Ethics in Contemporary Ethnographic Research  Check-in [397bfbbe4c]

# Assignment 1: Data Walk

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.

In this assignment, you will plan, carry out and report on a data walk. Each student will submit **a brief report** (around 600 words) with supporting materials such as maps, photographs and notes taken en route.

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.

Under "normal circumstances" a data walk would involve a small group of 6--8 people taking on different roles, such as navigator, note-taker or photographer. For the purposes of this assignment, you should only involve one other person, such as a roommate or family member. Plan your walk someplace convenient, for instance in your own neighborhood, and restrict it to about one hour.

Your report should address the planning, execution and your reflection on the data walk. You may take the following points as a guide as you complete the assignment.

1. **Plan your walking route ahead of time.** Make a map or list some landmarks you intend to pass on your walk.
2. **What will you look for?** Which data hubs do you expect to encounter along the way?
3. **Collect evidence.** Take pictures or bring back objects from your walk.
4. **Tell a story.** Why did you walk where you walked? What was an important thread that you decided to follow? What did you learn about your environment? Did the other participant in your walkshop see things differently?
5. **Discuss the results.** How visible are the data hubs you spotted? What kinds of data do they collect? Who owns the data? Where are they stored? What value might they bring to you or others? What do you think are the "costs" of data collection---in terms of the technology required for its collection, the likely environmental impact, encroachments on privacy, or possible "chilling effects"?

Please write your report in clear and coherent prose. Use proper references as needed.

# Assignment 2: Hacking Ethnography

Working in groups of up to four students, you will design and produce a contribution to a collection on the theme of Hacking Ethnography. Your contribution can take one of several forms:
Working in groups of up to four students, you will design and produce a contribution to a collection of public-facing resources on the theme of Hacking Ethnography. Your contribution can take one of several forms:

1. An instructional video (for instance, to show how to use a certain tool to secure your data).
2. A zine (for instance, to provide guidelines for how to protect the identities of your research participants).
3. A curated list of resouces (for instance, to help qualitative researchers understand potential risks of data-saturated environments).

Regardless which format you chose, try to create your resource in such a way that it will be useful to others like you wondering what kinds of pratices they can adopt in the course of ethnographic research to protect research participants, secure data, and otherwise ensure that their research is ethical. We will discuss possible topics during tutorials in [week 4](../weeks/4.md).

When you have created your resource, choose a [Creative Commons license](https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/) under which to release your work into the public.

## Instructional Video

Create a video that conveys a useful skill in about 5--6 minutes.

## Zine

Zines are a self-published format usually consisting of literally cut-and-pasted texts and graphics, traditionally reproduced using copying machines. They have been associated with a variety of subcultures, such as the punk scene of the seventies and riot grrrl scene of the nineties.

ABC No Rio, a famous cultural institution in New York, has the following [advice](http://www.abcnorio.org/facilities/zine_library.html) for "new zinesters":

> Look at a variety of zines before starting out on one of your own, to really take your time with the layout, and to think about how your zine might be different, depending on where you are in the world: does it have a sense of PLACE? Be specific and descriptive. ... Just to let you know, there are a LOT of punk rock zines out there, so if you're doing one, go the extra mile to make yours stand out. 

You can find lots of examples of zines on [archive.org](https://archive.org/details/zines). For additional inspiration, look at the zines created by [Julia Evans](https://wizardzines.com/zines/wizard/) and [Nika Dubrovsky](https://a4kids.org/). You may also want to build on [a template](https://medium.com/data-feminism-lab-mit/announcing-a-beautiful-open-source-zine-template-76d6279831f4) (though that may not exactly help with standing out).

## Curation

What do we mean by curation? Allow us to quote liberally from [this resource](https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/curation/):

> When a museum director curates, she collects artifacts, organizes them into groups, sifts out everything but the most interesting or highest-quality items, and shares those collections with the world. When an editor curates poems for an anthology, he does the same thing.
> 
> The process can be applied to all kinds of content: A person could curate a collection of articles, images, videos, audio clips, essays, or a mixture of items that all share some common attribute or theme. When we are presented with a list of the "Top 10" anything or the "Best of" something else, what we’re looking at is a curated list. Those playlists we find on Spotify and Pandora? Curation. "Recommended for You" videos on Netflix? Curation. The news? Yep, it's curated. In an age where information is ubiquitous and impossible to consume all at once, we rely on the curation skills of others to help us process it all.

Your curation shouldn't just be a grab bag of resources, but should be integrated into a cohesive whole that presents an argument.