Multi-Sited Ethnography and Digital Migration Research: Methods and challenges

The article reflects on the implementation of multi-sited ethnography in migration research and discusses the application of a range of qualitative methods to online and offline field-sites. Theoretically, this work situates the premises of multi-sited ethnography within a transnational paradigm that has long demanded alternative methods and theories able to capture the complexity, hyper-connectivity and flexibility of contemporary migrations. Empirically, this paper will present evidence from the author's ongoing research on and interest in the digitally mediated practices and discourses of Italian migrants who moved to London since the early 2000s. Three methods will be critically reviewed: web forum analysis, interviews and participant observation. In evaluating the research design, methodological approach and challenges encountered over the course of the project, it will be argued that multi-sited ethnography should not simply ‘follow’ but rather deeply engage with, and learn from, the contested meanings, appropriations and everyday uses of technologies by migrants.