"What are the relationships between the self and fieldwork? How do personal, emotional and identity issues impact on fieldwork?" "The Ethnographic Self argues that ethnographers and others involved in research in the field should be aware of how fieldwork affects the researcher, and how the researcher affects the field. Coffey synthesizes accounts of the personal experience of ethnography, and aims to make sense of the process of fieldwork research as a set of practical, intellectual and emotional accomplishments. The book is thematically arranged and illustrated with a wide range of empirical material. The author examines the ethnographic presence in the field, and the implications of this in and beyond fieldwork, exploring issues such as the creation of the ethnographic self, and the embodiment and sexualization of the field and self." "The Ethnographic Self will be of interest to anyone working in the area of qualitative research, but especially for sociologists, and educational and health researchers."--BOOK JACKET.

What are the relationships between the self and fieldwork? How do personal, emotional and identity issues impact upon working in the field? This book argues that ethnographers, and others involved in fieldwork, should be aware of how fieldwork research and ethnographic writing construct, reproduce and implicate selves, relationships and personal identities. All too often research methods texts remain relatively silent about the ways in which fieldwork affects us and we affect the field. The book attempts to synthesize accounts of the personal experience of ethnography. In doing so, the author makes sense of the process of fieldwork research as a set of practical, intellectual and emotional accomplishments. The book is

It is commonly acknowledged that anthropologists use personal experiences to inform their writing. However, it is often assumed that only fieldwork experiences are relevant and that the personal appears only in the form of self-reflexivity. This book takes a step beyond anthropology at home and auto-ethnography and shows how anthropologists can include their memories and experiences as ethnographic data in their writing. It discusses issues such as authenticity, translation and ethics in relation to the self, and offers a new perspective on doing ethnographic fieldwork.

Autoethnography places the self within a social and cultural context. It is not primarily about the self, however, and in this, it differs from autobiography. This entry adopts a broad view of autoethnography, with attention to different approaches and applications of this term. Although its first uses appeared in mid-20th-century writings, the concept of autoethnography has been increasingly invoked in a variety of social science and humanities disciplines since the 1990s. The history of the uses of this term is traced from its original uses in the context of anthropological research among non-Western and small-scale societies, when it referred to the ethnographic perspectives on their own cultures by those studied by anthropologists, to more recent approaches that interrogate the researcher's own life experiences (in and out of the field). For some who use the term, it is primarily about forms of self-ethnography, but for others, it is about ethnographic reflections upon one's own group. Emphasis can be placed, therefore, more on the self or the social. Autoethnography raises questions about the insider/outsider dichotomy and the construction of the objective observer. Various genres of autoethnographic writing are discussed as well as its applications in illness and migration narratives. The entry ends with attention to critiques, ethical concerns, and emerging areas for further applications.

This book reflects on the contemporary use of ethnography across both social and natural sciences, focusing in particular on organizational ethnography, autoethnography, and the role of storytelling. The chapters interrogate and reframe longstanding ethnographic discussions, including those concerning reflexivity and positionality, while exploring evolving themes such as the experiential use of technologies. The open and honest accounts presented in the volume explore the perennial anxieties, doubts and uncertainties of ethnography. Rather than seek ways to mitigate these ‘inconvenient’ but inevitable aspects of academic research, the book instead finds significant value to these experiences. Taking the position that collections of ethnographic work are better presented as transdisciplinary bricolage rather than as discipline-specific series, each chapter in the collection begins with a reflection on the existing impact and character of ethnographic research within the author’s native discipline. The book will appeal to all academic researchers with an interest in qualitative methods, as well as to advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Built on the foundation of their landmark Handbook of Qualitative Research, it extends beyond the investigation of qualitative inquiry itself to explore the indigenous and non-indigenous voices that inform research, policy, politics, and social justice.

Full of practical 'how to' tips for applying theoretical methods - 'doing ethnography' - this book also provides anecdotal evidence and advice for new and experienced researchers on how to engage with their own participation in the field - 'being ethnographic'. The book clearly sets out the important definitions, methods and applications of field research whilst reinforcing the infinite variability of the human subject and addressing the challenges presented by ethnographers' own passions, intellectual interests, biases and ideologies. Classic and personal real-world case studies are used by the author to introduce new researchers to the reality of applying ethnographic theory and practice in the field. Topics include: - Talking to People: negotiations, conversations & interviews - Being with People: participation - Looking at People: observations & images - Description: writing 'down' field notes - Analysis to Interpretation: writing 'out' data - Interpretation to Story: writing 'up' ethnography Clear, engaging and original this book provides invaluable advice as well as practical tools and study aids for those engaged in ethnographic research.

With regular exercises, lists of key terms and points and self-evaluation checklists, Doing Ethnography systematically describes the various phases of an ethnographic inquiry and provides numerous examples, suggestions and advice for the novice ethnographer. Ethnography seeks to understand, describe and explain the symbolic world lying beneath the social action of groups, organizations and communities. This book clearly sets out the coordinates and foundations of this increasingly popular methodology. Giampietro Gobo discusses all the major issues, including the research design, access to the field, data collection, organisation and analysis, and communication of the results.

Reflexive Ethnography is a unique guide to ethnographic research for students of anthropology and related disciplines. It provides practical and comprehensive guidance to ethnographic research methods, but also encourages students to develop a critical understanding of the philosophical basis of ethnographic authority. Davies examines why reflexivity, at both personal and broader cultural levels, should be integrated into ethnographic research and discusses how this can be accomplished for a variety of research methods. This revised and updated second edition includes: a new chapter on internet-based research and ‘interethnography’ chapters on selection of topics and methods, data collection and analysis, and ethics and politics of research practical advice on writing up ethnographic study new and updated research examples. Postmodernist relativism can lead to an over-emphasis on reflexivity that denies the possibility of social research. Reflexive Ethnography utilises postmodernist insights – incorporation of different standpoints, exposure of the intellectual tyranny of meta-narratives – but proposes that reflexive ethnographic research be undertaken from a realist perspective. Reflexive Ethnography will help students to use and understand ethnographic research practices that fully incorporate reflexivity without abandoning claims to develop valid knowledge of social reality.

..̀. An excellent collection of anthropological autobiographical essays focusing on the positionality and resource of the self in ethnography ... The essays are engaging and well written ... [and] remind me of some of those classic anthropological / ethnographic collections - interesting in their own right to read, but also serving as a good teaching resource.' - Amanda Coffey, Cardiff University.