Ethnographies online

I found the Orgad article important because she discusses the importance of offline data to research that involves online data.  She mentions the blurring of data, and I think that is very true, but I do not think that this article applies to me because I really do want to look at JUST online data.  I know that means I will not have access to the invisible, and I want to be able to advocate for the invisible, specifically for the invisible woman who feels like she cannot join in discussions online because she does not want to be bullied, or the invisible man who is afraid of backlash so he decides not to stand up for other people online.  I guess, when I look at my research in terms of the “invisible” people, who are essentially the people I want to advocate for, then I need to consider offline research.  But how to incorporate it? At this point, I’m not really sure and I will need to give it some more thought. 

Hine looks that the reasons for conducting an ethnography online.  Although I have already made my decision to conduct my research online, her chapter helps me to define my project better.  Right now, I have decided to conduct an ethnography over a few sites, but I never really defined why I would use this method over others.  Using Hine’s structure I can explain why an ethnography would be more beneficial than say face to face interviews, and maybe I won’t have to consider offline data as Orgad considers.

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