scholarly journals Navigating the grey areas of law and ethics in ethnography

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-65
Author(s):  
Alessandro Moretti
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Ethnographic Methods ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Law And Ethics ◽  
Research Environments ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Access To Knowledge

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to argue that the use of legally and ethically dubious methods in ethnography can sometimes be justified in the pursuit of new knowledge. The paper offers reflections on the risks that participatory methods of enquiry can bring upon both researcher and research participants, particularly in terms of the physical and reputational risks that researchers must face when adopting ethnographic methods in unwelcoming research environments. Design/methodology/approach Ethnographic methods, specifically participant observation (PO), were adopted to penetrate a gang of criminal ticket touts in the UK through a gatekeeper who provided access to knowledge and experience. Findings Pushing the legal and ethical boundaries of research is not only justifiable, but sometimes necessary in the discovery of new, socially valuable and otherwise unobtainable knowledge. Ethnographic research and PO are the only methods through which it is possible to gauge an understanding and appreciation, and thus present a valid depiction, of deviant and hard to access groups. As such, the use of these methods can sometimes be justified, within certain parameters. Originality/value This research adopts ethnographic methods in the under-researched and topical area of black market ticket touting in the UK. Ethnography alone, through an “internal” understanding of the participants’ viewpoints, can reveal that much of what is discussed in the media and in Parliament is inaccurate. The paper builds on the existing literature on touting and on conducting illegal research, and offers reflections on why these methods can sometimes be justified.

scholarly journals The perfect fit? Being both volunteer and ethnographer in a UK foodbank

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kayleigh Garthwaite
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
North East ◽  
Qualitative Understanding ◽  
Data Collection And Analysis ◽  
Field Notes ◽  
The Uk

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore both volunteer and ethnographer in a Trussell Trust foodbank in Stockton-on-Tees, North East England during a period of welfare reform and austerity. It shows how ethnographic researchers can develop a more effective qualitative understanding of foodbank use through volunteering. Design/methodology/approach – The methodological design was ethnographic both in terms of data collection and analysis. Volunteering and participant observation began in November 2013 and is ongoing. The data presented are derived from field notes of participant observations. Findings – Tensions are present when considering how best to write up ethnographic research when the researcher adopts a “volunteer ethnographer” role. The negotiation of relationships, practices, and emotions requires the researcher to appreciate the complex and “politicized” discourse surrounding foodbank use in order to report how the foodbank operates in an objective yet truly reflective way. Originality/value – There is an expanding research interest in the growth of foodbanks. This paper offers unique insights into the value and tensions of adopting the dual role of “volunteer ethnographer” when researching foodbank use in the UK.

Shifting feminisms

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 287-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Marcia Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Social Studies ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Ethnographic Interviews ◽  
Values And Beliefs ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Gendered Expectations ◽  
Shed Light

Purpose The paper aims to shed light on how a group of feminist managers/leaders, in education and social studies departments, a notably under-explored and under-theorised group, “do power” in the increasingly corporatized education marketplace. Design/methodology/approach The research draws on the narratives of a small group of feminist women who hold authority positions at middle or senior levels. It draws on data from ethnographic interviews and participant observation carried out as part of an in-depth narrative inquiry (Andrews et al., 2008), carried out at three higher education institutions in the UK. Findings From a small sample such as this, any findings are necessarily tentative. Nonetheless, findings suggest that, whilst taking account of individual differences in styles, there has been a shift, over time, in the ways that the management role is approached by some feminist women. Analysis of the data also reveals that gendered expectations remain for those who carry the “feminist” label and asks whether these expectations are realistic. Research limitations/implications The sample group is small which raises questions about what can and cannot be claimed. However, along with Maguire (2008), the author’s purpose is not with generalizability but seeks to explore issues and open up further areas of study. Originality/value This paper is an original empirical research which explores an under-researched group of women, namely, feminist managers and leaders who operate within the education marketplace. As they negotiate the challenges of working within the neoliberal academy, these women try, to varying degrees, to remain true to their feminist values and beliefs.

