Open AccessAnalysing digital multilocality between urban centres and rural peripheries: Combining and integrating digital and analogue research methods
Author(s) -
Reto Bürgin,
Heike Mayer,
Alexander Kashev,
S. Haug
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
raumforschung und raumordnung
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1869-4179
pISSN - 0034-0111
DOI - 10.14512/rur.116
Subject(s) - laptop , work (physics) , ethnography , qualitative research , sample (material) , multimethodology , sociology , computer science , data science , knowledge management , engineering , social science , mechanical engineering , chemistry , chromatography , anthropology , operating system
The application of mixed methods in researching digitalisation and rural development has numerous benefits in terms of the integration of various data sources. In this paper, we present a novel, mixed methods approach that combines digital and analogue methods. We investigate multilocal work arrangements of knowledge workers in Switzerland who mainly work in a central urban area but occasionally withdraw to peripheral mountain regions in order to conduct their work in a concentrated and undisturbed environment. To analyse such multilocal work arrangements, we use a mixed methods approach that incorporates six integrated methods: geotracking, laptop and smartphone tracking, self-administered digital diaries, ethnographic walk-along observations and qualitative semi-structured interviews. Our study illustrates that mixed methods in digitalisation research provide in-depth insights, but that they also have limitations. Furthermore, we show how ethical standards can and should be used to create a basis of trust with the study participants and how this affects the recruitment of the sample.