I personally consider the fieldwork of information research
to take place anywhere where the researcher is engaged with or observing in the
environment with the people, objects, etc. that they are researching. In research, you often hear of the term “participant
observation,” or observing what you are researching in their natural environment
(Luker, 2010, 155). Keeping this in
mind, the question brought up by Alan this week that I find very interesting is
how traditional notions of fieldwork change when the field is online or
virtual. I think that while the
environment you are researching may not be a physical one, it is still a field
where observation and possibly interaction can take place all the same. You are still in an element’s “natural
environment,” therefore, if this is the field your research needs to take place
in it still seems to be a legitimate one.
My research, especially in my undergraduate studies, have generally been
in a physical environment. As an ECE, I
have done much research that has required me to be in children’s homes,
children’s classrooms, and so on. Now
that I am completing my MLIS, I found that my research requires me to change
this traditional method. I now want to
have an online catalogue as my field of research.
The books are still there, technically, they are just on an online space
rather than a physical library. I will
still get the same results that I would if I went to every branch and searched
through every book on their shelves for the ones I needed, it is just much
faster to search online. Ergo, the online world becomes my field of research.
Luker, K. (2010). Salsa dancing into the social sciences. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
I agree completely, Eleni. The traditional notions of fieldwork have now definitely shifted to another playing field (that's a pun; my research involves online gaming) but the rules of observation remain the same. In the case of "participant observation" specifically, it's just another environment to immerse in, to observe, and to study. Considering that we are all to become information professionals, the idea of conducting our fieldwork in the still unsettled, uncharted seas of the virtual is both exciting and... expected.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the online world has changed fieldwork. But what is also interesting is how the fieldwork is conducted online. For example would the researcher be doing fieldwork strictly within a video game, or do they also look at outside the game and the people who are working the characters. The medium, i think in this case, is extremely important to the research.
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