Doing Urban Research on ‘Hard-to-Reach’ Populations During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Opportunities and Ethical Dilemmas Using Digital Ethnography as the New Alternative

Abstract

Abstract This article presents insights on conducting urban research during the COVID-19 pandemic, embracing new and agile directions in research - digital ethnography. The paper builds on a growing body of literature on conducting fieldwork among ‘hard-to-reach’ populations during difficult times of the extended COVID-19 pandemic. We narrated our digital ethnographic research experiences during a study exploring the socio-economic impacts of mandatory COVID-19 lockdowns on poor urbanites in Harare, Zimbabwe. We found digital ethnography has several methodological advantages that include being non-intrusive/ non-intimidating, cost and time-effective, enhancing participant variety and assuring the safety of respondents, enhancing research flexibility, and generating impactful responses. Unlike traditional full immersion ethnography, digital ethnography also proved to be nimble, dealing with complexities of the ‘global’, the ‘local’, and the ‘trans-local’ nature of the modern urban research participants. However, there are several ethical dilemmas associated with the use of digital ethnography. These include the need for informed consent, assurance of confidentiality and anonymity, blurred understanding of the research setting by participants, the risk of causing more 'stress' during a crisis, and the need for respect for privacy in cyberspace. Urban researchers should reflect on these ethical issues before implementing their studies. We conclude that virtual spaces have become everyday realities that modern urban researchers should penetrate, especially in times of restricted associational life and when researching populations that are ‘hard-to-reach’ physically but better accessible virtually.