Digital Commons Network^™

Curating The Ethnographic Moment, Andrew D. Asher, Lori M. Jahnke

Andrew Asher

Digital technologies have vastly increased the volume of materials that ethnographic researchers are able to collect. They have also enhanced possibilities for rapidly sharing data not only with other researchers, but also with research subjects and the public at large. However, the relative ease of collecting digital materials can quickly outpace the data management skills of researchers, who usually have little or no training in recordkeeping, preservation, or curation strategies. Making digital data available online can also compound ethical dilemmas faced by ethnographers, who often find themselves torn between contradictory imperatives to share data publically and to protect the privacy …