Abstract
This paper outlines the issues faced when integrating "virtual participant observation" on an occupational mailing list, into an ethnographic study of changes to British family practice. Online interaction is becoming increasingly important to our daily lives, yet social research has tended to focus on "creative" or "imaginative" interaction on the Internet, in neglect of what could be seen as "the mundane." Incorporating the new social setting of an occupational mailing list into the ethnographic study (and the novel data emerging from it into the analysis) has presented several challenges. Ethical issues such as whether the Internet is a private or public space, how one attains informed consent, and the issue of anonymising or referencing contributions, have all required consideration. Beyond ethical concerns, two questions are central to allocating an appropriate place for the online discussion within the overall study. First, what value is such interaction given by the participants engaged in it? Second, what scope does such interaction have for affecting the future of the family doctor profession? Only through addressing these issues will the value of the virtual data within the overall ethnographic understanding become clear.
Journal Title
Iowa Journal of Communication
Volume
31
Issue
1
First Page
44
Last Page
58
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Clegg, Katherine M.
(1999)
"Electronic Eavesdropping: A Professional Mailing List as a Setting for Ethnographic Research,"
Iowa Journal of Communication: Vol. 31:
No.
1, Article 7.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/ijc/vol31/iss1/7
Copyright
©1999 Iowa Communication Association
