Field Research
1Sunday, October 21, 2012 by Unknown
It was really interesting to read Shaffir’s thoughts on ethnographic
research. As he initially points out, it
is not a hard science that has the ability to perform controlled experiments
but is a flexible approach that can be conducted in a number of ways which is
influenced by our personal qualities, the particular research problem and
setting. The experience of practitioners
and teachers in ethnography have confirmed this as Shaffir states that there is
no formula to follow that will provide the best results (p. 3). He puts forward the simple advice, which he
had received himself, which is to hang around, observe and record observations
(p. 3).
I am intrigued by Shaffir’s statement that ethnographic
research requires some role-playing and acting on the part of the researcher
and that deception is inherent no matter how honest your approach is (p. 6-7). Through self-presentation, a researcher can
be as honest about his academic and personal interests but ultimately the
individuals being studied eventually let their guard down although the researcher
remains sound to his objectives. In this
way, I can see how a researcher could feel he is being somewhat dissimulative and
therefore morally incorrect, but after reading this article I can also
understand that it may not be avoidable.
Eliminating boundaries, furthermore, may also not be
avoidable despite the researcher’s interests in building a rapport and
enhancing the research of the group he is studying. Boundaries may change and become narrower
overtime, but they will always exist and that a successful field researcher
respects those boundaries and understands that they are inevitable (p. 9).
Thus, as stated above, Shaffir declares that there is no
formula to follow to provide the best results in ethnographic research (p. 3)
but he does provide some sound insight for students embarking on field research
for the first time.
The idea that ethnographic research requires role-playing or acting on the part of the researcher is an interesting one. I am thinking specifically of a brief discussion in class about how studies have shown that children are more responsive to adults who are dressed younger. I take this to mean that they are dressed in clothing that is recognizable to children and that prevents them from feeling intimidated, as though they are being scrutinized or are somehow in trouble. It strikes me that with many research methods, conventions and strategies change greatly when they are applied to children.
ReplyDeleteBesides the necessity of gaining parental consent to interview children, I am interested in understanding better how to process the information that children provide you with. According to Luker, “regardless of whether things happened the way people said they did, what interests us is that people chose to tell us that they happened that way” (pg. 167). I can imagine that the psychology behind the answers children provide at a given time is different from that behind an adult’s thought processes. I have to do some research into this, but it seems as though a child’s responses might be more arbitrary, or more based on whim than on true thoughts or beliefs. This, in turn, will affect the conclusions or generalizations that one can reasonably generate from interview data.
Additionally, it is obvious to me that one would present an interview “hook” to children much differently than they would to adults. While an adult might be driven by an awareness of the importance of your research and the thought that they are doing something beneficial, a child will not necessarily be driven by the same motives. I might present my hook in a way that lets the child know that they are participating in something that will benefit other children, or even provide physical incentives such as stickers, etc., depending on the age. The interview itself would have to be short in order to keep the child’s attention, and special terms must be used that the child can easily understand. I plan to think more about these things before designing a more complete research proposal.