Action Research
Just put in a new link I snagged from Jill. Action Research has so far given me the most useful tool to consider the fluid nature of research in social environments online. Due to their delicate structure they are extremely easily influenced by the researcher, and I find that it is essential to consider methodologies that focus on reflexivity. While ethnology does this to a certain extent, Action Research depends on the influence of the researcher on the process, rather than try to minimize the process, and is thus much more useful, particularly in the cases where research and practice overlap, as is frequently the case in more studies including applied research.