Fanfic Forensics

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There are many possible practical applications for this theoretical framework within fanwork studies. It had a profound influence on the my own method of data gathering, and on the way I'm trying to interpret these data. I'll briefly outline those influences to demonstrate what an 'open work' perspective might bring about.

If we consider fanworks as 'open works', what method of content analysis is appropriate? As has been mentioned, methodologies that are often used for English-language fanwork analysis have considerable limitations for a cross-cultural comparison of media that involve both text and images. First, methods of literary critique used in English-language fanwork research are too culturally specific to be applied to dōjinshi. Secondly, the lack of previous systematic research into the content of dōjinshi makes it impossible to select a handful of samples that could be called 'representative'. Thirdly, a methodology usable for the analysis of visual as well as textual signs is required.

So, we need a way of gathering, presenting and analyzing data that addresses these three problems. How can a characterization of fanworks as 'open works' help in constructing this more suitable methodology?

Gathering data

While discussing the connection between open work and information theory, Eco signaled that the same cultural patterns that are best expressed by 'open works' in art are, in the field of scholarship, best expressed by methods of research that 'contradict and complement each other in a dialectic opposition that will generate new perspectives and a greater quantity of information.' (OW 83) I quite agree with that. Given that there's been extremely little research into the contents of dojinshi, we need large quantities of data before we can make an informed comparison with fanfic or any other kind of fanwork.

I found out about 'open work' theory while I was looking into various traditions of semiotics for a theoretical framework and a methodology I could use. So, I think it's quite appropriate to borrow tools from semiotics to gather data. First and foremost, we need to avoid culturally biased readings. We should also gather our data in a non-culturally specific way as well. Several data gathering techniques from semiotics seem to be very good at gathering objectively verifiable data from texts created in different cultural traditions. If we try to compare and contrast a large number of individual signs from sample texts, rather than attempting a literary analysis of those texts, I think we can both gather that large amount of information on content that we need, and have a very reliable dataset that we doesn't restrict our interpretation of it right from the start. In a minute, I'll show an example of these datasets of individual signs from fanfic and dojinshi samples.

Presenting data

This is more significant than it sounds. When we were discussing the advantages of the 'open work' in a context of fanwork research, we mentioned the possibility for establishing a connection between fanwork creation and other 'open' movements, such as open access or open research. Open access publishing of papers is starting to gain traction in many academic fields. But there are many more possibilities for adapting research methodologies in cultural studies to other open philosophies, possibilities that challenge the way we conduct scholarship and help keep fan studies as close as possible to the fans themselves. I think the latter is very important.

that's being used to shape the 'open work' (fanwork) we're studying. We could try to make sure that everyone concerned can actually participate in our research and access the same data we're working from so they can check our conclusions.For example, we could make technology as central to the way we work as fanwork creators do. We could try to use the same technology for research.

There is one 'open' methodology that does exactly this, called 'open notebook science'. It's a methodology originating within chemistry that takes the principles of open access and executes them in a much more radical way. If a chemist works with open notebook science, he or she makes all possible information about experiments, all the resulting data, all the conclusions drawn available on the internet where everyone who's interested can consult them. The idea here is that this improves science because it allows anybody to check the information, and because information about failed experiments is also published so people won't needlessly repeat those mistakes.

Such an approach isn't suitable or doable for every research project in cultural studies, of course. But there's a lot more possibilities there than many suspect. This room is full of people interested in online texts, so I suspect all of this is not new to many of us. When I'm at a Japanese Studies or manga studies conference, most of the time I'm still the only person with a laptop in the whole room.

There's a wide range of tools to gather, present and analyze information that can make researchers more accountable and invite participation by anyone interested, whether that person is a scholar or not. We could use websites created using open source software, we could post notes and progress updates using social software tools such as blogs, microblogging, we could gather and annotate references using social bookmarking, we could gather and present data using open online database applications. We could go one step further and a la 'open work' make input from others a central requirement of the research. In my case, for instance, I'm using many of the tools just mentioned to allow other scholars and particularly the creators of the fanworks I'm using to access the research while it's in progress and give feedback through the same channels they habitually use. My research has just moved out of the theoretical phase and I haven't made a lot of noise about it yet in online fan communities, but already I've gotten a lot of LiveJournal comments and messages and mails from completely random people with remarks and suggestions.

Analyzing data

What I'm hoping to do in opening up data like this is

• gathering as many interpretations of the data as possible and from those varied interpretations
• form a hypothesis about how English-language and Japanese-language fanworks reflect the worldview of the societies in which they are produced
• and what the role of these fanworks in the cultural production system of these societies may be.

I'm in the process of constructing a database that contains information extracted from one hundred dōjinshi and one hundred English-language fanfics about this character selected through random sampling. What kind of information? Numerous elements (you can also call them signs, or tropes) that are easily and objectively verifiable and that fulfill the same function in English-language fanwork and dōjinshi. What elements?

• What genres are popular? For instance, how much slash or yaoi, how much het, and how much gen?
• Within the slash/yaoi works, how often is a given character presented as top/seme or bottom/uke?
• What are the most popular pairings?
• Which characters are the narrators? Whose viewpoint do the fan creators prefer to adopt?
• If a character has a love interest in canon, how is that love interest depicted in fanwork? If he or she is depicted at all.
• If sexual activity takes place, what sexual acts are depicted? For example, how is non-consensual sex depicted?
• How faithful are the narratives to the established canon? Do the characters seem to be 'in character', how often are plot elements from the source work used? Do characters have the same looks in fanwork as in canon, or are they prettified in some way?
• What kind of warnings or author's notes are attached to the fanfics and dojinshi? These are part of the work as well. (I get the idea that there are some very interesting differences in this area)

Comparative analysis of narrative elements

Comparative analysis of visual elements