2 RESEARCH METHODS
This study uses a digital anthropology approach as one of the strategies and entry points in understanding behaviors in the digital world (Miller & Horst 2012), and as a technique for researching
social interaction via digital technology (Boelstorff et al. 2012). Analysis and qualitative data writing will be presented in autoethnography. Differing to other research methods, autoethnography, in
its position as a research method, emphasizes the process of writing personal experiences ("auto")
to describe and interpret ("graphy") cultural experiences, beliefs, practices, and texts ("ethno")
(Ellis 2009; Adams et al., 2017) as a form of self-narrative that places the self within a social
context. Here, autoethnographers are scholars that focus on using self as a medium intensely on
their life circumstances as a way to understand larger social or cultural phenomena, and those who
often uses personal narrative writing as a representational strategy that incorporates effects and
emotions into their analysis (Butz & Besio 2009). Autoethnography is a derivative of ethnographic
research methods, which is one of the tools used in the field of anthropology, as well as being
part of qualitative research methods. In autoethnography, researchers place themselves as insiders
and outsiders in a research arena setting. As an insider, it means, researchers are active subjects
in a cultural arena. In the context of this study, the researcher was directly and actively involved
in a set of events, where he became a part of cultural events that took place during the pandemic.
Researchers also create distance from these events. In this section, the researcher places himself
as an outsider to write down perspectives and results to other subjects outside the researcher.
2.1 Data collecting methods
As previously written, in writing autoethnography and ethnographic writing in general, data is
obtained, including through several ways, such as interviews, participant observation field notes,
document and artifact analysis, and research diaries (Mayan 2001; Morse & Richards 2002) as a
cultural member of several community groups he studied. As part of that society, researchers try to
obtain descriptions from several people through: (1) informal interviews to get their perspectives
and perspectives on the phenomena they face, in addition to exploring personal memory to get a
picture of collective memory when interrelations between data are found and trying to accommodate
the views of others; (2) as a cultural member, researchers conduct participatory observation in
several event settings in virtual spaces that are considered as “workplaces” as well as being part of
them. In this study participatory observation is also used to ensure the involvement of researchers
in field activities in everyday life settings and become well known to our informants (Boelstorff et
al. 2012); (3) finally, examine a text through video recordings, photographs, and sounds (visual and
verbal text), also the archives contained in journals. From the three methods, the researcher then
writes his cultural experiences in several settings of events, classrooms, work, various webinars,
and meetings outside the field of work (reunions, family gatherings, and limited discussion) in
daily data known as fieldnotes. The field here refers to the arena/space of events that occur, in
this case, a large part takes place in the virtual realm—some interviews are conducted face-to-face
(real)—where humans do not often do face to face, as part of digital ethnography.
3 DISCUSSION AND RESULTS
3.1 The blurred lines between the workplace and home, the real, and virtual
On March 2, 2020 in Indonesia, the president announced the presence of patients 01 and 02 infected
by this virus (Natalia & Sofya 2020). A few months before, when this virus had only spread in
Wuhan, workplaces were still operating as usual, with large numbers of meetings still being held, as
other countries in Southeast Asia have begun to close their borders, limit social mobilization, and
mitigate disasters related to how people interact. A bit of the story illustrates the initial conditions
of this pandemic in Indonesia.
121
This study uses a digital anthropology approach as one of the strategies and entry points in understanding behaviors in the digital world (Miller & Horst 2012), and as a technique for researching
social interaction via digital technology (Boelstorff et al. 2012). Analysis and qualitative data writing will be presented in autoethnography. Differing to other research methods, autoethnography, in
its position as a research method, emphasizes the process of writing personal experiences ("auto")
to describe and interpret ("graphy") cultural experiences, beliefs, practices, and texts ("ethno")
(Ellis 2009; Adams et al., 2017) as a form of self-narrative that places the self within a social
context. Here, autoethnographers are scholars that focus on using self as a medium intensely on
their life circumstances as a way to understand larger social or cultural phenomena, and those who
often uses personal narrative writing as a representational strategy that incorporates effects and
emotions into their analysis (Butz & Besio 2009). Autoethnography is a derivative of ethnographic
research methods, which is one of the tools used in the field of anthropology, as well as being
part of qualitative research methods. In autoethnography, researchers place themselves as insiders
and outsiders in a research arena setting. As an insider, it means, researchers are active subjects
in a cultural arena. In the context of this study, the researcher was directly and actively involved
in a set of events, where he became a part of cultural events that took place during the pandemic.
Researchers also create distance from these events. In this section, the researcher places himself
as an outsider to write down perspectives and results to other subjects outside the researcher.
2.1 Data collecting methods
As previously written, in writing autoethnography and ethnographic writing in general, data is
obtained, including through several ways, such as interviews, participant observation field notes,
document and artifact analysis, and research diaries (Mayan 2001; Morse & Richards 2002) as a
cultural member of several community groups he studied. As part of that society, researchers try to
obtain descriptions from several people through: (1) informal interviews to get their perspectives
and perspectives on the phenomena they face, in addition to exploring personal memory to get a
picture of collective memory when interrelations between data are found and trying to accommodate
the views of others; (2) as a cultural member, researchers conduct participatory observation in
several event settings in virtual spaces that are considered as “workplaces” as well as being part of
them. In this study participatory observation is also used to ensure the involvement of researchers
in field activities in everyday life settings and become well known to our informants (Boelstorff et
al. 2012); (3) finally, examine a text through video recordings, photographs, and sounds (visual and
verbal text), also the archives contained in journals. From the three methods, the researcher then
writes his cultural experiences in several settings of events, classrooms, work, various webinars,
and meetings outside the field of work (reunions, family gatherings, and limited discussion) in
daily data known as fieldnotes. The field here refers to the arena/space of events that occur, in
this case, a large part takes place in the virtual realm—some interviews are conducted face-to-face
(real)—where humans do not often do face to face, as part of digital ethnography.
3 DISCUSSION AND RESULTS
3.1 The blurred lines between the workplace and home, the real, and virtual
On March 2, 2020 in Indonesia, the president announced the presence of patients 01 and 02 infected
by this virus (Natalia & Sofya 2020). A few months before, when this virus had only spread in
Wuhan, workplaces were still operating as usual, with large numbers of meetings still being held, as
other countries in Southeast Asia have begun to close their borders, limit social mobilization, and
mitigate disasters related to how people interact. A bit of the story illustrates the initial conditions
of this pandemic in Indonesia.
121