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individual or a larger group if you feel that other participants are becoming suspi-
cious of your motives.
The construction of multiple identities presents further intriguing opportunities.
As many virtual communities allow users to create multiple online identities, virtual
ethnographers might use multiple online manifestations to examine community re-
sponses to different types of behavior or even to create situations that might be the
focus of studies. For example, a researcher conducting a virtual ethnography might
start an argument between two online identities that she controls as a means of study-
ing how other participants would react.
Of course, this multiplicity of identities cuts both ways as well. Virtual eth-
nographers may face greater challenges in evaluating the honesty of the people
with whom they are interacting. Barring external confirmation—such as verifiable
real-world interactions—it may be hard to confirm the claimed identities of online
interlocutors.
As virtual environments run the gamut from simple text-based forums to social
networks and online worlds, the types of ethnography that may be conducted will
also change. Fully graphical environments, such as Second Life, present opportu-
nities for observing group interaction, physical positioning, and other visual cues
that are not generally available in text-only environments. Although these cues may
make ethnographies of graphical virtual worlds seem more “real” than other vir-
tual ethnographies, it is important to note that the questions of identity don't ever
disappear.
In Section 9.4.2, the Ethnographic Research of Your Own Community sidebar
presented information about the ethnographic research done into online empathic
support communities. The example given was of an online support community
for people with a torn ACL (Maloney-Krichmar and Preece, 2005). Ethnographic
methods have also been used to examine multiplayer virtual worlds. For instance,
Ducheneaut and Moore used ethnographic methods to research the Star Wars
Galaxies multiperson online role-playing game. The two researchers each created a
character (one a combat-oriented character, the other an entertainer) and logged in
for a minimum of 4 hours per week for 3 months. They later created two additional
characters and tried to encourage other role-playing individuals in the Star Wars
Galaxies to communicate with their characters (Ducheneaut and Moore, 2004).
Specifically, they spent time in locations collecting data on the frequency and type
of visitors, types of interaction, and related factors that could be used to character-
ize the social activity in these places (Ducheneaut et al., 2007). As complete par-
ticipants, they were able to participate in genuine interactions, without having to
reveal themselves as researchers or to maintain the pretense of being “real” group
members.
Of course, many online communities have face-to-face components and this is
where the dividing line between virtual and physical can become very complex. The
Researching Online Dating sidebar discusses the situation of research into online
dating communities. In these communities, the interaction starts out virtual but has
the stated goal of moving towards face-to-face meetings.