Multiverse Ethnography: A Qualitative Method for Gaming and Technology Use Research

Abstract

This article introduces multiverse ethnography as a systematic team-based qualitative method for studying the mechanical, structural, and experiential properties of videogames and other technological artifacts. Instead of applying the ethnographic method to produce a single in- depth account of the studied research object, multiverse ethnography includes multiple researchers carrying out coordinated synergetic ethnographic work on the same research object, thus producing a multiverse of interpretations and possible meanings. To test the method, 41 scholars carried out a multiverse ethnography on two videogames, Cyberpunk and Among Us. Explorative thematic findings regarding both titles are reported and methodological implications of multiverse ethnography are discussed.