Moral urban citizenship and the youth problem in a Danish ghetto

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas Strandholdt Bach ◽  
Nanna Schneidermann
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Valuable Data ◽  
Urban Citizenship ◽  
Ethnographic Data ◽  
Real World Problems

PurposeThis article examines the interventions from municipality, state and other actors in the Gellerup estate, a Danish “ghetto” by focusing on the youth problem and its construction, by examining a cross-disciplinary academic workshop intending to “solve the youth problem” of the estate.Design/methodology/approachThe article is based on the two authors' participation in the academic workshop, as well as their continued engagement with the Gellerup estate through separate project employments and ethnographic research projects in the estate, consisting of both participant observation and interviews.FindingsIn the article the authors suggest that the 2015 workshop reproduced particularly the category of idle urban young men as problematic. The authors analyze this as a form of “moral urban citizenship”. The article also analyzes some of the proposed solutions to the problem, particularly architectural transformations, and connects the Danish approach to the problems of the “ghetto” to urban developments historically and on a global scale.Originality/valueCross-disciplinary academic attempts to solve real-world problems are rarely incorporated as ethnographic data. In this article the authors attempt to include part of their own practice as academics as valuable data that opens up new perspectives on a field and their own involvement and analysis of it.

Networking and knotworking practices: work integration as situated social process

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Scaratti ◽  
Silvia Ivaldi ◽  
Jean Frassy
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Social Process ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Situated Knowledge ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Integration Program ◽  
Work Integration ◽  
Gathering Data

Purpose This paper aims to present a transnational research intervention that relies on the qualitative monitoring of disadvantaged people’s work integration program. In particular, the paper adopts the concept of networking and knotworking to intercept and describe the ways in which organizational payers shape knowledge in their contexts of work inclusion. Design/methodology/approach The research is based on a developmental ethnographic research to detect meaningful, situated knowledge related to the activities for work integration of disadvantaged people. Two main techniques, “at home ethnography” (Ellis and Bochner, 2000; Hansen, 2006) and participant observation (Alvesson, 2009), were used for gathering data. Findings The paper highlights the existing contradictions within and between the multiple activity systems. The advantages of using the activity theory’s lenses are underlined together with two main approaches related to the assumption of a networking and knotworking orientation. The findings also refer to some new paths professionals identified for their daily activity. Originality/value The paper provides a better understanding of the contemporary challenges of working, that is extremely helpful to policy makers and other practitioners, including researchers.

scholarly journals Volunteer street patrols: responsibilised and motivated volunteering in community safety

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Westall
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Community Safety ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Night Time ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Supportive Function ◽  
Volunteer Motivations

Purpose This paper aims to contribute towards our knowledge and understanding of volunteer street patrols working within community safety and pluralised policing. Through the increased responsibilisation of communities and individuals, volunteers are taking to the streets to help others in need and support the community safety infrastructure. The example of volunteer street patrols is used to explore the motivations of individuals participating in the local delivery of community safety and policing. Design/methodology/approach This research is drawn from ethnographic research consisting of 170 hours of participant observation on the streets of a northern UK city, Manchester, supported by 24 semi-structured interviews with volunteers and stakeholders who participate in a street patrol and those working alongside them. Findings Using a three-paradigm perspective for volunteer motivations, the themes altruism, civil connection and volunteering for leisure are applied to explore volunteer motivations. Through their actions, volunteers in the street patrol are motivated volunteers who can offer an additional and important resource within the local community safety and pluralised policing infrastructure. Originality/value This paper highlights volunteer street patrols offer a caring and supportive function to people in need on the street, one in support of the police and other agencies. It contributes to the growing understanding of those who volunteer in policing and community safety landscapes. As responsibilised citizens, they have an increased awareness of social problems. They are motivated individuals who wish to create and maintain safety and play an important role in policing the night-time economy.

The war on some consumers of some drugs

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-125
Author(s):  
Jeff Ditchfield
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Personal Narrative ◽  
Drug Laws ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The World ◽  
The Media ◽  
Medicinal Cannabis ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Regulatory Models ◽  
Policy Discussion

Purpose As a prominent Cannabis Activist in the UK, the purpose of this paper is to articulate some thoughts on where activists should go next, to challenge stigmatising drug laws. Design/methodology/approach A personal narrative is interweaved with a drug policy discussion and views on how activists can best promote reform. Findings Activists ought to fight moral injustice by breaking unjust laws if necessary. This paper demonstrates how activists can develop regulatory models from the bottom up via cannabis clubs and the importance of talking to and educating the media. Originality/value The author has been researching the benefits of medicinal cannabis since 2001 and assists terminal cancer sufferers around the world. The author is also an accomplished Public Speaker on cannabis and wishes to use this platform to share experience and thoughts with fellow activists.

scholarly journals Navigating three faces of decentred leadership in the UK Parliament

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Bennister
Keyword(s):  
Collective Identity ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Public Institution ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Multiple Relationships ◽  
Privileged Access ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Everyday Practices ◽  
Elite Interviews ◽  
The Uk

