Redefining the field: Digital multi-site fieldwork in the Social Sciences

Qualitative research and in particular fieldwork has been heavily affected by the Covid-19 pandemic often motivating researchers to move online for data generation. This development has provided an important impetus for the ongoing advancement of digital research methods and has thus opened a space for innovation in research methods. In this contribution, I argue that, contrary to the common argument of physical fieldwork providing more in-depth insights than digital fieldwork, the chosen research approach depends heavily on the conditions of the studied field. In fact, by choosing digital qualitative research methods scholars can redefine their field. The field is redefined by and in turn impacts both the context in which research takes place and the methods available. If the field is online - for example when interviewees work from home or observation moments take place as online events - the researcher has to adapt and move online as well. Relying entirely on digital methods limits the possibilities of interviewing and observation but at the same opens new possibilities such as the coverage of multiple and distant research sites or fieldwork over a longer time period. Borrowing from qualitative and interpretive methods with a particular focus on ethnography, I develop the methodological foundations of “digital multi-site fieldwork”. This research approach builds on insights from a research project on the role of counter-terrorism policy in EU enlargement towards South East Europe. This research project has entirely relied on digital methods and combines document analyses, multi-site digital ethnography and online interviews with counter-terrorism experts and practitioners based in different places in the EU and South East Europe. With this paper, I aim at contributing to the discussion on how the increasing possibilities of digital research methods impact social science research, the questions asked and the field it looks at.