Hi Lexi, regarding #2 you say you do both interviews and ethnography. You may want to consider mobile digital ethnographic methods that I among others have developed. They combine interview with observation, and this article gives a good overview: Walking Through, Going Along and Scrolling Back: ephemeral mobilities in digital ethnography. Good luck! Kind regards Kristian Møller PhD, Postdoc | krimo@itu.dk | +45 2246 8545 IT University of Copenhagen On Feb 8, 2020, 10:12 +0100, Nadia Tjahja <nadia.tjahja@gmail.com>, wrote:
Hi Lexi,
I don't do digital ethnography, but I'm glad that you're looking out for your safety! I'm very much of the idea of implementing a very strict safety approach until you have seen what kinds of reactions come back and then you can be more relaxed about how you want to continue, rather safe than sorry.
For a violent extremism and online radicalisation project, I had one colleague going "undercover" and I was the public face of the project which came out with my personal data, and now I'm researching mental health services online and these are some of the precautions we took:
- *Make an introductory appointment with a (university) psychologist and afterwards regularly check in with them or a colleague* Explain your project and any fears of harassment you may encounter. I used to check in with my colleague once every week to ask her how she felt about the content she was engaging with and how it made her feel, and also if there were any issues or concerns she had about them. If she felt unsafe or if she wished that there were certain things she wouldn't encounter. She appreciated me reaching out to her and sharing her concerns rather than sharing the content. If nothing is wrong, it's great practice on presenting your work, but if certain messages or comments make you feel uncomfortable in any way, then you can address your feelings about them and check in with colleagues how to move further with these concerns.
- *Tell friends and family about your research and the concerns that you have* There's going to be a lot of explaining about what you do, but letting them know makes sure that you've also built your support group in case things get more difficult. You want your people to understand what you're doing from the get go rather than them being the people that question what you do, which can be alienating. If they don't understand your work, widen your circle. We found support in places from people we didn't naturally expect. My parents for example, don't understand the Internet. Make sure they understand the boundaries (that they don't interfere with your study) but that you want them to walk the road with you and have your back.
- Mentioned before, *secure your data*! In addition to Dr Palma's comments, check any loose accounts that you have floating around. If you had a public MySpace or if you ever had an online journal, blog ot neopets account, these can provide information about yourself that you didn't know could harm you. Check your social media accounts in particular what public information is available (people always forget that LinkedIn can publish your email and number, so make sure that this is hidden). There are also third party accounts that will collect your pictures and data such as Rocket Reach, Apollo, you can ask them to remove your information. Even mailing lists such as these can be public. If you are really concerned, ask also your friends and family to set their profiles on private and check that information about you isn't publicly available. There are services you can pay that will close down accounts that you have open.
- Mentioned before, *separate personal from private *Dr Palma also mentions to set up a separate Twitter handle, email account etc. and Dr Ferrier asked some very good questions to reflect on. My additional comment would be to ensure that there is one other tech savvy person who has access to all your accounts and can check that you are not dealing with something that nobody saw coming. I also use a university computer for my research rather than my personal computer.
- *Set time limitations* If you do end up with feedback or data which is hurtful, limit your time accessing these accounts. Seems obvious, but it's easy to get consumed.
Good luck and be safe!
*Nadia Tjahja* Sunium CEO & Co-Founder www.sunium.eu
On Sat, 8 Feb 2020 at 08:17, Crystal Abidin <crystalabidin@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi Lexi and the AoIR crew, Here are some reflections from a group of digital ethnographers that might be useful: https://anthrodendum.org/tag/private-messages-from-the-field/ Our special issue, based on these provocations, on dilemmas from practising digital ethnography will be out in a few weeks. /C ––––––––––––––– Dr Crystal Abidin, PhD wishcrys.com Senior Research Fellow & ARC DECRA Fellow, Internet Studies, Curtin University Affiliate Researcher, MMTC, Jönköping University Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia / Pacific Standard Magazine 30 Top Thinkers Under 30
Books: Instagram: Visual Social Media Cultures (2020) <https://wishcrys.com/instagram-polity/> Microcelebrity Around the Globe: Approaches to Cultures of Internet Fame (2018) <https://wishcrys.com/microcelebrity-around-the-globe-emerald/> Internet Celebrity: Understanding Fame Online (2018) <https://wishcrys.com/internet-celebrity-emerald/>
Recent publications: "Si Geena" (Brat): Un-Social Digital Juveniles' Episodic Resistance in Singapore (2019) < https://brill.com/view/journals/dias/aop/article-10.1163-22142312-12340118/a...
Minahs and Minority Celebrity: Parody YouTube Influencers and Minority Politics in Singapore (2019) <https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19392397.2019.1698816> Navigating Interdisciplinarity as a Precarious Early Career Researcher (2019) < https://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/journals/index.php/csrj/article/view/6880?fbcl...
