UMass Law UMass Law: Owens Publishes a New Article in Special Issue of Frontiers in Sociology

Professor Owens recently published a new Article in a special issue of Frontiers in Sociology on Ethnography in the Open Science and Digital Age. The Article, Encountering Deception in Virtual Spaces: Guidelines for Virtual Ethnography, draws from an experience of deception in virtual fieldwork and considers implications for those designing methodologies for virtual ethnographies.

Professor Owens recently published a new Article in a special issue of Frontiers in Sociology on Ethnography in the Open Science and Digital Age. The Article, Encountering Deception in Virtual Spaces: Guidelines for Virtual Ethnography, draws from an experience of deception in virtual fieldwork and considers implications for those designing methodologies for virtual ethnographies.

Written primarily for graduate students or those who are conducting virtual ethnography for the first time, the article addresses a critical dilemma in the processes of data gathering and verification--ensuring data validity and facticity if encountered with research subjects who are deceptive about their identity, experiences, or relationship to the field of research.

Published in a special issue of the open source Frontiers in Sociology journal, the article will never be behind a paywall and will be accessible to scholars globally without cost.  The special issue was edited by Sociologists Alexandra Murphy, Colin Jerolmack, and Victoria Reyes.