Multi-Perspective Analysis in Ethnographic Research Teams with Step-by-Step Field Data Sharing

Abstract

Ethnographic fieldwork has become a common method in CSCW research for understanding places and people. Recent technological developments have expanded opportunities for ethnographic fieldwork by teams by enhancing recording and management of field data and facilitating collaboration among researchers. In this research, we examine the implications of conducting ethnographic fieldwork and managing data appropriately according to its characteristics in teams. In particular, this paper focuses on images, which are major media comprising ethnographic data. This paper explores how multi-layered interpretations of the field emerge by sharing external and internal information of images in stages within teams. The results of a study in which three tentative research teams conducted fieldwork suggest that the scope for imagination and interpretation can be expanded by sharing external and internal information of images with team members in stages. This paper aims to discuss methodological design space of fieldwork in teams.