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Online virtual worlds as anthropological field sites: Ethnographic methods training via collaborative research of Internet gaming cultures
Author(s) -
SNODGRASS JEFFREY G.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
annals of anthropological practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.22
H-Index - 14
eISSN - 2153-9588
pISSN - 2153-957X
DOI - 10.1111/napa.12097
Subject(s) - ethnography , the internet , sociology , metaverse , field (mathematics) , online community , scope (computer science) , process (computing) , computer science , media studies , virtual reality , world wide web , human–computer interaction , anthropology , mathematics , pure mathematics , programming language , operating system
Since 2008, at Colorado State University, I have been collaboratively researching virtual worlds with my students in experimental methods seminars. My “ethnographic research and teaching laboratory” (ERTL), ambitious in scope, conducts original and even cutting edge research, while teaching students field methods in the process. The research and teaching unfold primarily in Internet‐based games—such as World of Warcraft and Guild Wars 2 —persistent online networked social spaces of hundreds and even thousands of players. As a teaching tool, online virtual worlds provide a convenient way to get students quickly into the “field,” with online games being for some students (based on their play experience or lack of it) akin to foreign cultures. In this article, I discuss strengths and also challenges of ERTL, illustrating in the process how my lab's linked research and teaching model illuminates one way forward for empirically minded anthropologists hoping to move beyond the lone ethnographer. [online gaming cultures, ethnographic laboratory, mixed methods]