Cover not available
Part of
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

Chapter 3
An ethnetnography of (non)belonging

The transliterate practices of a Muslim refugee-background mother

 | University of Nevada, Reno
 | Oregon State University
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.
Keywords: ethnetnography, ethnography, netnography, transliteracies, resonance, ambivalence, refugee, multilingual
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
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
References (38)
References
Bartlett, L., Mendenhall, M., & Ghaffar-Kucher, A. (2017). Culture in acculturation: Refugee youth’s schooling experiences in international schools in New York City. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 60, 109–119. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cinaglia, C., Rabie-Ahmed, A., & De Costa, P. I. (2024). Introduction: Ethical issues in applied linguistics scholarship. In P. I. De Costa, A. Rabie-Ahmed, & C. Cinaglia (Eds.), Ethical issues in applied linguistics scholarship (pp. 1–7). John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
De Costa, P. I. (2010). From refugee to transformer: A Bourdieusian take on a Hmong learner’s trajectory. TESOL Quarterly, 44(3), 517–541. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(Ed.). (2016). Ethics in applied linguistics research: Language researcher narratives. Routledge.Google Scholar
Dovchin, S. (2015). Language, multiple authenticities and social media: The online language practices of university students in Mongolia. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 19(4), 437–459. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Duran, C. S. (2019). On issues of discrimination and xenophobia: What can TESOL practitioners do to support and advocate for refugee students? TESOL Quarterly, 53(3), 818–827. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Fereday, J., & Muir-Cochrane, E. (2006). Demonstrating rigor using thematic analysis: A hybrid approach of coding. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 5(1), 80–92. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Isbell, D. R. (2018). Online informal language learning: Insights from a Korean learning community. Language Learning & Technology, 22(3), 82–102.Google Scholar
Karam, F. J. (2018). Language and identity construction: The case of a refugee digital bricoleur. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 61(5), 511–521. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2021). Writing the story of Sabadullah: Transnational literacies of two refugee-background parents. In D. Warriner (Ed.), Refugee education across the lifespan (pp. 231–250). Springer. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Karam, F. J., Barone, D., & Kibler, A. K. (2021). Resisting and negotiating literacy tasks: Agentive practices of refugee-background students. Research in the Teaching of English, 55(4), 369–392. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Karam, F. J., Oikonomidoy, E., & Kibler, A. K. (2021). Artifactual literacies and TESOL: Narratives of a Syrian refugee-background family. TESOL Quarterly, 55(2), 510–535. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kessler, M. (2023). Written corrective feedback in an online community: A typology of English language learners’ requests and interlocutors’ responses. Computers and Composition, 67. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kessler, M., Marino, F., & Liska, D. (2023). Netnographic research ethics in applied linguistics: A systematic review of data collection and reporting practices. Research Methods in Applied Linguistics, 2(3), Article 100082. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kessler, M., De Costa, P. I., Isbell, D., & Gajasinghe, K. (2021). Conducting a netnography in second language acquisition research. Language Learning, 71(4), 1122–1148. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kozinets, R. V. (2010). Netnography: Doing ethnographic research online. Sage.Google Scholar
(2019). Netnography: The essential guide to qualitative social media research. Sage.Google Scholar
Kulavuz-Onal, D. (2013). English language teachers’ learning to teach with technology through participation in an online community of practice: A netnography of webheads in action (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of South Florida.Google Scholar
Lorimer Leonard, R. (2013). Traveling literacies: Multilingual writing on the move. Research in the Teaching of English, 48, 13–39. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Marino, F., Liska, D., & Kessler, M. (2024). Ethical considerations for research involving computer-assisted language learning, social media, and online environments. In P. I. De Costa, A. Rabie-Ahmed, & C. Cinaglia (Eds.), Ethical issues in applied linguistics scholarship (pp. 73–87). John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
McBrien, J. L. (2005). Educational needs and barriers for refugee students in the United States: A review of the literature. Review of Educational Research, 75(3), 329–364. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
McBrien, J., Dooley, K., & Birman, D. (2017). Cultural and academic adjustment of refugee youth: Introduction to the special issue. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 60, 104–108. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Milani, T. M., & Levon, E. (2019). Israel as homotopia: Language, space, and vicious belonging. Language in Society, 48(4), 607–628. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Moriarty, M. (2019). Regimes of voice and visibility in the refugeescape: A semiotic landscape approach. Linguistic Landscape, 5(2), 142–159. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Neuschafer, T. (2022). A netnographic analysis of how Duolingo supports German and Spanish learning needs. Digital Culture & Education, 14(3), 1–15.Google Scholar
Omerbašić, D. (2015). Literacy as a translocal practice: Digital multimodal literacy practices among girls resettled as refugees. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 58(6), 472–481. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Portes, A., & Rumbaut, R. G. (2001). Legacies: The story of the immigrant second generation. University of California Press.Google Scholar
Saldaña, J., & Omasta, M. (2021). Qualitative research: Analyzing life (2nd ed.). Sage.Google Scholar
Shapiro, S., & MacDonald, M. T. (2017). From deficit to asset: Locating discursive resistance in a refugee-background student’s narrative. Language, Identity & Education, 16(2), 80–93. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Shapiro, S., Farrelly, R., & Curry, M. J. (Eds.). (2018). Educating refugee-background students: Critical issues and dynamic contexts. Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Stornaiuolo, A., Smith, A., & Phillips, N. C. (2017). Developing a transliteracies framework for a connected world. Journal of Literacy Research, 49(1), 68–91. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tazreiter, C. (2019). Temporary migrants as an uneasy presence in immigrant societies: Reflections on ambivalence in Australia. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 60(1–2), 91–109. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Thomas, S., Joseph, C., Laccetti, J., Mason, B., Mills, S., Perril, S., & Pullinger, K. (2007). Transliteracy: Crossing divides. First Monday, 12(12). DOI logoGoogle Scholar
UNHCR. (2021, June 18). Figures at a glance. UNHCR. [URL]
University of Colorado Boulder, Institute of Behavioral Science. (2020, October 9). The Wall: American Nativism, Immigration Policy, and the Great Exclusion of 2017–2020; Ruben G. Rumbaut. [Video]. YouTube. [URL]
Warriner, D. (2013). “It’s better life here than there”: Elasticity and ambivalence in narratives of personal experience. International Multilingual Research Journal, 7, 15–32. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Warriner, D. S. (2021). Refugee education across the lifespan. Springer. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wei, L. (2020). Ethnography. In J. McKinley & H. Rose (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of research methods in applied linguistics (pp. 154–164). Routledge.Google Scholar