To address the initial, broader question of where fieldwork takes place in information research... well, that can be almost anywhere now, right? Where are ICTs not prevalent in 2016? (That's a joke. I'm sure those ICT-free places exist... somewhere)
As for my own research, the real dirty work happens in places like Nuk3town, Skyjacked, Combine, or Infection. Multiplayer maps which should sound familiar to the casual Call of Duty player. If it's not already obvious, my fieldwork is in the virtual battlefields of this video game. There, online, detached from the physical, the gamer is still very much in conversation with the rest of the world. It is in these simulations of a war that has never been, that I hope my research surprises me. Although I won't expect much in terms of "sunburns, mosquitos" or "secret societies, Nazis, and ancient booby traps", I still expect some level of discomfort.
The bullets and jabs being thrown in-game can't physically be felt, but the rampant bigotry, misogyny, sexism, and general ass-hattery, still threaten to leave a lasting mark on my person.
Can't believe they promoted Colonel Ass-Hat to General.
ReplyDeleteIt was a Private Matter.
DeleteThis is really interesting because I never thought of video games as information settings, but obviously it makes complete sense. It's interesting to think too of how much of it is tacit knowledge and how much of it is explicit/implicit. Fieldwork inside a video game is so unique.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that online gaming environments are much like real physical environments in the sense that people are still interacting with each other, just through online chats and forums. Bullying, sexism, and stereotyping are very common in online video gaming. I think that there is so much fieldwork that can be done by a researcher both by participating in the online environment themselves as a player and by having conversations with people who play online video games. For example, researchers playing games themselves could see how much bullying, sexism, etc. goes on in online gaming. Are there games that seem to elicit more bullying than others. Furthermore, If a researcher were to start conversations with players, the researcher can ask how much bullying players witness/take part in during gaming? Do the players act/speak a certain way online that they do not necessarily act/speak like in person? Does online gaming potentially change personality types of individual people, i.e. shy vs. outgoing? All these questions are really interesting to me and they explore the dynamic research and fieldwork that can potential take play through online environments similar to research that is traditionally done in physical spaces.
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