Virtual Ethnography

This week I most enjoyed Taylor’s (2009)” article on virtual worlds. I found that this article provided me with a framework that I could use in my research proposal assignment. I was most interested in Taylor’s discussion of verifiability and reliability. I agree with his assertion that there is no significant reason to believe that offline interviews should be privileged above online ones in all cases. Taylor discusses the epistemological claim that the offline self consists of an authentic persona that is more “true” than anything that can be represented by an avatar. However, neither Taylor nor I believe this to be the case. I agree that we are always creating and recreating ourselves and controlling how we present ourselves to the world, whether in the online or the offline world. Although it may be more noticeable when we present ourselves as a cartoon, it is not philosophically different than when we present ourselves as an employee, student, friend, family member, etc. depending on the context of our surroundings. The online world is merely another context and environment in which we live.

Taylor also notes that there are some instances where online interviews can provide a richer data set, and that researchers should be prepared to engage in multi-modal information gathering. This is particularly relevant to my research proposal because I intend to study sufferers with social anxiety. It will be important to be flexible with the format of interviews because it will depend on what modes of communication participants in the study will be most comfortable with. Some might prefer e-mail or instant messaging, while others may be comfortable with telephone, video-conference, or in-person interviews. As Taylor points out, there are different types of information that can be revealed by each type of interview method, and one should not be privileged above the others. Instead, each research case and context should be considered independently.