concepts, ideas and examples

What concepts, ideas and examples from this text contribute to the theory and practice of archive ethnography?In particular this article is speaking to the tensions that have arisen between the practice of ethnography and the availability of new technologies and the call for more transparency and data sharing. The tension exists between traditional ethnography in which data is de-identified before being shared and now more contemporary practices (facilitated by technology) that create fewer degrees of separation between researchers, their subjects, and audiences. This is relevant to archive ethnography because the researcher must consider the technology in which their archive exists and is accessible to outside audiences. While digital archive ethnography may be more transparent and accessible, the same arguments exist that “reproducibility” is more fit for quantitative studies than this more qualitative effort. However, digital access to the archive may increase opportunities for further analysis from additional audiences. Archive ethnography will also be subject to the same tensions that arise from the researchers ability to be transparent and rigorous and the risk of being extractive of a population that is over-studied, marginalized, etc.The article speaks to some of the benefits of video and audio recordings being able to facilitate more exact field notes and analyses of “specific colloquialisms, dialogue, and give-and-take that are the scaffolding of interaction” (p. 45). This may be a significant contribution to the practice of archive ethnography as the technique and medium provides additional insights available to those who view and interact with the archive. If not taken out of context or done in an exploitive or extractive manner, this practice allows the community/population/subject to speak for themselves as opposed to having an ethnographer speak on their behalf. The article goes on to discuss the nuances of when recording may or may not be appropriate which also applies to the practice of archive ethnography.