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Researching Virtual Worlds

Methodologies for Studying Emergent Practices

Edited by Louise Phillips, Ursula Plesner

To Be Published August 1st 2013 by Routledge – 192 pages

Series: Routledge Studies in New Media and Cyberculture

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  • Hardback: 978-0-415-62444-2: $125.00
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Description

This volume presents a wide range of qualitative methodological strategies which are designed to tackle and take into account the complex, emergent, and continually shifting character of Virtual Worlds. The book concentrates on the theme of emergence and phenomena in flux – on how objects are brought into being, and transformed in, co-construction processes in social interaction. In addition, these methodological strategies also provide a foundation for the study of other complex, emergent phenomena.

A broad spectrum of qualitative methodologies is presented: Sense-Making Methodology, Actor-Network-Theory, IT praxiography, virtual ethnography, visual ethnography, multi-sited ethnography, discourse analysis, narrative analysis, social semiotics, and dialogic communication theory. These methodologies straddle the fields of media and communication studies, sociology, science and technology studies, design studies, and IT studies.

Contents

1. Introduction Part I: Sociotechnical approaches to Virtual Worlds 2. Praxiography of Flux, Dixi Louise Strand 3. Actor-Network-Theory: tracing elements of virtual worlds in the study of virtual buildings and cityscapes, Ursula Plesner Part II: Sense Making and Semiotic approaches to Virtual Worlds 4. (Co-)Designing Worlds of Signification: A Social Semiotic Analysis of Second Life as a Collaborative Platform for Design and Innovation, Ates Gürsimsek Chapter 5. Video Interviews and Avatar Studies, Sisse Siggaard Jensen 6. The play of structure and agency: Deconstructing engagings with Virtual Worlds, CarrieLynn D. Reinhard and Brenda Dervin Part III: Dialogical approaches to Virtual Worlds 7. Co-production and Virtual Ethnography: Methodological reflections about dialogic communication on and through online narratives, Lisbeth Frølunde 8. Co-constructing "virtual worlds" in collaborative research: a dialogic approach, Louise Phillips 9. Closing remarks

Author Bio

Louise Phillips is Associate Professor in Communication Studies at the Department of Communication, Business and Information Technologies, Roskilde University, Denmark.

Ursula Plesner is Assistant Professor in the Department of Organization, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark.

Name: Researching Virtual Worlds: Methodologies for Studying Emergent Practices (Hardback) – Routledge 
Description: Edited by Louise Phillips, Ursula Plesner. This volume presents a wide range of qualitative methodological strategies which are designed to tackle and take into account the complex, emergent, and continually shifting character of Virtual Worlds. The book concentrates on the theme of emergence and...
Categories: New Media, Media Research Methods, Communication Research Methods, New Media, Media Theory, Communication Theory, Information Technology, Sociology of Science & Technology, Video Games