1. Analysing digital multilocality between urban centres and rural peripheries: Combining and integrating digital and analogue research methods.
- Author
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Bürgin, Reto, Mayer, Heike, Kashev, Alexander, and Haug, Sigve
- Subjects
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RURAL development , *MIXED methods research , *RESEARCH ethics , *RESEARCH methodology , *SMARTPHONES , *DIGITAL technology , *LAPTOP computers , *KNOWLEDGE workers - Abstract
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 investigatemultilocal 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 integratedmethods: 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
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