- Experimentation and playfulness in both method of data production and in write up – there are opportunities, and perhaps a necessity for creativity within methods given the inevitable uncertainty of ethnographic fieldwork. Need to adapt as the researcher learns the field and encounters the materiality of the field.
- Fieldnotes – we discussed the place of fieldnotes in online ethnographic research, and how we continued to value them and to enjoy seeing them presented. However, the place of fieldnotes in publication is a difficult one given the emphasis on articles in REF.
- The publication of ethnography and ethnographic fieldnotes – the discussion of fieldnotes led to a discussion of publication of ethnographic research more generally. Where do fieldnotes live in representation if not in articles. Conferences, and in longer form publication perhaps. Are there playful ways to get fieldnotes out there, to create representations of the field?
- The politics of doing ethnography – again connected to the prior theme, we began to discuss how the politics of the field and politics of representation were bound up together. We discussed the process of learning those political features embedded in the materialities, logics, systems, structures and (inter)subjectivities of the field itself, that condition social action, and the politics of subsequent representation.
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As the seminar encompassed a shift from more ‘traditional’ to online methods of ethnography, this was further discussed within breakout rooms. Participants reflected upon a duality of online and offline encounters that often worked well together. With ‘presence’ being a key affordance within ethnography, participants discussed the value of being present online and the challenges this may represent. The impact upon data of virtual presence was also discussed with the platforming of less naturalistic situations and the compulsion to organise ‘social’ activities online. However, many participants concluded that online ethnography has enabled wider geographical and often trans-national reach for their research. A stand out quote from the session, when arguing not to categorise research as digital or other was simply to reply that we are “doing ethnography of the time we were in”.