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Computational Ethnography: A Case of COVID-19’s Methodological Consequences

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Abstract

Reflecting on a methodological experiment, we discuss the use of computational techniques in anthropology. The experiment was based on a collaborative effort by a team of ethnographers to produce an archive on the digitalisation of everyday life that took place during the COVID-19 pandemic. We describe how online ethnographic data collection took place using digitally mediated interviews, participant observation in virtual events, and mobile ethnography. We analyse the consequences of online ethnography for establishing rapport and present steps taken to create an infrastructure for navigating ethnographic material comprising more than 3000 pages of text generated by multiple ethnographers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

    Anders Kristian Munk

  2. Department of Business IT, IT University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Brit Ross Winthereik

Authors
  1. Anders Kristian Munk
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  2. Brit Ross Winthereik
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Correspondence to Anders Kristian Munk .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Educational Anthropology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark

    Maja Hojer Bruun

  2. Department of Anthropology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Ayo Wahlberg

  3. Department of Business IT, IT University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Rachel Douglas-Jones

  4. Department of Educational Anthropology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark

    Cathrine Hasse

  5. Center for Medical Science & Technology Studies, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Klaus Hoeyer

  6. Department of Business and Management, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

    Dorthe Brogård Kristensen

  7. Department of Business IT, IT University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Brit Ross Winthereik

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Munk, A.K., Winthereik, B.R. (2022). Computational Ethnography: A Case of COVID-19’s Methodological Consequences. In: Bruun, M.H., et al. The Palgrave Handbook of the Anthropology of Technology. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-7084-8_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-7084-8_10

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