PurposeThe Westminster Parliament is multifaceted, lacks cohesion and collective direction, appearing at times to challenge the very notion of a structured public institution itself. Within an environment with little collective identity, understanding who leads in the UK Parliament is challenging; there are multiple, contestable sites of leadership and governance. The purpose of this article is to explore the understudied concept of legislative leadership, to better understand what goes on inside the legislature. The author presents a decentred and nuanced disaggregation of “leadership as practice” in parliament, examining three faces of legislative leadership.Design/methodology/approachInterpretive approaches to studying legislatures have presented new impetus to research in this area and the author utilises such anti-foundationalism. The article draws on ethnographic research into “everyday practices”, conducted during an academic fellowship in the UK Parliament from 2016 to 2019, which involved privileged access to the parliamentary estate. The data used include observations, shadowing and elite interviews collected during the fellowship.FindingsBy looking at the legislature from the inside, the author can better understand elite behaviour. This helps to explain motives, daily pressures and performative skills deployed in displays of autonomous, decentred leadership. The legislative leadership the author observed was atomised and could be stretched to accommodate the incumbent office holder. There were multiple relationships both formally constituted and informally constructed, but little collaborative or consensus leadership.Originality/valueThis article fulfils an identified need to study leadership in legislatures – and in particular key elites – from the inside.

scholarly journals Supporting rural entrepreneurship in the UK microbrewery sector

2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (11) ◽  
pp. 2724-2738 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria Ellis ◽  
Gary Bosworth
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Local Economies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public House ◽  
Economic Contribution ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The UK has seen rapid growth in the number of microbreweries but a concurrent decline in public house numbers raising concerns about the sustainability of this growth. The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of funding upon competition in the sector and the entrepreneurial characteristics of microbrewers. With an emphasis on rural-based businesses, the local economic impacts are also examined. Design/methodology/approach – The research is informed by analysis of trends in both the brewing and public house sectors in the UK. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with microbrewers, including five who had received funding to support their development. These were supplemented with three days of participant observation at collaborative brewing events with 26 microbrewery owners and three microbrewery managers. Findings – The findings indicate that the value attached to microbreweries extends beyond their economic contribution with wider outcomes including training and job creation, the preservation of listed buildings and the enhancement of rural tourism. Funding stimulated entrepreneurial responses but support for these wider outcomes ran the risk of distorting competition. Originality/value – As competition increases in the sector, microbrewery owners need to become more entrepreneurial to maintain their market position. Competition is heightened by a number of lifestyle enterprises that can survive with lower profit levels while routes to market are limited by a decline in the public house sector. In such a pressured market, there is a need for clearer assessments of the impacts on local economies and entrepreneurship when grant funding is provided.

“That's not how I see it”: female and male perspectives on the academic role

2007 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 497-515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sue Shaw ◽  
Catherine Cassell
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Business School ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Business Schools ◽  
School Context ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Academic Role ◽  
The Uk

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a piece of empirical work that examines gender differences in how academics make sense of performance within university business schools in the UK.Design/methodology/approachThe research reported draws on data collected using a life history and repertory grid methodology with male and female interviewees from two university business schools.FindingsThe findings are discussed in relation to how academics understand what is valued about their role and what they believe the organisation rewards and values when it comes to promotion. Gender differences are shown to exist in the ways women and men define the academic role and in what they think is important both to themselves and the institution.Originality/valueThe paper presents original data on gender differences within a business school context.

scholarly journals Student engagement with sustainability: understanding the value–action gap

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 404-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gareth Chaplin ◽  
Paul Wyton
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Strong Association ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Sustainable Living ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Lack Of Information ◽  
Significant Barrier ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Insight Into

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of research that aimed to determine what university students living in Unite accommodation in the UK understand about the concept of sustainable living. It considers what barriers they perceive to be standing in the way of following sustainable living practices. In particular, the research aimed to explore any value–action gap for the student population with a view to informing future actions to help close any gap. Design/methodology/approach – The study was completed through an online questionnaire survey of students living in halls of residence operated by provider The Unite Group Plc. The survey informed semi-structured interviews and focus groups that explored the issues raised in greater detail. Findings – It was found that students living in Unite properties believed sustainable living to be important, yet levels of understanding were very low and there appeared to be a wide value–action gap. Reasons for this are varied; however, an unexpected theme emerged around the association of effort and importance. There was a very strong association between sustainable living and recycling, which, therefore, saw the lack of adequate recycling facilities as a significant barrier to sustainable living. There were also issues around a lack of information, cost and respondents’ flatmates as further barriers. However, the most significant barrier was the displacement of responsibility for sustainable living to other people or organisations. Originality/value – Gaining an insight into the complexity of attitude and behaviour of students with the sustainability agenda will enable understanding that can be applied to activities that promote sustainability.

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