| Description |
xvii, 237 pages ; 25 cm |
| Contents |
Machine generated contents note: ch. 1 Why This Handbook? -- 1.1.Beginnings -- 1.2.Why ethnographic methods and why virtual worlds? -- 1.3.Why a handbook? -- 1.4.An orientation to the virtual worlds we studied -- ch. 2 Three Brief Histories -- 2.1.A brief history of ethnographic methods -- 2.2.A brief history of virtual worlds -- 2.3.A brief history of research on virtual world cultures -- 2.4.The uses of history -- ch. 3 Ten Myths About Ethnography -- 3.1.Ethnography is unscientific -- 3.2.Ethnography is less valid than quantitative research -- 3.3.Ethnography is simply anecdotal -- 3.4.Ethnography is undermined by subjectivity -- 3.5.Ethnography is merely intuitive -- 3.6.Ethnography is writing about your personal experience -- 3.7.Ethnographers contaminate fieldsites by their very presence -- 3.8.Ethnography is the same as grounded theory -- 3.9.Ethnography is the same as ethnomethodology -- 3.10.Ethnography will become obsolete -- ch. 4 Research Design And Preparation -- |
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Contents note continued: 4.1.Research questions: emergence, relevance, and personal interest -- 4.2.Selecting a group or activity to study -- 4.3.Scope of the fieldsite -- 4.4.Attending to offline contexts -- ch. 5 Participant Observation In Virtual Worlds -- 5.1.Participant observation in context -- 5.2.Participant observation in practice -- 5.3.Preparing the researching self -- 5.4.Taking care in initiating relationships with informants -- 5.5.Making mistakes -- 5.6.Taking extensive fieldnotes -- 5.7.Keeping data organized -- 5.8.Participant observation and ethnographic knowledge -- 5.9.The timing and duration of participant observation -- 5.10.The experimenting attitude -- ch. 6 Interviews And Virtual Worlds Research -- 6.1.The value of interviews in ethnographic research -- 6.2.Effective interviewing -- 6.3.The value of group interviews in ethnographic research -- 6.4.Size, structure, and location for group interviews -- 6.5.Transcription -- |
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Contents note continued: ch. 7 Other Data Collection Methods For Virtual Worlds Research -- 7.1.Capturing chatlogs -- 7.2.Capturing screenshots -- 7.3.Capturing video -- 7.4.Capturing audio -- 7.5.Data collection in other online contexts -- 7.6.Historical and archival research -- 7.7.Virtual artifacts -- 7.8.Offline interviews and participant observation -- 7.9.Using quantitative data -- ch. 8 Ethics -- 8.1.The principle of care -- 8.2.Informed consent -- 8.3.Mitigating institutional and legal risk -- 8.4.Anonymity -- 8.5.Deception -- 8.6.Sex and intimacy -- 8.7.Doing good and compensation -- 8.8.Taking leave -- 8.9.Accurate portrayal -- ch. 9 Human Subjects Clearance And Institutional Review Boards -- 9.1.Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) -- 9.2.Preparing a protocol for IRB review -- 9.3.Working with IRBs -- 9.4.Informed consent and anonymity -- ch. 10 Data Analysis -- 10.1.Ethnographic data analysis: flexibility and emergence -- |
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Contents note continued: 10.2.Preliminary reflections while in the field -- 10.3.The role of theory in data analysis -- 10.4.Beginning data analysis: systematize and thematize -- 10.5.Working with participant observation data -- 10.6.Working with individual and group interview data -- 10.7.Working with images, video, and textual data -- 10.8.The end of the data analysis phase: from themes to narratives and arguments -- 10.9.Generalization and comparison -- ch. 11 Writing Up, Presenting, And Publishing Ethnographic Research -- 11.1.The early stages of writing up: conferences, drafts, blogs -- 11.2.Written genres -- 11.3.Dissemination -- 11.4.The writing process -- 11.5.A quick trip back to the field? -- 11.6.Tone, style, and audience -- ch. 12 Conclusion: Arrivals And New Departures |
| Summary |
Ethnography and Virtual Worlds is the only book of its kind--a concise, comprehensive, and practical guide for students, teachers, designers, and scholars interested in using ethnographic methods to study online virtual worlds, including both game and nongame environments. Written by leading ethnographers of virtual worlds, and focusing on the key method of participant observation, the book provides invaluable advice, tips, guidelines, and principles to aid researchers through every stage of a project, from choosing an online fieldsite to writing and publishing the results |
| Notes |
Formerly CIP. Uk |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (p. [201]-222) and index |
| Subject |
Ethnology -- Interactive media -- Handbooks, manuals, etc
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Ethnology -- Interactive media
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Ethnology -- Research
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Virtual reality
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Ethnology -- Methodology
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Ethnology -- Computer network resources
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Ethnology -- Research -- Methodology
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Shared virtual environments -- Social aspects
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Virtual reality -- Social aspects
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Ethnology -- Computer network resources -- Handbooks, manuals, etc
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Virtual reality -- Handbooks, manuals, etc
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Ethnology -- Research -- Handbooks, manuals, etc
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Ethnology -- Methodology -- Handbooks, manuals, etc
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Ethnology -- Interactive multimedia
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| Author |
Boellstorff, Tom, 1969-, author
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Nardi, Bonnie, author
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Pearce, Celia, author
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Taylor, T. L., author
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| LC no. |
2012013805 |
| ISBN |
9780691149509 (hardcover : alk. paper) |
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9780691149516 (pbk. : alk. paper) |
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