UDTR — Radar mondial des droits de la Nature

Digital ethnography in gaming communities and social virtual worlds: a systematic review of identity, governance, embodiment, and culture

Identification

Clé publique

radar:r-e46824206fab91dba5f51f88edb5886b

Auteurs

Verenice Sánchez Castillo · Tulio Andrés Clavijo Gallego

Année déclarée

2026

Langue déclarée

en

Type source

review

Première détection

2026-11-14T02:02:38.543085+00:00

Dernière observation des métadonnées

2026-11-14T02:02:38.543085+00:00

Dernière vérification HTTP

Non effectuée

Institutions déclarées par la source

Universidad de la Amazonia · Universidad del Cauca

Pays d’affiliation déclarés

CO

Résumé documentaire — langue originale

Background. Gaming communities, social virtual reality (VR), and persistent virtual worlds have become established settings of digital social life, but ethnographic practice in immersive, avatar-mediated, and platform-governed environments remains methodologically uneven. Objective. To examine how netnographic and digital ethnographic studies investigate gaming communities, social VR, and persistent virtual worlds, with emphasis on methodological adaptation, ethics, identity, embodiment, governance, and digital culture. Methods. A systematic review of peer-reviewed qualitative research published between 2020 and 2026 was conducted across major academic databases and scholarly discovery platforms. Studies were screened using predefined eligibility criteria, and 31 studies were included. Data were synthesised thematically across methodological, ethical, and substantive domains. Results. The included studies cover MMORPGs, VRChat, Second Life, IMVU, Twitch, Discord, Roblox, Reddit, and gaming forums. Reported adaptations include play-along and go-along approaches, in-platform interviews, screen-shared observation, multimodal and computational traces, team-based multiverse ethnography, and VR focus groups. Ethical practice centred on pseudonymisation, protection of community identity, disclosure, and negotiated consent in semi-public spaces. Across the reviewed studies, avatars functioned as important carriers of identity, while voice, technical literacy, moderation, conflict, labour, and cultural production shaped participation and belonging. Conclusions. Research in immersive gaming environments is increasingly hybrid and multimodal, but methodological reporting remains uneven, particularly for ethics, embodiment, and platform governance. More consistent documentation of researcher presence, consent, and cross-platform field construction would strengthen the comparability of future studies.

Identifiants

OPENALEX

https://openalex.org/W7213971555

DOI

10.62486/net2026246

Repères documentaires

Famille documentaire

unknown

Types déclarés par les sources

review

Les mentions d’entités ne constituent pas une preuve de reconnaissance juridique. La juridiction étudiée est distincte du pays d’affiliation des auteurs.

Sources

OpenAlex · Document 1

• Document · https://doi.org/10.62486/net2026246

Statut documentaire

Pertinence à examiner

Bibliothèque

Cette identité n’est pas encore intégrée à la Bibliothèque juridique.