Lessons and Best Practices for Teaching Digital Ethnography
Article / Journal
Author(s) / editor(s):
Mariana Borges Martins da Silva
Year: 2025
Abstract:
In an increasingly connected world driven by digital tools, ethnography as a method focused on collecting traces of everyday life to learn about individuals and communities cannot afford to ignore the digital realm as a window into the lives of
those we study. Therefore, training in ethnographic methods should include a discussion about the potentials and challenges of gathering digital traces and conducting digital ethnographies. The wealth of digital traces offers a unique opportunity for ethnographic researchers to glimpse into the world of groups and communities that may be hard to reach or inaccessible due to the ethnographer’s
positionality in the field. However, like any other form of fieldwork, digital ethnography presents its own challenges. One of the most important aspects discussed in this note is the risk of centering ethnography on one aspect of digital media utterances without considering these traces as merely a slice of a broader cultural world. Just as
with any cultural artifact or trace of a social world, there is a risk of misapprehending it if one does not access and understand the broader context in which this artifact emerges.here are other challenges related to digital
ethnography that I could not cover in this brief
piece, but that are worth mentioning. These include
the ethical challenges regarding privacy and
consent in using digital traces, the mental health
risks for researchers stemming from exposure
to harmful digital content, and the various forms
of immersion and rapport-building within digital
spaces, to name a few. While these issues do
not have simple right or wrong answers—as with
most challenges in ethnography—the best advice
we can give to those learning how to conduct
ethnography is that engaging in observation of
everyday life in various contexts, routinely writing
fieldnotes, and maintaining ongoing reflection are
the most effective ways for ethnographers to gain
a more nuanced and deeper understanding of the
communities they study.
https://www.qmmrpublication.com/_files/ugd/7e043e_36d633375fe7494ca03d47d68502d24a.pdf
Post created by: Lymor Wolf Goldstein