An ethnographic survey conducted over five years in a free software developers’ « community ». [...] A classical way to take this characteristic into account is to conduct surveys from a distance [...] and sometimes complementing them with direct inquiries with the participants (interviews or questionnaires, notably by electronic mail). This method has significant limits [...] The in-the-field ethnographic approach, focused on the group in activity, is then the most appropriate approach.
Source
Demazière D., Horn F., Zune M. 2011. « Ethnographie de terrain et relation d'enquête. Observer les « communautés » de logiciels libres » Sociologie (2,): 165-183. DOI : 10.3917/socio.022.0165
Critical Commentary
An ethnographic survey conducted over five years in a free software developers’ « community ». [...] A classical way to take this characteristic into account is to conduct surveys from a distance [...] and sometimes complementing them with direct inquiries with the participants (interviews or questionnaires, notably by electronic mail). This method has significant limits [...] The in-the-field ethnographic approach, focused on the group in activity, is then the most appropriate approach.