Riding shotgun – Front-seat research and the socio-material considerations of ethnography on the move

2021 ◽  
pp. 146879412110465
Author(s):  
Johanne Yttri Dahl ◽  
Aksel Tjora
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Police Work ◽  
Spatial Position ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Research Practice ◽  
Front Seat ◽  
Back Seat ◽  
Researcher Role ◽  
Active Research ◽  
Methodological Considerations

In this article, we explore methodological considerations of using the car as space for ethnographic research on police work. With a socio-material perspective, we are concerned about how the car’s particular materiality and mobility shapes social interaction that takes place within it. We argue that this affects the researcher role, and that the researcher’s spatial position in the car affects the researcher role further. The position’s impact on interaction is made evident when the researcher is ‘riding shotgun’, rather than being placed in the back seat. We argue that this front-seat role comes with increased reciprocity towards the driver/officer, demanding a more (inter) active research practice. Hence, the riding shotgun position potentially increases the empirical input with the closer interaction between the researched and the researcher. More generally, the case illustrates the very delicate considerations of researcher positioning within ethnography on the move.

scholarly journals “A reward rather than a right”: Facilitators’ perspectives on the place of music in Norwegian prison exceptionalism

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 274-289
Author(s):  
Áine Mangaoang
Keyword(s):  
Interpersonal Communication ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
Research Data ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Research Practice ◽  
Music Making ◽  
Critical Understanding ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Music Activities

Scholarship on prison music-making projects and programmes to date has largely overlooked the perspectives of prison music facilitators, who form an integral part of many prison music activities. The aim of the study, which was exploratory in nature, was to contribute to a better understanding overall of the relationship between music and imprisonment by focusing on the perspectives of prison music practitioners. Drawing from data collected in four Norwegian prisons through ethnographic research, data was analysed thematically with four key themes emerging: interpersonal communication and emotional connection; social responsibility; prison system and environment, and (in)difference and exclusion. The findings highlight the fact that the range of prison music activities offered in many Norwegian prisons affects music facilitators deeply in a number of ways, and support existing studies that find that prison music practices can contribute to creating a community of caring individuals both inside and outside prisons. Notably, the emergence of the (in)difference and exclusion theme demonstrates a more critical and nuanced view of prison music facilitators’ experiences as going beyond simplistic, romantic notions of music’s function in social transformation. Concerns raised for those who appear to be excluded or differentiated from music-making opportunities in prison – in particular foreign nationals and women – suggest that (even) in the Norwegian context, music in prisons remains a “reward” rather than a fundamental “right.” This study marks a step towards a richer and more critical understanding of prison musicking and aims to inform future research, practice, and the processes involved in the possibilities for offering music in prisons.

Reflections of a feminist organizational ethnographer: considering the subject matter and the research setting

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Subject Matter ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Cultural Landscape ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Research Practice ◽  
Research Setting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Military ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to reflexively reconsider the effects of the author’s pre-understandings, both academic and non-academic, on the subject matter and the research setting. The unforeseen implications of this disjuncture on our research practice and the expected deliverables are discussed.Design/methodology/approachThe paper engages in a critical, self-reflexive dialogue of a journey through a stimulating yet, uncomfortable piece of feminist, organizational ethnographic research drawing on the insights from the author's research diary.FindingsThe account presented in this paper describes the problematic nature of undertaking a collaborative, reciprocal research project in the distinctive and foreign cultural landscape of the military. The author shows the importance of delving into matters of positionality and preparedness for what might emerge, as a form of closure.Practical implicationsThe paper provides insights into the importance of sponsors to access “the field” and our obligation as researchers to produce written deliverables.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the emerging literature on the significance of reflexivity in feminist inspired organizational ethnographies in highly gendered settings such as the military.

Informed consent in de etnografische veldwerkpraktijk

KWALON ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Petra Heyse
Keyword(s):  
Informed Consent ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Macro Level ◽  
Ethical Review ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Research Practice ◽  
Saint Petersburg ◽  
Ethnographic Fieldwork ◽  
Deep Waters

Informed consent in ethnographic research practice. Deep waters between macro ethical regulation and micro ethical fieldwork dilemmas Informed consent in ethnographic research practice. Deep waters between macro ethical regulation and micro ethical fieldwork dilemmas Drawing on my experiences of nine months of ethnographical fieldwork in an international matchmaking agency in Saint-Petersburg (Russia), I show how the negotiation of ‘informed consent’ in practice differs from ‘informed consent’ procedures of universities’ and research funds’ ethical review boards. Evidence in my case study contributes to existing debates that question the applicability in ethnography of consent rituals that are common in (bio)medical and psychological sciences. These ‘informed consent’ protocols have been criticized to be insufficiently empirically grounded in the ethnographical fieldwork practice. My tale from the field offers empirical evidence for a further conceptual refinement of a process-based approach to consent negotiations. I both provide recommendations for an adaptation of ethical regulations on a macro level and for a more reflexive consent negotiation in the situated ethnographic fieldwork practice.

Chapter XII Gregory’s Womanhood

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olive Schreiner
Keyword(s):  
Front Seat ◽  
Back Seat

Slowly over the flat came a cart. On the back seat sat Gregory, his arms folded, his hat drawn over his eyes. A Kaffir boy sat on the front seat driving, and at his feet sat Doss, who, now and again, lifted his nose...

