Watching, listening, reading and clicking Bella Dicks Cardiff School of Social Sciences Research Methods Festival 30 June - 3 July 2008

getting findings ‘out there’ Traditional print dissemination Traditional print dissemination –Journal article/report –Book Filmic dissemination Filmic dissemination  E.g. ethnographic film

networked digital media New electronic possibilities New electronic possibilities –digital video –electronic article –podcast/sound essay –Clickable multimedia = hypermedia Web as new means of distribution Web as new means of distribution

authoring in different media How do different media communicate? –c–c–c–conventions of print ((((outline structure; rhetorics & genres of scholarly reporting & argumentation; conventions of presenting evidence; sequentiality, etc.) –c–c–c–conventions of film ((((uni-linear structure; narrative conventions of genre & style – e.g. documentary; politics/poetics of editing; representing temporality; etc.) –c–c–c–conventions of sound ((((radio-genres; narrativity & unfolding action; uni-linear explosition; timbre, cadence, accent, soundscapes, sound- effects, etc.)

why use the screen? accessibility - reaching new audiences accessibility - reaching new audiences providing access to data-sets - transparency providing access to data-sets - transparency enabling interactivity enabling interactivity creating reproducibility creating reproducibility encouraging re-use & ongoing analysis encouraging re-use & ongoing analysis enhancing speed of dissemination enhancing speed of dissemination allowing more creative & flexible navigation allowing more creative & flexible navigation exploiting multimedia capabilities exploiting multimedia capabilities

the cinematic imagination Marcus, G. (1994) The modernist sensibility in recent ethnographic writing and the cinematic metaphor of montage, in L. Taylor (ed.) Visualising Theory: Essays from V. A. R Routledge. New sensibilities in ethnographic writing which seek to : problematise the spatial problematise the spatial problematise the temporal problematise the temporal problematise perspective/voice problematise perspective/voice acknowledge dialogic authorship acknowledge dialogic authorship perform bifocality (reflexivity) perform bifocality (reflexivity) produce critical juxtaposition produce critical juxtaposition

scholarly media see P. Biella, 1993, Beyond Ethnographic film, in J.R. Rollwagen (ed) Anthropological film and video in the 1990s, NY: The Institute Inc. essential components of a scholarly work: 1.further established paradigms in literature, e.g. through originality, debate, response, etc. 2.adhere to standards of clarity, debate & argument 3.conform to expected formats high in redundancy, e.g. contents, cross-references, abstract, data, footnotes, results, etc. 4.enable rapid, repeated, non-linear study 5.allow reader to take unlimited notes 6.allow author to make unlimited footnotes & bibliographic references See also Grimshaw, A. (2001) The Ethnographer's Eye: Ways of seeing in modern anthropology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

screen-based authoring What can we put on screen? –t–t–t–text –v–v–v–video –a–a–a–audio –g–g–g–graphics –c–c–c–clickable hyperlinks How to combine these through screen design & navigation? N.B. multimodality of screen-based media

on-screen authoring effects relationship between text, sound, images relationship between text, sound, images refracting analysis through different lenses (see Denzin & Lincoln, 2000: The discipline & practice of qualitative research, Handbook of qualitative research, Sage.) refracting analysis through different lenses (see Denzin & Lincoln, 2000: The discipline & practice of qualitative research, Handbook of qualitative research, Sage.) presenting multiple perspectives/voices presenting multiple perspectives/voices dialogue between participants, author, audiences dialogue between participants, author, audiences multi-linear navigation (maintaining sequentiality?) multi-linear navigation (maintaining sequentiality?)

loss of scholarly apparatus? loss of structure, coherence & sequentiality loss of structure, coherence & sequentiality occluding of argument and authorial voice occluding of argument and authorial voice reduction of analysis to bit-sized fragments reduction of analysis to bit-sized fragments telling risks being replaced with showing telling risks being replaced with showing distraction of special effects & aimless clicking distraction of special effects & aimless clicking

Watching, listening, reading and clicking Research project: current and ongoing compares responses to: 1. Hypermedia web-pages 2. Ethnographic film 3. Print journal article Audiences: PhD students

findings so far audiences appear to be: more critical & demanding of film more critical & demanding of film less reflexive about written article less reflexive about written article seeking a clear authorial voice seeking a clear authorial voice requiring a step-by-step argument requiring a step-by-step argument