As the Covid-19 pandemic has shifted many aspects of our lives to online contexts, this special issue of Ethnographic Encounters reflects upon what this shift has meant for our research practices. For the first time in the history of the journal, we also open our submissions to all the departments of the University of St Andrews and to both undergraduate and postgraduate students. This has created an issue with space for interdisciplinary reflections upon the new opportunities and challenges brought by the conditions of digital research.