Ethics in Contemporary Ethnographic Research  Check-in [196dad0184]

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# Assignment 1: Data Walk

Due date
: April 26 (end of day)

The goal of this assignment is to sensitize you to the ways in which data is continually produced in contemporary social settings. In another context we might talk about the *opportunities* this holds for social researchers, many of whom have welcomed the "data deluge" as an opportunity to invent new ways of knowing the social. In the context of this class, however, we will mostly discuss its ethical implications---the ways in which the research process is shot through with ethical concerns when it takes place in data-saturated environments.

Canadian media scholar [Alison Powell](https://www.alisonpowell.ca/?page_id=71) came up with the idea for **data walkshops** with the express purpose of "opening up civic discussions about data and its ethics within urban space." A variation on the ethnographic go-along method, it has been adopted by scholars around the world, including the [Centre for BOLD Cities](https://www.centre-for-bold-cities.nl/projects/data-walks) in our own region.

Powell describes the data walkshop as "a radically bottom-up process of exploring and defining data, big data and data politics from the perspectives of groups of citizens, who walk, observe, discuss and record connections between data, processes of datafication, and the places that they live in" (p. 213). In this assignment, you will plan, carry out and report on a data walk. Each student will submit **a brief report** (around 800 words) with supporting materials such as maps, photographs and notes taken en route. While we take inspiration from Powell's format (also succinctly discussed in [this interview][powell-interview]), we make a few modifications. We trust the assignment description that follows is detailed enough, but please let us know if you have any further questions.

During the walk, you will focus on _data hubs_: objects or sites that collect data. Examples include customer loyalty cards, ATMs, traffic cameras, RIFD tracking systems, OV chip card scanners, QR codes, parking meters, air quality meters, but the list could go on and on.

A data walk should involve participants, each taking on a different role, such as navigator, note-taker or photographer. For the purposes of this assignment, you should involve at least one other person, meaning you will complete it in pairs. You are free to involve more people, but only if that doesn't cause you extra work or delays. Your participant could be a roommate or a family member (not a fellow CADS student, but somebody coming to the walk with a different perspective).

Plan your walk someplace convenient, for instance in your own neighborhood, and restrict it to about one hour. You should make at least a rough plan for your walk ahead of time. Most importantly, remember these questions from Powell's summary, and try to set yourself up for an affirmative answer: "Can [these activities] provoke joy, curiosity and engagement? New ways to tell stories and new ways of thinking about why data matters?"

| [5](weeks/5.md) | The Open Imperative                            | May 16, 9:15--11:00 | **none**  |                                  |
| [6](weeks/6.md) | Standpoint, Representation, Embodiment         | May 23, 9:15--11:00 | **none**  | [Assignment 3](assignments/3.md) |

<small>Please consult [MyTimetable 🐓][rooster] for the schedule of your tutorial sessions.</small>

## Readings

The **required book** for this class is Kimberly Kay Hoang's _Dealing in Desire_ (University of California Press, 2015). It is available electronically through the university library catalog. You will read this book at your own pace, aiming to complete it in time for [assignment 3](assignments/3.md).

Unless available through the university library catalog, other **required and supplementary readings** will be [available for download][readings-link].

## Academic Integrity

This class adheres to Leiden University's [regulations on academic integrity][plagiarism-rules]. According to the university, "Plagiarism is understood as presenting, intentionally or otherwise, someone else's words, thoughts, analyses, argumentations, pictures, techniques, computer programmes, etc., as your own work."

site_name: Ethics in Contemporary Ethnographic Research
site_author: "John D. Boy"
copyright: "This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License."
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    - 'weeks/5.md'
    - 'weeks/6.md'
  - Assignments:
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    - 'assignments/2.md'
    - 'assignments/3.md'
  - Bibliography: 'bib.md'
  - FAQ: 'faq.md'

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# Week 1

## Lecture

Location
: PdlC SC01

Readings
: - Mutaru (2018)
- Le Guin (1973)

Contemporary ethnographic research continues the tradition of ethnographic inquiry in anthropology and sociology, but has some distinguishing characteristics. We will discuss the past and present of ethnographic research and how at every stage it involves decisions where ethical concerns are at stake, forcing us to ask what "the good" is in society and how we are meant to act. Further, we will cover the current research ethics regime, where it comes from, what it entails, what it looks like in practice, and why it is at times contested.

## Tutorial

Homework
: - Find the ethics code of an anthropological or sociological association in your home country or region and read it with Mutaru (2018) at the back of your mind. Some examples:
[Netherlands](https://antropologen.nl/abv/ethical-guidelines/) (anthropology),
[Netherlands](https://www.nsv-sociologie.nl/?page_id=3697) (sociology),
[Brazil](https://portal.abant.org.br/codigo-de-etica/),
[Britain](https://www.therai.org.uk/about-the-rai/ethical-policy),
[Czechia](https://www.narodopisnaspolecnost.cz/index.php/o-nas/eticky-kodex-cns),
[Germany](https://www.dgska.de/en/ethics/),
[Mexico](https://ceasmexico.wordpress.com/ceas/codigo-de-etica/),
[Norway](https://www.antropologi.org/feef),
[Philippines](https://www.ugat-aghamtao.org/constitution-and-bylaws),
[South Africa](https://www.asnahome.org/about-asna/ethical-guidelines),
[United States](https://americananthro.org/about/anthropological-ethics/),
and [more](https://waunet.org/wcaa/members/wcaa-members-associations/).
- Ask yourself: How well do you think the code would guide you when dealing with emerging ethical dilemmas in the course of fieldwork? Jot down some notes.
- *For pre-master's students:* Install the [Dilemma Game][] app and familiarize yourself with it.

