Hammersley and Atkinson Flashcards
(17 cards)
Naturalism
Social world can be studied in its “natural state” where the researcher is objective, undisturbing and respecting the environment of the people living there.
Aim to understand social processes based on (varied) cultural patterns.
Objective voice
Critique of naturalism and positivism
Claim that research can provide knowledge of social world superior to the validity of those who are studied
(constructionism x cultural relativism)
Stemming from the “reflexive” character of social research
Constructionism
An ethnographer constructs or creates the social world they study through their eyes - affected by socio-historical background and assumptions - they rather construct a people instead of represent it
Realism
Assumption that social phenomena exist independently of accounts, hence tasks the ethnographer to produce TRUE representation of particulaTr phenomena and their features.
The politics of ethnography
Replacing naturalism and positivism’s objectivity, an approach skeeming that ethnographers should be openly ideological and even activist in their account of marginalised communities - specially inffluenced by poststructuralism and postmodernism
Reflexivity
Orientations of researchers will be shaped by their socio-historical origins, including values and interests from that
Goal of research
Production of knowledge
Foreshadowed problems
Issue, concern, question, that arises from the existing literature on the topic or another source (personal, professional experience)
Planning a research
No need to rely on “armchair theorising” - you learn most from doing
BUT
Considerable work can be done before getting started
Sampling within cases
1.Time
2. People
3. Contexts
Sponsor
Provide access for the ethnographer, often self-selected
Also “tutoring” the ethnographer, teaching how to dress or behave to fit in a setting
Gatekeepers
In settings were boundaries are institutionailised, not easily penetrated, maybe even policed - formal process
Thus necessary to gain access through communication with a gatekeeper - who can be hard to identify
Will impact the project immensely - may even attempt to exercise control over research
Impression management
The construction of a working identity to gain credibility in the setting. This can mean up-playing some sides of your identity and down-playing other sides. How you dress, talk, behave in general
Providing goods and services
A return for being able to study as well as a way to integrate more in community aka establish reciprocity
May draw researchers into a hierarchical organisation of community
Field role
The role the researcher takes on the field is depending on their own social characteristics (age, gender, ethnicity etc) and how these are interpreted by participants.
Acceptable incompetent
When you are completely new to a field and you have to act like, or even be, like a novice or a baby
Informed consent
Consent must be given unconstrained for participants, it must be given correctly and the participants can withdraw at any time
