Recruitment, trust, and data choices in suburban remote-work fieldwork

[Aubrey.S]

I'm a sociology PhD student designing my dissertation research on how remote work policies are reshaping community ties in suburban neighborhoods, and I'm debating between a mixed-methods approach or a deeply qualitative ethnographic study. I'm concerned about capturing nuanced, lived experiences while still generating findings that feel robust and generalizable. For other sociologists who have conducted community-based research, how did you navigate the practical challenges of recruitment and building trust for in-depth interviews or participant observation in a defined geographical area? What are the strengths and pitfalls of using digital diaries or online forums as supplementary data sources to traditional fieldwork, and how did you ensure your methodological choices aligned with your theoretical framework?