[Dilemma Game]: https://www.eur.nl/en/about-eur/policy-and-regulations/integrity/research-integrity/dilemma-game

# Week 2

## Lecture

Location
: PdlC SC01

Readings
: - Bratich (2017)
- Thomas-Hébert (2019)
- Mejias and Couldry (2019)

Whether we like it or not, we live in data-saturated environments. The lecture will present concepts for thinking about this situation, introduce cases that illustrate risks that result for individuals and groups, and discuss some implications for the conduct of ethnographic research.

## Tutorial

Homework
: - Read Powell (2018) and think about how you can put her ideas into practice.
- Find a news article about a recent data breach, or visit the [GDPR Enforcement Tracker](https://www.enforcementtracker.com/) and read about the details of at least one violation that was sanctioned by authorities in the Netherlands, your home country (if GDPR applies there), or another country of your choice. Come prepared to discuss the details of the case you read about.

During tutorials, you will discuss and plan the [first assignment](../assignments/1.md).

# Week 3

## Lecture

Location
: PdlC SC01

Readings
: - King (2021)
- Mattern (2018)

We have discussed challenges we face as we want to conduct ethnographic research in an ethical manner in today's world. But what can we do as researchers to put ethical principles into practice? How can we avoid causing harm and protect those in the field, ourselves included? We will discuss ways in which "care" may provide a useful framework for putting ethics into practice. We will also discuss care as an example of an ethically rich and resonant research focus.

## Tutorial

During tutorials, you will discuss and plan the [second assignment](../assignments/2.md). This will require forming groups with two or three other students in your tutorial group and coming up with an idea for a manual.

# Week 4

## Lecture

Location
: PdlC SC01

Reading
: - Jarzabkowski et al. (2014)

For this session we are honored to welcome Dr. **Andrew Hoffman**, the Faculty of Social Sciences data steward, who will speak from his vantage point about data management, its institutionalization and professionalization in contemporary academic research, its relation to ethnography---but especially what it looks like in practice and why it can be a helpful skill even if you don't intend to become an academic researcher.

About our guest speaker:

> [Andrew Hoffman](https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/staffmembers/andrew-hoffman) had an early career as a research data coordinator in academic cancer medicine before going on to complete a doctoral degree in sociology/social studies of medicine at McGill University. Over the course of two subsequent postdoctoral fellowships, Andrew studied and collaborated with researchers, data scientists, and software engineers on the development of new knowledge infrastructures, predominantly in the domain of translational science.
>
> Combining training as an ethnographer with dedication to user-centered design, Andrew aims to make data management policies and workflows legible, useful for, and responsive to the values and practices of social science researchers working across the methodological spectrum. As a Data Steward, his primary responsibility is to liaise with researchers and support staff in Cultural Anthropology & Development Sociology and the Centre for Science & Technology Studies (CWTS) to address research data management needs spanning the whole project lifecycle.

## Tutorial

During tutorials, you will have a chance to show what you are working on for assignment 2. You will also discuss ethical issues you might encounter as a researchers working in different contexts.

Homework
: - If possible, bring a hardcopy of your group assignment to your tutorial session (to the extent that you have completed it).
- Learn about the case of Mohammad Soroush by reading Rana (2019), and about the Crisis Text Line scandal by reading McNeil (2022). If you know of other cases of researcher misconduct, bring sources about them with you. Take some notes to prepare for a discussion in tutorials.
- Put some of this week's lessons about data management into action by rethinking how you organize your own files and folders. You have a [backup](https://www.worldbackupday.com/), right?

# Week 5

## Lecture

Location
: PdlC SC01

Readings
: - Fassin (2013) 
- Reyes (2017)
- Dilger et al. (2018)
- De Koning et al. (2019)

Researchers have a responsibility to address issues of public concern, and critical scholars in particular have the ambition of making public interventions. This requires finding formats for scholarly communication that can reach the public, but also resisting tendencies that enclose scholarly knowledge behind paywalls or within proprietary systems. In that sense, ethnographers are champions of opening up our work. The demand to be "open" can also be a challenge to those conducting critical research, particularly for ethnographers who are unable to share their data or be totally transparent about their research process. We will discuss a variety of ethical issues that are at stake in this tension.

**No tutorials this week.**

# Week 6

## Lecture

Location
: PdlC SC01

Readings
: - Hoang (2019)
- Reich (2021)
- Small (2015)

The final lecture will go into themes raised by _Dealing in Desire_, including questions of standpoint, embodiment, and representation in ethnography. We will also look at finalized group assignments together.

Following the lecture, you will have a chance to ask questions about [assignment 3](../assignments/3.md).

**No tutorials this week.**