Online gambling, advantage play, reflexivity and virtual ethnography

This chapter considers the responsibility of criminologists as virtual ethnographers to reflexively interrogate their roles, methods and interpretations when examining online cultures. Consideration is given to how the researcher's biography, presuppositions and cultural position impacted upon the study of an online gambling subculture. The chapter evidences the importance of reflexivity in virtual ethnography through a tripartite analysis of the research process; examining inquiry, analysis and representational stages. It demonstrates how decision making with regard to the field of study, what is considered to be meaningful data and how this information is conveyed significantly shapes the representation of online (sub)cultures.