Extraterritorial Experiences and Insights of Sports Network Ethnography Research

By reviewing relevant literature and drawing on overseas research cases and practical experiences in sports netnography, this study explores the localization of sports netnography in China. The research finds that the “disembedding of time and space” characteristic of online communities creates methodological distinctions between netnography—derived from traditional ethnography—and its conventional counterpart. These differences are primarily reflected in data collection and analysis, researcher participation, the balance between “online” and “offline” engagement, “lurking” as an observational strategy, and research ethics. Overseas studies on netnography have mainly focused on: interactions within sports subcultural communities in digital spaces, the construction of identity and sports practices in online communities, online marketing and sports consumption through digital interactions, and socio-cultural studies of sports in virtual communities. Building on these insights and considering the unique features of China’s online communities, this paper extends the methodological discussion and proposes future directions for sports netnography in Chinese sports research. The aim is to introduce netnography as a research approach into sports studies in China and to provide methodological support for related academic endeavors.