Since 2008, at Colorado State University, I have been collaboratively researching virtual worlds with my students in experimental methods seminars. My “ethnographic research and teaching laboratory” (ERTL), ambitious in scope, conducts original and even cutting edge research, while teaching students field methods in the process. The research and teaching unfold primarily in Internet-based games—such as World of Warcraft and Guild Wars 2—persistent online networked social spaces of hundreds and even thousands of players. As a teaching tool, online virtual worlds provide a convenient way to get students quickly into the “field,” with online games being for some students (based on their play experience or lack of it) akin to foreign cultures. In this article, I discuss strengths and also challenges of ERTL, illustrating in the process how my lab's linked research and teaching model illuminates one way forward for empirically minded anthropologists hoping to move beyond the lone ethnographer. [online gaming cultures, ethnographic laboratory, mixed methods]

中文翻译：

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作为人类学现场站点的在线虚拟世界：通过互联网游戏文化的合作研究来进行人种学方法培训

自2008年以来，在科罗拉多州立大学，我一直与我的学生在实验方法研讨会上合作研究虚拟世界。我的“人种志研究与教学实验室”（ERTL）范围宏大，在进行教学的同时还进行了现场研究，同时进行了原创甚至前沿的研究。研究和教学主要在基于互联网的游戏（如《魔兽世界》和《激战2》）中进行，这些游戏是一个持久的在线社交网络，拥有成百上千的玩家。作为一种教学工具，在线虚拟世界提供了一种方便的方法，可以使学生快速进入“领域”，而在线游戏是针对某些学生的（基于他们的游戏经验或缺乏游戏经验），类似于外国文化。在本文中，我将讨论ERTL的优势和挑战，并在此过程中说明我的实验室如何 链接在一起的研究和教学模式为有经验的人类学家们提供了一种前进的方法，他们希望超越孤独的人种学家。[在线游戏文化，人种志实验室，混合方法]