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Super discussions with @UofT_PolSci PhD students about virtual interviews, virtual ethnography, and ethics of conducting virtual research in our very strange times. Thanks, y'all. I learned a ton!
First off, lots of the stuff below originates with the brilliant minds at @InterpretiveMM. It's a vibrant community of political science folks doing non-mainstream research on politics. Join! https://connect.apsanet.org/interpretationandmethod/
So, in no particular order & with huge caveat that so very much (as always) depends on your project, food for thought: https://advancingconflictresearch.com/researchincrisis
Stanford's set of videos on remote ethnography. https://iriss.stanford.edu/doing-ethnography-remotely
...of the Stanford interviews, @yarimarbonilla's is particularly relevant to political scientists:
@yarimarbonilla and Jonathan Rosa on "hashtag ethnography" and #Ferguson
Bonilla, Yarimar, and Jonathan Rosa. "# Ferguson: Digital protest, hashtag ethnography, and the racial politics of social media in the United States." American ethnologist 2015
https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/amet.12112
Bonilla, Yarimar, and Jonathan Rosa. "# Ferguson: Digital protest, hashtag ethnography, and the racial politics of social media in the United States." American ethnologist 2015
https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/amet.12112
Sarah Pink on digital ethnography
On what remote interviews miss (spoiler: not a deal breaker)
Johnson, David R., Christopher P. Scheitle, & Elaine Howard Ecklund. "Beyond the In-Person Interview? How Interview Quality Varies Across In-person, Telephone, and Skype Interviews." Social Science Computer Review 2019
Johnson, David R., Christopher P. Scheitle, & Elaine Howard Ecklund. "Beyond the In-Person Interview? How Interview Quality Varies Across In-person, Telephone, and Skype Interviews." Social Science Computer Review 2019
More on what remote interviewing misses/changes:
Jenner, Brandy M., and Kit C. Myers. "Intimacy, rapport, and exceptional disclosure: a comparison of in-person and mediated interview contexts." International Journal of Social Research Methodology 22, no. 2 (2019): 165-177.
Jenner, Brandy M., and Kit C. Myers. "Intimacy, rapport, and exceptional disclosure: a comparison of in-person and mediated interview contexts." International Journal of Social Research Methodology 22, no. 2 (2019): 165-177.
Tons more to read, some of which is germane to a) our strange times, b) research on politics. Two lists:
Tom Boellstorf https://escholarship.org/content/qt94j4h0p4/qt94j4h0p4.pdf
From anthro: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1clGjGABB2h2qbduTgfqribHmog9B6P0NvMgVuiHZCl8/edit?ts=5e88880f#
Tom Boellstorf https://escholarship.org/content/qt94j4h0p4/qt94j4h0p4.pdf
From anthro: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1clGjGABB2h2qbduTgfqribHmog9B6P0NvMgVuiHZCl8/edit?ts=5e88880f#
From the above lists, some particularly instructive pieces (alpha order):
Abidin, C. (2020). Somewhere between here and there. Journal of Digital Social Research , 2(1), 56-76. Available from: https://jdsr.se/ojs/index.php/jdsr/article/view/20
Abidin, C. (2020). Somewhere between here and there. Journal of Digital Social Research , 2(1), 56-76. Available from: https://jdsr.se/ojs/index.php/jdsr/article/view/20
Abidin, C. & de Seta, G. (eds.) (2020) Special issue: Doing Digital Ethnography: Messages from the Field. Journal of Digital Social Research , 2(1). https://jdsr.se/ojs/index.php/jdsr/issue/view/3
Barassi, V. (2013). Ethnographic Cartographies: Social Movements, Alternative Media and the Spaces of Networks. Social Movement Studies , 12 (1), 48–62.
Beuving, Joost. 2020. Ethnography’s Future in the Age of Big Data. Information, Communication, and Society
Beuving, Joost. 2020. Ethnography’s Future in the Age of Big Data. Information, Communication, and Society
Bluteau, Joshua M. (2019): Legitimising digital anthropology through immersive cohabitation: Becoming an observing participant in a blended digital landscape. In Ethnography 138 (1), 146613811988116. DOI: 10.1177/1466138119881165
de Seta, G. (2020). Three lies of digital ethnography. Journal of Digital Social Research , 2(1), 77-97. https://jdsr.se/ojs/index.php/jdsr/article/download/24/16
Duggan, M. (2017). Questioning ‘Digital Ethnography’ in an Era of Ubiquitous Computing. Geography Compass , 11(5): 1-12.
Hine, C. (2005) Virtual methods: issues in social research on the Internet. Oxford: Berg.
Hine, C. Ethnography for the Internet, 2017
Hine, C. M. (2000) Virtual Ethnography. London: SAGE Publications.
Hine, C. Ethnography for the Internet, 2017
Hine, C. M. (2000) Virtual Ethnography. London: SAGE Publications.
Knox, Hannah and Nafus, Dawn (2019) Ethnography for a data-saturated world. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Kozinets, R. V. (2010) Netnography: doing ethnographic research online. Los Angeles, Calif: SAGE.
Kozinets, R. V. (2010) Netnography: doing ethnographic research online. Los Angeles, Calif: SAGE.
Malaby, T. M. (2009) Making virtual worlds: Linden Lab and Second Life. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Papacharissi, Z. (2009) ‘The virtual geographies of social networks: a comparative analysis of Facebook, LinkedIn and ASmallWorld’, New Media & Society, 11(1-2), pp. 199–220
Papacharissi, Z. (2009) ‘The virtual geographies of social networks: a comparative analysis of Facebook, LinkedIn and ASmallWorld’, New Media & Society, 11(1-2), pp. 199–220
Maddox, A. (2020). Disrupting the ethnographic imaginarium. Journal of Digital Social Research , 2(1), 20-38.
Markham, A. N. (2017). Ethnography in the Digital Internet Era. Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research , (JANUARY), 650–668.)
Markham, A. N. (2017). Ethnography in the Digital Internet Era. Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research , (JANUARY), 650–668.)
Seaver, N. (2017). Algorithms as culture : Some tactics for the ethnography of algorithmic systems. Big Data & Society , (December), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1177/2053951717738104
On ethics: stuff that our strange conditions highlight:
1. The normalization of new ways of connecting introduces possibilities for collaborative research: from problem-definition all through the process. Research is about relationships https://www.routledge.com/Interviewing-in-Social-Science-Research-A-Relational-Approach/Fujii/p/book/9780415843744
1. The normalization of new ways of connecting introduces possibilities for collaborative research: from problem-definition all through the process. Research is about relationships https://www.routledge.com/Interviewing-in-Social-Science-Research-A-Relational-Approach/Fujii/p/book/9780415843744
2. Whatever their value/necessity, new ways of connecting entail serious questions about (the perception of?) surveillance, privacy, anonymity. "Do no harm" is not enough, IMHO.
3. New ways of connecting aren't evenly distributed across societies or across the globe. Who is (not) reachable under current conditions & what research questions are (not) asked as a result? Don't assume that others have your bandwidth (actual & metaphorical).
I'm sure I missed a lot. Bottom line:
Not to put to fine a point on it, but there's no equivalent of a vaccine that will restore the research status quo ante. There IS a range of possibilities (with attendant trade-offs) that political scientists (and others) can explore.
Not to put to fine a point on it, but there's no equivalent of a vaccine that will restore the research status quo ante. There IS a range of possibilities (with attendant trade-offs) that political scientists (and others) can explore.
