Ethnographic Research in Remote Spaces: Overcoming Practical Obstacles and Embracing Change

Since March, Covid-19 has completely obliterated ethnographers’ approach to face-to-face interviews. With help from Illustrator, Shanee Benjamin, Spotify Ethnographer and User Researcher, Chloe Evans, explains how the transition into research completely undertaken in a non-physical remote space has brought about some unexpected benefits as well as some challenges in data collection.

The Importance of ‘Being There’

The time corporate ethnographers have in the field is incredibly valuable; compared to academic ethnographers, they are able to spend far less time with people.

Some of Chloe’s most rewarding research experiences have been in shared space with research participants — and not just any space, like a research lab, but their spaces. Their homes, places of work, their worlds.

Unexpected Benefits of Remote Research

Pre-Covid Chloe’s international research would have been conducted more in-depth, but more narrowly, within a particular field site.

Another unexpected benefit of remote research may be greater attention to misrepresentation. An ethical and epistemological benefit from participant made videos, for example, is that this approach can help us address some of the issues of representation and the power dynamics of the ethnographer having the privilege to describe another person’s lived experience. By relying on the videos sent to me by participants rather than filming them, they have control in how they want to present themselves to the world.

Problems with Remote Research

While participant-made videos have important benefits, this approach has brought about another set of issues.

Similarly, in diary studies, participants will only show what they think is interesting, such as a curated collection of CDs. As a researcher, of course, Chloe would also look at what is surrounding the CDs and how it is interacting with the rest of their things — but she can’t make that choice.

One of the biggest issues was internet connectivity. Conducting research online overlooks a large part of the population who do not have good access to the internet because of cost, technical information or coverage.

Overcoming obstacles

From conducting surveys, diary studies and user interviews during the Covid period Chloe has learnt a few lessons that would be valuable for both academic and industry researchers:

Find the least data-heavy video conferencing and research tools, and become more prescriptive in your questions for participant made videos.

Practice self-reflexivity in your research and balance your data with other sources of insights.

While Covid 19 has changed how ethnographic research is being conducted in the absence of space it has propelled the field of remote research and has shown the resilience and creativity of researchers trying to carry on in the absence of “being there”.

Credits

Chloe Evans
User Researcher
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Shanée Benjamin
Illustrator