Keywords: Covid-19, interface ethnography, online ethnography, research access, research ethics
Ethnographers in ordinary times constantly strike a balance between two
core concerns: gaining access and being ethical. Textbooks and handbooks on
ethnographic research have provided good insights into the ethical considerations
and practical protocols for how to obtain access to field sites. But how
is this balance altered in calamitous times – times when a globally-relevant
disaster is rapidly making itself known? In times of a pandemic when the value
of non-life-saving research is increasingly being called into question and when
«social distancing» is not only a norm but an injunction, how can we position
ourselves to achieve ethical access? In this paper, we do not claim to reach a
conclusive position on these questions. Instead, we discuss the challenges that
ethnographers face in times of calamity and explore alternative ethnographic
strategies. Specifically, we explore the utility of online ethnography and interface
ethnography during the time of Covid-19.