Critical Virtual Ethnography

Abstract

Critical virtual ethnography considers the use of ethnography in researching virtual communities operating in cyberspace. The chapter begins with an examination of critical theory following the postmodernist turn and considers the difficulties faced by ethnographers as a result. It then looks at the way that critical ethnography can be undertaken through an examination of research into knowledge construction online with particular reference to the criteria adopted for analyzing the interactions. The chapter concludes with an examination of the possibilities that this style of research affords researchers.