Context and Context and hypermedia hypermedia ethnographyethnography

Presented at QUADS Context Workshop, May 3, 2006

Bruce L. Mason and Bella Dicks

Ethnographic Ethnographic HypermediaHypermedia Previous project created an

“Ethnographic Hypermedia Environment” (EHE) based on an ethnographic study of a science centre.

EHE - a multimedia, hyperlinked presentation created on DVD using XHTML. Includes both: representation – the ethnography; Multimedia data set – cleaned and

hyperlinked.

EHE main pageEHE main page

Ethnography and Ethnography and messinessmessiness Ethnographic fieldwork ‘unplanned’ Ethnographic data records

extremely varied Ethnographic authoring associated

with ‘thick’ description but printed ethnography tends to be ‘thin’

Hypermedia can represent the thick, complex messiness more adequately.

Compatibility and Compatibility and complexity complexity How do we share something as

complex and messy as an EHE?‘Just the facts’?Keeping it complex?Keeping it secret, keeping it safe?

Whatever the approach it has to be built into the fieldwork.

From data to metadataFrom data to metadata

Data is constructed by the fieldworker(s). A data record is a recording of a fieldwork

activity. (e.g. photograph, fieldnote, audio recording)

Each data record should also have metadata attached. This metadata can be used to capture some of the context (e.g. methodology, participants, date and time).

Metadata can be thought of as the common ground for data records of various media.

Metadata as contextMetadata as context

‘The facts’ - who said what when where and to whom.

Mode and medium of the activity. Motivation behind the recording. Methodology. Consent information.

Into XMLInto XML

Best practice is for fieldworkers to provide appropriate metadata/context for each data record.

Metadata requires a ‘common language’ hence use of XML.XML facilitates common

descriptions of diverse data sets. Best practice does not require

fieldworkers to know XML.

ResistancesResistances

Systematising the research process may create cookie-cutter research.

Potential for reuse may inhibit ethically difficult research.

Extra workload may deter researchers.

RequirementsRequirements

Adoption of an archiving mentalityE.g. Oral History, Folklore

Early adopters Technical infrastructure

Post workshop thoughts Post workshop thoughts links and contextlinks and context In hypermedia/text, linking

provides immediate context.Linking can be internal to the EHE

or to external sites. The problem with linking, as with

providing context, is knowing when to stop.

Linking can be considered to be form of relational context.