Participating researcher or researching participant? On possible positions of the researcher in the collection (and analysis) of mobile video data

The article explores different participant positions that are available to researchers of social interaction during the collection of mobile video data. In the data presented, participants are engaged in outdoor activities that essentially involve some form and amount of mobility. The authors analyse the positions they have adopted in collecting data involving groups of mobile participants. The positions have varied depending on whether the activities allow, or even assume, researchers to draw on some specific participant knowledge. The article focuses on moments of adjustment during which the authors, as researchers collecting data, evidently make decisions about what to record and how to participate in the ongoing activity, and which thus reflect their spontaneous, negotiable and planned participation on site. As researchers of social interaction increasingly draw on data that involve mobility, it is pertinent to consider the possible positions that they may adopt and the practices that they employ in the collection and analysis of such data.