Ethical and Methodological Issues in Gang Ethnography in the Digital Age: Lessons from Four Studies in an Emerging Field

Abstract

Urban ethnographers studying gangs and troublesome youth groups have traditionally faced distinct ethical and methodological challenges in their work as compared to other researchers. For this reason, gang ethnographers have devoted considerable attention to documenting their research decisions, and have thereby attuned others to the various risks posed by their research and how to mitigate said risks. In this tradition, the current chapter draws on fieldwork experience and examples from four studies in North America, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, to discuss emerging ethical and methodological issues in gang ethnography. Internet usage among gang members and the subsequent need for gang ethnographers to both be present on the street and active online creates challenges and opportunities. Social media can conceal and reveal important gang processes, blur the boundaries between public and private life and participant and observer, and even expose researchers to trauma in the field. Social media redefine gang research and raise the ethical stakes of conducting research. These and other implications for the Eurogang program of research are discussed.