Its a question of balance – mobile methodologies and studies of mobility Ben Fincham University of Brighton

mobile methodologies and studies of mobility Capturing elements of the social world that involve movement through space Methodologies specifically designed to translate the experiences and meanings of types of mobility, for different populations and different contexts

mobile methodologies and studies of mobility Introduce methodology employed during study of bicycle messengers Examine potential of corroboratory mobile methods Discussion of ethnography and methodological fetishism

Anytown, UK.

mobile methodologies and studies of mobility selection and recall bias documentary purism Intention to get closer to the moments of the experiences that would be analysed retrospectively.

mobile methodologies and studies of mobility Right. Im at the bottom of St Pauls Street on the way in. Ive already had two near misses and couldnt crash because of the police. Crash the lights. Its very strange the driving is quite aggressive but its often like that on a Friday.

mobile methodologies and studies of mobility [short of breath] Just got up to [TV company], Hell TV as its otherwise known because it is such a long way… its kind of two miles uphill and now Im going across to [media company] and Im completely knackered. The thing is Ive taken my jacket off because it is too hot and now Ive taken it off Im far too cold. Perennial problem.

mobile methodologies and studies of mobility … bit of a mad time because none of us have got any spare inner tubes and DJ got a puncture up north which was a bit of a bummer, so weve all been running around like crazy, and hes walking three miles into town now, hes very pissed off.

mobile methodologies and studies of mobility [20 minutes later] Talk about a risk environment. I just handed my folder to a secretary at [law firm] and she caught her finger on it and there was a bit of a fuss about the injury she sustained, which was a slightly red finger. I was going to bang on about… well I dunno… other risks. Ive just bumped into DJ at the side of the road, Middle Road very fucked off, wants to go home. No inner tube, started to rain, very boring.

mobile methodologies and studies of mobility [ Out of breath] Currently coming through the park, Cathedral Park going to [media company] …er…its about sort of lunchtime… Im feeling a bit tired… but the weather is fabulous, its a bit windy but its dry and the suns come out out… er… the traffics actually been ok today. I mean a few near scrapes but this was something that came out in one of the interviews. Is the job dangerous if you have near misses and to what extent are your expertise as a worker keeping you safe? The other thing to say is that its one of the rare occasions when we have a woman working today, and shes getting the same sorts of jobs as everyone else, there doesnt seem to be any distinctions between the sorts of work shes doing. I, on the other hand, am getting odd looks for looking like I am talking to myself most of the day.

mobile methodologies and studies of mobility Highlighted the mundane Screened out situatedness Allowed space for reflection – contradictory to the intention

mobile methodologies and studies of mobility Introduction of visual and aural data re- introduces the unusual in everyday experiences Adds another dimension to the surety of assertions triangulation?

mobile methodologies and studies of mobility Development of techniques –Data capture Techniques of gathering data that more closely describe situations –Data analysis Post-hoc reflections on data intended to capture phenomena that are temporally specific

mobile methodologies and studies of mobility Sounds like ethnography to me Use of technologies and techniques across disciplines Distinctiveness in analysis

mobile methodologies and studies of mobility The conundrum: –How to best capture elements of the social world that involve movement through space –Difficulties inherent in examining the dynamic and the danger of fixing the flow

mobile methodologies and studies of mobility Methodological fetishism and scholarship Problem centred research vs. methods centred research Its a question of balance – mobile methodologies and studies of mobility Ben Fincham University of Brighton