Substituting Internet for a Traditional Fieldwork: Collecting Folklore Data on Internet Cover Image

Интернет као терен: пример сакупљања фолклорне грађе
Substituting Internet for a Traditional Fieldwork: Collecting Folklore Data on Internet

Author(s): Vesna Trifunović
Subject(s): Customs / Folklore
Published by: Етнографски институт САНУ
Keywords: internet; fieldwork; folklore; collection of data

Summary/Abstract: Internet as a substitute for traditional fieldwork is being used increasingly, hence there is a need to asses the notion of „doing field work“. One of the fundamental questions related to the usage of Internet to collect data arises as a doubt whether this kind of data collection is an adequate means to its end: are the data collected this way sufficient or even appropriate for an academic analysis and scientific theories? In an attempt to at least partially answer this question, this paper discusses ways in which Internet could be used and seen as a fieldwork providing valid da ta. To illustrate this, the paper presents, as an exam ple, an analysis of a certain folklore material gathered via Internet. The aim is to show which kind of data could be collected this way, and how the analysis performed demonstrate such data are nevertheless a valid source containing quality information on a given subject, in this case, folklore. The discussion is limited to anthropology of folklore in order to demonstrate the possibility of data collection which excludes more traditional fieldwork methods.

  • Issue Year: LVIII/2010
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 157-168
  • Page Count: 12
  • Language: Serbian