School of Anthropology & Society › Virtual Ethnography Lab
A dedicated, student-facing lab with thirty-six substantive guides and tools. Each contains actual instructional guidance, not an empty download. Reminder: publicly visible content is not automatically ethically unrestricted, and the Lab never teaches unauthorized scraping, access-control bypass, or surveillance.
1. Virtual Ethnography Terminology Glossary
Definitions of key terms (virtual field site, digital trace, platform vernacular, lurking, contextual consent) with careful, non-collapsing distinctions.
2. Digital Field-Site Selection Matrix
A matrix for choosing a digital field site by research fit, accessibility, ethics, and platform architecture.
3. Platform Architecture Analysis Worksheet
A worksheet for analyzing how a platform’s features shape interaction and visibility.
4. Online Community Boundary-Mapping Template
A template for defining where a digital community begins and ends across pages, groups, and threads.
5. Hashtag and Network Discovery Worksheet
A worksheet for tracing hashtags, channels, and comment networks responsibly.
6. Online–Offline Relationship Map
A map connecting digital interaction to embodied, institutional, and local life.
7. Virtual Participant-Observation Guide
Guidance on observing and participating online ethically, including whether and how to disclose researcher presence.
8. Virtual Field-Note Template
A template separating what was observed, what users posted, what the platform made visible, and the researcher’s interpretation.
9. Screenshot Documentation Protocol
A protocol for capturing, storing, and ethically using screenshots, including anonymization.
10. Digital Trace Inventory
An inventory for cataloging posts, comments, media, and logs with source and date.
11. Post, Comment, Video, and Image Sampling Guide
Guidance on principled sampling of digital material rather than convenience-only capture.
12. Online Identity and Persona Analysis Template
A template for analyzing profiles, usernames, and self-presentation without exposing real identities.
13. Influencer and Follower Relationship Map
A map for studying influencer–follower dynamics and authority.
14. Digital Ritual Analysis Template
A template for analyzing recurring digital practices as rituals with meaning and context.
15. Platform Authority Analysis
A tool for analyzing how authority is constructed and contested on a platform.
16. Algorithmic Mediation Worksheet
A worksheet for reasoning about how algorithms shape visibility and interaction.
17. Recommendation-System Observation Log
A log for documenting observed recommendation behavior and its research implications.
18. Bot and Synthetic-Content Identification Checklist
A checklist for flagging likely bots, synthetic identities, and AI-generated content.
19. Public-versus-Private Ethical Decision Guide
A decision guide that rejects the assumption that all public content is ethically free to use.
20. Perceived-Privacy Assessment
An assessment of users’ reasonable expectations of privacy in a given space.
21. Searchable Quotation Risk Checklist
A checklist for the re-identification risk of quoting searchable posts verbatim.
22. Username and Identifier Anonymization Guide
Guidance on anonymizing usernames, handles, and identifiers.
23. Children and Vulnerable-User Protection Checklist
A checklist for enhanced protection of minors and vulnerable users.
24. Religious-Community Digital Research Guide
Guidance for respectful, non-inflammatory research on online religious communities.
25. Political-Community Digital Research Guide
Guidance for careful research on political communities, avoiding harm and doxxing.
26. Virtual Ethnography Data-Management Plan
A plan for secure storage, retention, and deletion of digital research data.
27. Digital Screenshot and Media-Rights Checklist
A checklist for copyright and rights when using screenshots and media.
28. Virtual Ethnographic Coding Framework
A coding framework adapted to digital interaction and multimodal data.
29. Online Discourse Analysis Worksheet
A worksheet for analyzing online discourse in context.
30. Comment-Thread Analysis Template
A template for analyzing comment threads as interaction, not isolated quotes.
31. YouTube Community Research Template
A template for studying a YouTube community ethically, with context and consent considerations.
32. TikTok Community Research Template
A template for studying a TikTok community ethically, attentive to minors and virality.
33. Digital Religious-Authority Research Template
A template for studying how religious authority operates online.
34. AI-Assisted Virtual Ethnography Disclosure Form
A disclosure form recording AI tools, versions, uses, and verification steps.
35. Virtual Ethnography Report Template
A report template that protects participants, evidences claims, and states limitations.
36. Final Virtual Ethnography Quality Checklist
A final checklist covering ethics, verification, reflexivity, and representation.
Content Status: DRAFT — 36 Virtual Ethnography Lab guidance sets written. File attachments and interactive tools pending Codex.