A change of space: implications of digital fieldwork in connected homes during the COVID-19 pandemic

Paupini, Cristina; Teigen, Helene Fiane; Habib, Laurence

doi:10.1080/14626268.2022.2130943

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…It is traditionally thought in interview situations that the researcher holds a position of power over the participant(s). However, several scholars have pointed out how digital ethnography gives participants agency because they have control in terms of deciding what to show the researchers and not (Watson & Lupton, 2022; Paupini et al, 2022). Experiences from the project presented here further illustrate how the technology worked to rebalance the social dynamics between researcher and participant.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The original research design relied on face-to-face interviews and visual elicitation activities involving continued dialogue between participants and researchers. Therefore, we had to rethink our project design and envision how to recreate appropriate interview contexts digitally and re-enact creative research activities (Paupini et al, 2022). A series of publications have examined the experiences of doing research through digital communication platforms (see for instance Howlett, 2021; Watson & Lupton, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Intra-Acting With Technology During Remote Fieldwork in Homes: Curating Video Interviews and Drawing Methods

Teigen,

Paupini,

Mainsah

2023

International Journal of Qualitative Methods

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The ubiquity of remote research practices and the increased adoption of videoconferencing tools are forcing researchers to pay attention to the features of these technologies and how they shape the research encounter. This article draws on experience from a Norwegian research project about digital vulnerabilities and living with smart home technologies. Participants were invited to draw floor plans of their homes, enact everyday routines, and perform a house tour on camera. By enacting collective memory work, reviewing, and discussing fieldnotes and other materials from the interviews, the authors have reflected upon experiences and identified lessons and implications for further research. Drawing on a socio-material approach that views digital technologies as active participants in enacting the research event, the article highlights how the presence of videoconferencing technology shapes the research situation and how data is generated. We show how videoconferencing tools can provide both access to and constraints on what can be done and who can participate and underline the importance of skills for both researchers and participants. We demonstrate how the handholding of the camera and the frame of the lens direct what is seen during a video interview, and how power dynamics between participants and researchers are shaped. We conclude that researchers need to be mindful of how agency is negotiated between technology and humans during remote fieldwork.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intra-Acting With Technology During Remote Fieldwork in Homes: Curating Video Interviews and Drawing Methods

Teigen,

Paupini,

Mainsah

2023

International Journal of Qualitative Methods

Self Cite

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Troubleshooting the connected home: Exploring the perspectives of non-initiators

Teigen

2024

Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Med

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Living with technology often entails work related to management and repair of it. The emerging literature on the work that goes into managing home networks and digital technologies has described it as ‘digital housekeeping’. Within this literature, a single person is often identified as being responsible for the domestic tech work and this is the same person who initiated bringing the technology into the home. However, remaining household members and persons who have been gifted with such technologies are under-researched, despite studies showing them to be vulnerable to skewed power dynamics and technical malfunctions when the responsible person is not around. Applying digital housekeeping as a theoretical lens, this article explores how people identified as ‘non-initiators’, that is, those living with smart home technologies but who did not initiate bringing the technology into their home, deal with malfunctioning devices. Drawing upon interviews with five identified non, this study provides an in-depth exploration of their troubleshooting routines conceptualized as diagnosing, performing, and delegating. Findings suggest that non-initiators also engage in digital housekeeping through troubleshooting, although this work is largely unacknowledged by themselves and others. Moreover, the image of non-initiators as vulnerable is nuanced by highlighting their active participation in the connected home. Non-initiators use smart home devices for daily activities, and they have the knowledge, skills, and resources to draw upon when encountering malfunctions. Furthermore, the non-initiators’ troubleshooting routines are affected by the devices’ materiality, the household’s social dynamics, and to some degree by societal perceptions of technology, age, and gender. This paper contributes to the existing literature on smart homes and digital housekeeping by emphasizing non-initiators’ contribution to digital housekeeping and by highlighting how their agency is asserted in line with their interests and needs.

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A change of space: implications of digital fieldwork in connected homes during the COVID-19 pandemic

Cited by 2 publications

References 29 publications

Intra-Acting With Technology During Remote Fieldwork in Homes: Curating Video Interviews and Drawing Methods

Intra-Acting With Technology During Remote Fieldwork in Homes: Curating Video Interviews and Drawing Methods

Troubleshooting the connected home: Exploring the perspectives of non-initiators

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