data collection operations
    • Ethnetnographic data analysis
    • Rewards, challenges, and limitations
  • Implications for qualitative research on multilingual literacy development
  • References
References (38)
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Cited by (1)

Cited by one other publication

Karam, Fares J. & Eleni Oikonomidoy
2025. “I Rely on God”: Religion as a Fund of Identity in the Resettlement Experiences of Refugee-Background Parents in the United States. Multicultural Perspectives 27:3 ► pp. 134 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 22 november 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

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