Tacit Labours of Digital Social Research as an Early Career Researcher (2019) <https://jdsr.se/ojs/index.php/jdsr/article/view/10>
< http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A1274581&dswid=1725
On Sat, 8 Feb 2020 at 14:25, Catherine Summerhayes < catherine.summerhayes@anu.edu.au> wrote:
Hi Lexi a student of mine did a phd thesis using youtube, setting up a youtube channel himself. It should be in the ANU Library, his name is Jie Gu, best Catherine
Dr Catherine Summerhayes Film and New Media Studies School of Literature Languages and Linguistics College of Arts and Social Sciences Australian National University Ph. +61 2 612 52704 https://researchers.anu.edu.au/researchers/summerhayes-cf
________________________________ From: Air-L <air-l-bounces@listserv.aoir.org> on behalf of Ferrier, Michelle P. <michelle.ferrier@famu.edu> Sent: Saturday, February 8, 2020 6:26 AM To: Sonja Solomun <sonja.solomun@mail.mcgill.ca>; Alexis.DeConing@colorado.edu <Alexis.DeConing@colorado.edu> Cc: air-l@listserv.aoir.org <air-l@listserv.aoir.org> Subject: Re: [Air-L] Help with digital ethnography & early Internet history
Hi Alexis,
I'm a researcher on digital ethnography and I also am the founder of TrollBusters, online protection for journalists. I think you are right to have concerns about your own identity as well as the effects of data compromise of the cloud platforms that might put your respondents at risk.
Have you thought about data storage and end-to-end encryption of the data to shore up vulnerabilities? Have you created redundant data collection receptacles to minimize tampering? Have you baked in GDPR restrictions and limited access to those who you may not be able to serve under GDPR guidelines?
Just some questions to ask as you move forward.
Sincerely, Michelle Ferrier
“We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.” ― J.K. Rowling Michelle P Ferrier, Ph.D. Dean and Professor, School of Journalism & Graphic Communication Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University T: 850-599-3379 Michelle.ferrier@famu.edu Twitter: @mediaghosts Founder, Troll-Busters.com <http://www.troll-busters.com/> Principal Investigator, The Media Deserts Project (<http://> www.mediadeserts.com <http://www.mediadeserts.com>) Project Director: The Media Seeds Project (ZipIt.News < http://www.zipit.news/>) 2018 Innovative Journalism Educator (MediaShift <
http://mediashift.org/2018/01/edshift20-honoring-innovative-journalism-educa...
)
On 2/7/20, 11:01 AM, "Air-L on behalf of Sonja Solomun" < air-l-bounces@listserv.aoir.org on behalf of sonja.solomun@mail.mcgill.ca> wrote:
This email originated outside of Florida A&M University. If you think this is a phishing (scam) email, please forward to phishbowl@famu.edu or call 412-HELP.
________________________________
Hi Alexis,
Fascinating project — re: #1 anything and everything by Mar Hicks <
Good luck!
Sonja Solomun PhD Communication Studies McGill University Research Fellow Max Bell School of Public Policy McGill University sonja.solomun@mcgill.ca<mailto:sonja.solomun@mcgill.ca> 514-291-2711 @sonja_solomun
On Feb 7, 2020, at 10:40 AM, Alexis De Coning < Alexis.DeConing@colorado.edu<mailto:Alexis.DeConing@colorado.edu>> wrote:
Hi AIR folks,
Long-time follower, first-time emailer! I'm a PhD candidate in Media Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. I study the men's rights movement, using interviews, ethnography, archival research, and textual analysis. I'm currently looking at both pre-digital and digital materials, and trying to unpack how the movement "came online" around the 1990s. I'm reaching out to elicit some advice, recommendations, and help with a few challenges I'm encountering:
1. Can anyone recommend good sources on early Internet history, particularly with regards to gender? I'm especially interested in how and when "regular" people started to adopt Internet technologies. I've found some interesting evidence in print materials from the early 1990s that show men's rights activists transitioning to online spaces, but I'd like to historicize and contextualize what I'm seeing.
2. I'd like to start doing some "digital ethnography" via Twitter. My university's IRB liaison suggested I build a simple webpage where I can explain my research, have my consent form, etc. and link to it in my Twitter profile/tweets to meet IRB's standards for consent with human subjects. However, given the population I study, I'm concerned about personal safety, doxxing, harassment, etc. I don't want to be paranoid, but I also don't want to be naive about putting my personal information into the digital sphere via an easily-hackable webpage. Any advice or recommendations on digital security or how to go about digital ethnography with "difficult" populations be most appreciated.
Thanks and best regards, Lexi de Coning _______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org<mailto:Air-L@listserv.aoir.org> mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers
Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at:
Join the Association of Internet Researchers:
_______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers
Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at:
Join the Association of Internet Researchers:
_______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/ _______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/
_______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/
The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/