Lee’s Second Life - “Finding the key”

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Further to an earlier post, I have begun writing my methods chapter.

Here’s an excerpt:

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Autoethnetnography: does my neologism look big in this?

Robert Kozinets has put forward a comprehensive and compelling case for a new branch of ethnography — one that takes into account the online activities and potential motivations of the denizens of the online world. Kozinets calls this particular form of ethnography ‘netnography’, reflecting its internet base of interest and technological platform.

Many have followed in his footsteps, recognising the distinctions he has outlined in comparison to offline ethnography.

Of course, ethnography itself has many sub-branches, including the monitoring, reflecting and reporting of one’s own research — autoethnography.

I propose, by way of further elongating the terms by which we pursue our research craft, another sub-branch of ethnographic research — the monitoring, reflecting and reporting on one’s own online behaviour, or ‘autoethnetnography’ for short long.

But why propose such a tongue-twisting term? The author’s own research actively tracks the author and various research partners through the rapidly growing 3D collaborative virtual environment. Not only can text-based conversations be saved for later content analysis, but also video footage of one’s 3D avatar and its interactions with other avatars that can be subjected to later reflection, as well as images captured from the screen for later viewing and analysis.

So why wouldn’t Kozinets’ original term still suffice and cover my research? Or, equally, why create a new tongue-twister when ‘autoethnography’ should, could and would suffice?

‘Autoethnetnography’ as a term is reflective of the elements that inform any research carried out under its rubric. Auto: self, reflective, qualitative(?); ethno: concerning a certain group (in this case those who are the subjects of my research, including myself); net: internet, virtual, online, not face-to-face; nography: writing about, analysis, qualitative and quantitative(?).

The author feels that the 3D collaborative virtual environment will continue to grow as a focus of and platform for research. Thus, as the Academy’s body of knowledge continues to expand, a term that allows for easy ’searching and finding’ in our various databases can add considerable value — through speeding up searching, through promoting the method as a legitimate area of study, and through helping we researchers in this domain not feel so alone.

Because, as Hollywood once recognised, in (3D) space no one can hear you scream.