The Past, Present and Future of Ethnography: Evolving Participant Observation for the Digital Era
Published: 9 January 2023
Join us online for the latest workshop on Innovative Methods for a Digital Society, exploring the history of ethnography and its future in an increasingly digitised world.
Date: Friday 20th January, 12:00 - 13.00 **online**
Title: The Past, Present and Future of Ethnography: Evolving Participant Observation for the Digital Era
Speaker: Dr. Rob Clapp (University of Glasgow)
Abstract: Ethnography, the mixed-method technique of observing and documenting populations in their native setting, has long been a tool in the social scientist’s repertoire. It has served to offer ground-level insight into myriad communities and peoples, emphasising deep qualitative accounts of specific fieldsites. The primary methods of ethnographic engagement were, however, largely codified in times before the rise of contemporary online life, in which we now see people devoting as much time to the digital world and virtual spaces as they do to physical, offline reality. Consequently, it has become a matter of much interest amongst ethnographers as to how the techniques can be adapted for the online era, if indeed they can.
In this session, we shall examine the past, present and digital future of ethnographic research. For the past, we shall explore the key principles of ethnography including how methods are combined to produce living narratives of subject populations. Then, we shall examine the ongoing discussions of the present, highlighting how social scientists are attempting to apply ethnographic principles into an increasingly online world. Finally, we shall look to the future, hypothesising as to what the fate of digital ethnography may be. Based upon current technological trends, we will speculate which aspects will be jettisoned, which can be adapted and retained, and which new methods may have value for exploring digital habitats, be they independently online or to link the digital and tangible worlds.
Speaker Biography: Robb Clapp is a part-time PhD student at the School of Social and Political Sciences. Their research field is environmentalist activism online, with particular interest in the creation and maintenance of social identities within these spaces, especially with regards to the role played by in-group media sharing.
What is the Innovative Research Methodologies for a Digital Society (IRMDS) (2022-2023) Workshop Series?
Algorithms, digital data sets, social media networks, integrated technologies are all part of our everyday lives. How should we investigate the ongoing changes and challenges of our digital society? How should we explore our relationships with digital data and the online world? What are the limitations and affordances of new methodologies and what ethical considerations should researchers take into account as they look at the digitalisation of our lives? The Digital Society and Economy Interdisciplinary Theme Group invites you to join us for a new workshop series where you can meet researchers who will share Innovative Research Methodologies that address current digital practices and phenomena.
The workshops are open to postgraduate researchers, Early Career Researchers, as well as experienced researchers who want to learn about new methodologies or share their own experiences with the methods presented in the workshop. Each workshop will focus on a new method/methodology tried and tested in various contexts. The workshops are meant to provide participants with the opportunity to learn about that method/methodology and ask questions about the process of implementing it. Each workshop will last 50 minutes: 20-30 min for speaker's presentation and 20-30 min for Q&A.
First published: 9 January 2023
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