Study: Scaling Berlin

Digital Media, Scalemaking, and Shifting Identities in Contemporary Germany

Auf Deutsch hier.

Do you frequently use Facebook, Twitter, chat, and other digital media to connect to your friends and associates in Berlin and beyond?

I'm a graduate student in anthropology from California, and I'm conducting research on Internet use, digital media, and social networks in Berlin. This research is part of a 10-month ethnographic study that I'm conducting for my dissertation at the University of California, Irvine. The research is being conducted in Berlin and other cities in Germany.

If you're interested in participating, the study involves one initial interview (45 min-1 hour) at a location convenient to you, to discuss what Internet sites and other digital media you use (such as Facebook, Twitter, or chat), who you talk to online, and generally how you feel about new media. If interested, you can continue to participate by being interviewed in 1-2 follow-up interviews, which will take the form of open-ended conversations about the Internet and its role in your life. Interviews will be audio-recorded if you permit, and your identity will be kept confidential unless you provide explicit permission otherwise.

You are eligible to participate if you are at least 18 years or age are older, and use the Internet, a mobile phone, or digital media regularly. Interviews will be conducted in English or German.

There are no direct benefits from participation in this study. However, this research may help explain how the Internet and other digital media are used in Germany, as well as how identity in Germany may be changing with the advent of new technologies.

Contact Information:
University of California, Irvine
Lead Researcher: Jordan Kraemer, graduate student, Department of Anthropology
jkraemer@uci.edu
Faculty Sponsor: Tom Boellstorff, Professor of Anthropology
tboellst@uci.edu

Consent Documents
I've uploaded consent information forms for different aspects of this project. If you'd like participate, please download the PDF forms and review them. No signed forms are required to be involved.

German versions are available here:
http://www.styleovercontent.com/blog/forschungsprojekt-scaling-berl.html.

• Comprehensive Study Information Sheet: start by downloading this form if you are interested in participating in this study generally, as it covers all main aspects. 2009-7192_Comprehensive_Info_Sheet_07-02-10.PDF
• Online Observation Information Sheet: download this form if you would like to participate through online activities and interaction (primarily, confidential observation of online activities)
  2009-7192_Online_Obs._Study_Info_Sheet_10-2-09.PDF
• In-Person Observation Information Shee: download this form if you would like to participate through in-person participant-observation (hanging out, informal conversations, and so forth)
  2009-7192_Inperson_Obs._Study_Info_Sheet_10-2-09.PDF
• Interview Information Sheet: download this if you are interested in being interviewed, either face-to-face (and recorded) or online (e.g. via Skype)
  2009-7192_Interview_Study_Info_Sheet_10-2-09.PDF


• Time Diary Study Information Sheet:
  2009-7192_Diary_Info_Sheet_07-02-10.PDF