Anthropology Anonymous? Pseudonyms and Confidentiality as Challenges for Ethnography in the Twenty-first Century

Authors

  • Julia Vorhölter

Keywords:

Anonymisation, pseudonyms, confidentiality, research ethics, anthropological fieldwork

Abstract

This article reflects on the delicate issue of confidentiality and anonymity in contemporary anthropological research. It focuses on the challenges of assigning pseudonyms and disguising the identity of interlocutors and participants, especially in the contemporary context of the widespread use of social media and the internet. Drawing on the moral dilemmas, struggles, and failures that I experienced in relation to these issues in my own research, the article discusses the complexity of finding the right balance between respecting research participants’ interests and well-being, on the one hand, and living up to both the high ethical standards of the discipline and the desire to provide a meaningful analysis of ‘real’ issues, people, and places, on the other.

Downloads

Citations
0
0
0 citations recorded by Crossref

Submission 1652 has no DOI.

0 citations recorded by Semantic Scholar
Metrics
Views/Downloads
  • Abstract
    864
  • PDF
    713
Further information

Received

2021-04-14

Published

2021-05-05

How to Cite

Vorhölter, J. (2021). Anthropology Anonymous? Pseudonyms and Confidentiality as Challenges for Ethnography in the Twenty-first Century. Ethnoscripts, 23(1). Retrieved from https://journals.sub.uni-hamburg.de/ethnoscripts/article/view/1652