Critical Realism and Contrastive Ethnography

2020 ◽  
pp. 162-184
Author(s):  
Claire Laurier Decoteau
Keyword(s):  
Critical Realism ◽  
Treatment Protocol ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Critical Realist ◽  
Extended Case Method ◽  
Somali Refugee ◽  
Methodological Considerations ◽  
Method Approach ◽  
Mainstream Science

Though critical realism has been featured in sociological debates about the philosophy of science, its relevance to methodological considerations, and especially to ethnographic scholarship, is quite limited. This chapter combines an extended case method approach to ethnography with a critical realist approach to comparison. Critical realism augments ethnographic comparison in two ways: 1) by showing that one can compare across both events and causal mechanisms due to ontological stratification; and 2) by considering the conjunctural and contingent nature of causality. However, critical realism’s emphasis on causality is also complicated by ethnographic research, which sheds light on the mutual causal relationship between structures and actors. This chapter, therefore, considers what critical realism has to offer ethnography and what ethnography, in turn, offers critical realism. It does so by comparing the experiences and beliefs of Somali refugee communities in Minneapolis and Toronto, who are contending with high rates of autism spectrum disorder and have forged epistemic communities united around an etiology, ontology, and treatment protocol that challenges mainstream science.

scholarly journals Looking, But Not Listening? Theorizing the Practice and Ethics of Online Ethnography

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 55-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Winter ◽  
Anna Lavis
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Active Listening ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Research Practice ◽  
Online Ethnography ◽  
Heterogeneous Nature ◽  
Online Spaces ◽  
Self Harm ◽  
Emotional Complexity ◽  
Digital Cultures

There are debates across disciplines regarding how to research and represent digital cultures ethically. Against this background, there is a need to reflect on the practice and ethics of online ethnography. Ambiguities surrounding researcher “participation” online have led this to be equated largely with observation. This has deprivileged the act of listening in both research practice and the methodological and ethical debates that underpin this. Utilizing ethnographic research into self-harm and social media as a critical lens, this article advocates for listening as a mode of participating in, as well as observing, online spaces. In proposing “active listening” and “adaptive listening” to explore the polyphonic and heterogeneous nature of social media, we argue that listening is key to representing online spaces in all their cultural diversity and emotional complexity. Reflecting on listening is necessary to forging a practical ethics of online ethnography, and is relevant to digital research more widely.

scholarly journals Comparison between the risks in road safety behaviour in urban and rural areas in Latvia in 2016

2019 ◽  
Vol 68 ◽  
pp. 01008
Author(s):  
Aija Bukova-Zideluna ◽  
Anita Villerusa ◽  
Iveta Pudule
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Road Safety ◽  
Urban Population ◽  
Road Traffic ◽  
Adult Population ◽  
Traffic Data ◽  
Front Seat ◽  
Back Seat ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas ◽  
Safety Behaviour

The study examined the differences between respondents in urban and rural areas in respect of their self-reported attitudes and behaviour regarding taking risks in road traffic. Data of Health Behaviour among Latvian Adult Population 2016 survey was used for analysis. Results: 83.7% (N=1605) of urban respondents and 86.7% (N = 1456) of rural respondents always used seatbelts in the front seat. Only 55.3% (N = 1605) of urban respondents and 52.1% (N = 875) of rural respondents always used seatbelts in the back seat. Odds to use seatbelts in the front seat were higher for rural population (OR = 1.27; 95% CI: 1.05–1.53). Odds to use seatbelts in the back seat were higher for urban population (OR=1.14; 95% CI: 1.01–1.30). Rural residents agreed more often with suggestion that it is not necessary to fasten the seatbelt on short journeys (OR = 1.42; 95% CI: 1.15–1.75) and that it is not necessary to fasten the seatbelt travelling at speed less than 40 km/h (OR=1.22; 95% CI: 1.01–1.56). Rural respondents agreed more often than urban respondents that that driving a car under alcohol influence increases a chance of being involved in an accident (OR = 1.45; 95% CI: 1.10–1.90).

scholarly journals Towards an Ethnography Commons

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Eli Elinoff
Keyword(s):  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Research Practice ◽  
Transformative Research ◽  
Teaching And Research ◽  
Social Interventions ◽  
The World ◽  
The Commons ◽  
Writing Culture ◽  
The University ◽  
Do So

How might the notion of an ethnography commons transform ethnographic research practice and pedagogy? In this paper, I consider how the concept of the commons, in all of its messiness, might provide a way of not only addressing questions surrounding the boundaries of ethnographic research and knowledge that have been fundamental to anthropology since Writing Culture (Clifford and Marcus 1986), but also for crafting more transformative research and social interventions into the world itself. I do so first by considering how contemporary structures of capitalism are shaping the university, our research, and our relationships with our students. Then, I trace the ways in which the debates about the boundaries of ethnography have transformed research and pedagogy over the last 20 years. Finally, I conclude by suggesting a number of potential trajectories for acting on the promise of the commons through ethnographic teaching and research.

scholarly journals Cracks in the Success Narrative: Rethinking Failure in Design Research through a Retrospective Trioethnography

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 1-31
Author(s):  
Noura Howell ◽  
Audrey Desjardins ◽  
Sarah Fox
Keyword(s):  
Design Research ◽  
Research Practice ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Research Practices ◽  
Research Reporting ◽  
Letting Go ◽  
Methodological Considerations

What can design researchers learn from our own and each other's failures? We explore “failure” expansively—turning away from tidy success narratives toward messy unfoldings and reflexive discomfort—through retrospective trioethnography. Our findings reflect on failures we identified in six past design research projects: issues of relational labor of deployment, mismatched designer/participant imaginaries, burden of participation, and invisibility of researcher labor. Our discussion contributes to broader reflections on shifting design research practice: (a) methodological considerations inviting others to engage failures through retrospective trioethnography, (b) letting go as a mode of research care, (c) possibilities for more candid research reporting, and (d) how centering failure may contribute to design justice by providing a technique for attending to harm and healing in design research practices. Throughout, we call for challenging success narratives in design research, and underscore the need for systemic changes in design research practice.

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