The impossibility of anonymity in ethnographic research

In: Qualitative research, Band 18, Heft 5, S. 516-525

Abstract

This article argues that the growth of social media and other forms of digital communication make it impossible for ethnographers to offer anonymity to research sites or to those significant people involved in the research sites. Indeed, it was never actually fully possible to offer anonymity in ethnography. Ethical Guidelines need to recognise these facts and researchers need to modify their research procedures such that the advantages of more openness in research are exploited.